The saying, is you can never be too rich or too thin. Add to that: You can never have too many little tables.
In the furniture business, the term "occasional tables" includes lamp tables, tea tables, console tables, even cocktail tables. Years ago, rooms would have a cocktail table that matched the end table and the sofa table.But the current penchant for mixing styles has placed new importance on that special little table with an individual personality.
Little tables have become big business for furniture manufacturers.
Recent introductions range from antique-inspired to architectural.
One of the most striking comes from Milling Road and is inspired by the early 20th-century groundbreaking designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
There's almost an Oriental feeling in the simplicity of the tall (28 inches) but narrow (18 inches diameter) oiled teak table with a round top and a larger square shelf just below. One would work as a lamp or end table; two bunch nicely in front of a sofa.
English antiques come to mind with occasional tables from Century and Drexel Heritage.
One of the smallest pieces in Century's large, eclectic Coddington Square collection of livable 18th-century-style designs is a versatile tray table that could work in many rooms. The oval tray with a mellow matte finish is 36 inches long, 31 inches wide and edged with a ribbed and scalloped rim. The highly carved X-legs can be positioned for a table 32 inches tall or to a lower cocktail height. It could serve as a lamp table, bar or bedside table.
A small, round pedestal table from Drexel Heritage's Royal Country Retreats collection would be perfect beside a traditional armchair or even holding a vase of flowers in front of a tall window.
John Widdicomb Co. turned to France and King Louis XVI for inspiration for an elegant little tripod table 27 inches tall. The timeless design, which could have come from France in the stylish 1940s, has a 22-inch-diameter faux marble top trimmed in brass with a sculpted base that comes in a dark wood or metallic finish.