I must admit, a wee bit of envy welled up when I read Elizabeth's post on moving venues for dessert. Ahh, how lovely it would be to meander from coffee table to dining table to living room in the course of a meal! Unfortunately, like many small space dwellers, my partner and I are restricted to a single venue: the coffee table.
Small Spaces: Coffee Table Dining
With a very small kitchen and no real dining area in our studio apartment, we eat all our meals at the coffee table, him sitting on the couch and me on the floor. I grew up in a family that ate sitting on the floor, at a short table (a common practice in many Asian cultures), so this style of dining feels perfectly natural to me. The situation is less agreeable for my partner, who must lean over the table or hold his plate in his lap. Although we love our Modernica coffee table, we have considered replacing it with an adjustable height table to make dining at the couch more comfortable.
We have come up with ways to make coffee table dining less college/bachelor-like. Admittedly, sometimes we are lazy and fail to follow this to a T. But since reading Elizabeth's post, I have been re-inspired to make more of an effort. It can make a real difference when living in a small space.
• Clear the table before eating: Devote the space to dining by removing remote controls, magazines, etc.
• Set the table: Use placemats, cloth napkins, nice dishes, even candles or flowers.
• Use floor cushions: Personally, I'm fine without cushions, but they can make sitting on the floor more comfortable, especially for guests.
• Don't watch television: Sitting right in front of the TV, it can be tempting to turn it on, and sometimes we do. But keeping it off helps us to better enjoy our food and company.
• Clear the table after eating: This is good advice for any table, not just the coffee table, but especially important to restore the space from "dining room" to "living room."
Do you eat at your coffee table, either out of necessity or choice? Do you love it, hate it, have any advice?
Related posts from Apartment Therapy:
• 10 Coffee Tables for Couch Potato Dining
• Best Adjustable Coffee Tables 2008
• Good Questions: Any Adjustable Coffee Table Resources?
• Good Questions: Convertible Coffee / Dining Tables
• No Dining Room? No Problem!: Other Places In Your Home To Have A Dinner Party
• Recreating The "Kitchen Table": Small Space Dwellers Create A New Place To Dine
(Image: Gregory Han)
Comments (9)
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What do you do when you're trying to entertain and some doof comes in and goes "Why isn't the game on? Someone put the game on!" tv that is..
So someone does. & people no longer mingle and instead just sit and stare at the tv the whole time.
view plumeria's profile
I always eat at the coffee table (usually with a west wing dvd episode on) but we do "set" the table with placemats and candles.
view WhitinChi's profile
Another coffee table with placemats person here.
view jen_g's profile
I've always thought eating at the coffee table was something you did in college... until I graduated and realized I still do it, along with my boyfriend and some of his friends. We don't have space for a dining room in our apartment (thanks to his gigantic desk where he edits movies) so we're stuck with the coffee table. Unfortunately, theres rarely a time when the tv's not on during "dinner"... I've gotta work on that.
view stephiekitty's profile
I hear you--we have the same issue! And we have a similar solution that I see you using above with a kind of buffet table at the side. We cover our ubiquitous Ikea Expedit bookcase with a tablecloth to set it up as a sideboard and put buffet dinner there. We arrange chairs nicely in a circle around the coffee table and actually, it makes for a much more intimate dining experience than a long dining table often provides! However, in warm weather, we move out to our patio--our "extra room" in our apartment!
view lotusmoss's profile
It sounds lovely. Sadly for us, 1. we're getting old and creaky (joke, at least about the old part!) and sitting on the floor isn't comfortable for us and 2. our kitten thinks all food is for him, all the time. "I like strawberries! And jam! And chicken! Hey, Mom, are you gonna finish that?"
Hence, no eating at the coffee table for us. Woe.
view Elizabeth B's profile
I always eat at the coffee table. I like to watch TV while I eat.
view jyw's profile
I live in a 300 square foot apartment...so coffee table for breakfast and dinner.
view jesscon0202's profile
@ Plumeria:
If it's your house you just say: "Oh I just discovered this and I have to share this album/song/CD/Playlist with you all." Then you remember to flip the TV off and play some music for your guests. Alternately, cover your TV up ahead of time with a nice cloth (they're mostly unsightly anyway).
view Robynthegeek's profile