Occasional Tables Buying Guide
The word “table” is derived from a mix of the French word
table and the Old English tabele, both from the Latin word
tabula, which means “a board, plank or flat piece”. The
earliest, most primitive tables were to be found in Egypt
and China around 5,000 years ago. These tables were used to
keep things off the floor and for writing and painting. The
Romans and Greeks introduced dining tables around 3,000
years later. Through the centuries, occasional tables,
dotted around the home to place various items on, have
become more and more common. Nowadays, occasional tables are
found in most homes, holding items such as lamps, telephones
and vases.
Occasional tables can be used in many rooms in the home.
You’ll find them in most living rooms, but also in dining rooms,
hallways and bedrooms.
Occasional tables are used to hold items such as lamps,
telephones, photographs, vases, ornaments and candles.
They’re also a convenient place to put down drinks.
Nests of tables are
particularly used for this purpose; when guests are given a
drink, the host often pulls a table from the nest and gives
it to them so they have somewhere to set their drink down.
Lamp Tables are
perfect for a lamp by the side of a sofa, a plant or a
telephone.
Side and Lamp tables have room to display many different
items, including photographs, ornaments and vases.
There’s plenty space on an occasional table to stack
items like books or magazines. These trunks from the Newbury
collection are great storage as well as acting as occasional
tables.
Not only are lamp and side tables practical, placing them
around your home and displaying items on top of them can
really help complete the look of a room.
Some occasional tables have drawers, cupboards, shelves
or even a wine rack, while others are just a straightforward
table. We have several nest of tables, including the
contemporary
Oakleigh Nest of Tables and the , from the Oakleigh
collection and the distrinctive
Westminster Oak Nest of Tables. Occasional tables vary
in size from the
Canterbury Nest of Tables collection to the mirrored
cube from the Venetian collection.
The three key questions you should ask yourself when
selecting an occasional table are:
1. Where are you
going to put the table? You’ll want to make sure it fits in
with the decor and wood colour of the rest of your chosen
room.
2. What size of occasional table do you want? We
have a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from this small
lamp table to this large console table.
3. Do you want
to assemble your table yourself? We have both fully
assembled and part assembled occasional tables.
To keep your table looking its best, clean and protect it
with good quality beeswax. You should also keep your
occasional table away from strong sunlight and take care not
to place it in front of, or next to, a radiator. The heat
might cause it to shrink, loosening joints and veneers.
If you choose a part assembly occasional table, here are
our top tips for putting it together: • Lay a blanket down
on the surface you’re going to use to assemble your table to
prevent scratching and damage to both the surface and the
table. • Take all the pieces out of the packaging carefully
and lay them out. Make sure you have everything you need
before you start. • Lay out your tools – hammer,
screwdriver, etc. • Get to work!
If you don’t want
to, or are unable to, assemble your occasional table
yourself, we recommend Flat Pack Amigos
(www.flatpackamigos.com), who have furniture assemblers
nationwide.