The early 20th century was a time of significant changes in the history of interior design, with many pieces beginning to take on the shapes we’re familiar with today. One often-repeated story credits an American man named F. Stuart Foote as the inventor of the coffee table. Foote was president of the Imperial Furniture Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and, according to the tale, had the legs of a dining table sawn down for his wife, who needed a centrepiece for a party. He called it a ‘coffee table’.
The Imperial Furniture Company went on to produce plenty of variations over the years. But the story behind this low-slung staple of the modern living room might be a little different and more surprising. Let’s unpack it.
First things first: the name. Odd as it may seem, the origins of the coffee table have more to do with tea than coffee. This herbal infusion, still beloved in the British Isles, arrived in Europe in the late 16th century, brought back from Asia by Portuguese merchants. Its popularity grew in the following century as the Dutch East India Company began importing it more widely.
As tea drinking became fashionable among the upper classes, furniture makers responded with specially designed tea tables that were typically tall, with a round, foldable top so the piece could be stored neatly against the wall when not in use. Over time, rectangular versions on casters became more common, though their height remained relatively lofty.
Europeans first encountered coffee through trade and travel in the Ottoman Empire in the late 1500s, and by the start of the next century it was arriving in continental ports, particularly Venice, via routes through North Africa and the Middle East. Initially sold in apothecaries for its supposed medicinal properties, it soon became a fashionable social drink.
The first coffee house in England opened in Oxford in 1650, followed by another in London two years later. Writers, merchants, scholars and politicians all gathered there, turning these spaces into vibrant hubs of intellectual life, often nicknamed ‘penny universities’.
The consumption of coffee gradually spread into the home as availability increased and habits evolved. However, this shift didn’t bring about any immediate changes in the design of the tables, which remained consistently tall.
In 1868, E. W. Godwin created what was described as a coffee table, though it stood at nearly 67 centimetres high. While that might not match what we picture today, there’s little doubt the idea took root in the Victorian era.
So how, exactly, did coffee tables shrink down? There’s no clear answer — though a few strong contenders have been put forward.
One theory points to the tables used in Ottoman tea gardens, but a more plausible origin lies in Britain’s late 19th-century fascination with the Far East. In the 1870s and 1880s, as the Anglo-Japanese style reached its peak, furnishings and motifs from Japan began appearing in interiors across the country. Among them were traditional low tables used in Japanese homes — known as chabudai — typically ranging from 15 to 30 centimetres in height.
As Victorian creativity was famously unbound by strict historical accuracy, it’s not surprising to find early coffee tables appearing in the revival styles popular at the time — from various Louis-inspired designs for the French-inclined to Georgian models for those who preferred a touch of Albion rigour.
Still, coffee tables didn’t truly catch on until the way people lived and entertained at home began to change. In the Edwardian era, they remained on the margins of domestic life, as the period’s corseted fashions, structured social rituals, and emphasis on formality left little room — either physically or culturally — for such an informal piece of furniture.
That shift came with the Roaring Twenties, a more liberated moment marked by the rise of bold aesthetic movements like Art Deco. Interior designers embraced the opportunity to experiment with new forms and materials, favouring streamlined shapes and sleek proportions and expanding the palette to include metal, glass and, later, plastic.
The most decisive step in the evolution of the coffee table came, however, in the post-war period. As televisions entered the home, living rooms changed too, with upright furniture often reoriented to face the screen. The coffee table followed suit: heights dropped further to avoid obstructing the view, while surfaces grew to accommodate everything from magazines and books to drinks and remote controls.
The relatively recent origins of the coffee table may help explain the slightly off-kilter feeling that often comes with pieces — whether antique, vintage or reproduction — made in earlier historical styles such as Georgian. Perhaps that’s also why ottomans have become such a favourite in interiors-savvy living rooms.
A much older form, ottomans come in generous proportions and can be upholstered in anything from bold cut velvet to simple linen. Best of all, they can serve the same purpose when topped with a large tray, offering a softer, more relaxed alternative to the hard-surfaced table.
