CONVERTIBLE TABLE : “Turn Coffee Into Dining”
Problem:
If you live alone, it is convenient to eat casually at a low coffee table and use a dining table only for guests. And if it’s a small apartment, you may not have room for both kinds of tables.
Solution:
The good news is you can find readymade convertible tables that cater to your lifestyle. Here are 3 that I consider excellent choices:
1. LIGHT AND ECONOMICAL
Creative Furniture offers its Aspen Dining Table Espresso for a reasonable $432.It has clean lines and lifts easily from a coffee table to a dining height. Measuring 39.3” x 45”, it has a silver painted steel base and a fiberboard top.
2. STURDY AND FULLY ADJUSTABLE
Expand Furniture charges $1,895 for its Box Table: a very sturdy and stylish product. Fully adjustable, it can stop anywhere between its minimum and maximum heights. Measuring 31.5” x 47.25”, it has extra leaves stored inside to seat up to 10 people.
3.INGENIOUS SHAPE-CHANGING DESIGN
Resource Furniture features a table that starts out as a 30” x 40” rectangular coffee table with rounded edges that lifts up and folds out to become a round 40” dining table. The rectangular shape is excellent as a coffee table and the round table ideal for dining. It is beautifully finished and has hidden wheels. Price is $1,775-2,629 depending on finish.
COFFEE TABLE WITH HIDDEN SEATS: “Always Ready For Guests”
Problem:
You live alone in a studio apartment. You have a sofa and one comfortable chair – maybe no extra chairs for guests.
Solution:
A coffee table that cleverly hides extra seats underneath its top. Here are 3 excellent options:
1. ELEGANT BUT EXPENSIVE
Bonaldo’s “mr hide” design by Max Piva is a very elegant answer to the problem of extra seating. 31” x 47 with a PVC frame and upholstered stools, it is sold by awhiteroom.com at 1704 British Pounds ($2,438). This is a museum-quality design at a museum-level price.
2. CHIC AND ECONOMICAL
Ruti by Furniture of America uses the same solution as Bonaldo’s above, but in a much more affordable package. It has black and white leatherette stools, but I would choose them all in one color – preferably white – rather than the checkerboard design shown here.) The table is 34-1/4” x 34 ¼” and 20” high. FlatFair.com sells it for $299.99.
3. NEAT AND COMPACT
Its wedge-shaped seats offers a clever geometrical design. This Signature Design is by Ashley Marion Brown. Hayneedle sells it for about $345.
DESK-LOFT BED: “A Study Underneath Your Bed”
Problem:
A teenager needs privacy, which may be hard to come by in a small apartment.
Solution:
An all-in-one piece of furniture that does it all in the space of a single bed. Your teenager can stay up cramming for an exam without hiding a flashlight under the covers.
1. most EXPENSIVE
PB teen’s Chelsea Vanity Loft has a desk, shelves, cork board and ladder very well arranged and finished. From Pottery Barn, it costs $1839.
2. MODERATE PRICE
The Canwood Skyway Twin Loft by Storkcraft doesn’t include a desk, but does have built-in drawers. Otherwise, it is similar to the more expensive PB teen’s Chelsea Vanity Loft above. From toysrus.com, it costs $600.
3. least expensive
The Zonezzz Collection offers a very simple design without built-in shelves, drawers or a desk. From walmart.com, it costs $249.