Choosing a Side Table for a Narrow Walkway

A side table is the piece most likely to be bought on looks and regretted on dimensions. In an apartment with a narrow route past the sofa, three numbers and one shape decision determine whether it works.

Width: the number that decides everything

Measure the gap between the arm of your sofa and whatever is next to it, then subtract the walkway you need to preserve. What remains is your maximum table width, and it is very often under twenty inches — considerably less than a standard end table.

Round tables buy you space here. A twenty-inch round table occupies a twenty-inch square only at its widest point; the corners are cut away, which is exactly where a hip or a shin would otherwise catch.

Height should match the arm, not the room

A side table beside seating should sit level with the arm of the sofa or chair, or an inch below. Too tall and you reach up awkwardly to set a cup down; too short and you cannot see the surface from a seated position.

Most sofa arms fall between twenty-two and twenty-six inches. Measure yours rather than assuming, because low-arm and armless sofas change the answer completely.

Round, oval and the hip test

In any walkway under thirty inches wide, avoid square and rectangular tables with sharp corners. It is not an aesthetic preference; a corner at hip height in a route you walk twenty times a day will eventually catch you.

Round and oval tables also read as lighter in a small room, because the eye follows a continuous curve rather than stopping at four hard corners.

Tiered tables and the storage you gain

A two or three tier accent table provides two or three times the surface of a plain one in the same footprint. In a small living room, that is where the remote, a book and a glass all live without occupying the sofa.

The lower tiers are also useful for hiding things. A shallow basket on the bottom tier of a side table absorbs a surprising amount of the clutter that otherwise settles on the coffee table.

Nightstands: the same rules with one addition

Beside a bed, the table height should sit level with the top of the mattress or an inch or two above. Below the mattress line, you cannot reach anything on it from lying down; well above, it looms.

The addition is the lamp and the outlet. A nightstand needs to be positioned so that a lamp on it can reach a socket without a cable crossing the walking side of the bed.

Materials and what they tolerate

Solid wood tolerates the most and shows the most: it takes a knock without breaking and it marks with water rings. Engineered wood with a laminate top is more resistant to rings and less forgiving of a heavy impact on a corner. Metal frames with a wood or glass top are the most stable at narrow footprints.

In a small apartment where a table sits in a walkway, weight is a feature. A very light table gets knocked out of position constantly.

Coffee tables in tight rooms

The clearance between a sofa and a coffee table should be about eighteen inches — enough to walk through sideways and to stand up without barking a shin. Any less and the room becomes an obstacle course; much more and you cannot reach the table from the seat.

A narrow rectangular coffee table, or two small round tables used together, works far better in a long thin living room than a single large square one.

Buying by the number, not by the photograph

A styled photograph in a large room will make any table look proportionate. The dimensions will not. Take the three numbers you measured — maximum width, target height, required clearance — and filter on those before you look at anything.

It is a less enjoyable way to shop and it is the reason a piece arrives and simply fits.

Where to go next

Our Tables category lists width, depth and height on every piece, including narrow and tiered accent tables.

• Browse Tables or the full shop.
• Sizing, delivery and payment questions are answered on our FAQ page.
• Delivery times are set out in the Shipping Policy; returns in the Return & Refund Policy.
• Still stuck? Contact us — we reply within 24 hours on business days.

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