The best coffee tables to get you through summer

Choosing a coffee table is harder than it looks. More likely to take the same beating as your dining table, it needs to serve its purpose as everything from a footstool and impromptu table to keeper of the remote controls and, well, coffee table books. As a focal point in your living room, it has to complement your lounge in style and materiality, as well as working with the shape and size of your room, all without compromising functionality. Nothing to it, right?

To get you started, we’ve assembled our top six coffee tables. They’re a diverse range, from well known (and not so well known) classics, to space savvy, contemporary solutions versatile enough to suit any living room style.

Noguchi Coffee Table

Japanese American designer Isamu Noguchi took his inspiration from nature to create this classic coffee table from Vitra using just three elements to create a perfectly balanced structure. It has never gone out of style since it was released in 1944, $4,760 from Living Edge

Rondo Pouffe Table

This clever design, which allows for three perfectly sized pouffe seat to store below is from Adelaide based TH Brown, legendary mid century Australian designers and manufacturers. The Rondo Pouffe table was only re-released last year and is $2,500, including glass top from TH Brown

Nakashima table

Another re-release, the Nakashima table designed in the 1940s by George Nakashima, has splayed tapered legs to give this table from Knoll a modernist edge, $8,110 from dedece

Drop Leaf SideTable

A little short on space? No problem. The design of the drop leaf side table by Hvidt & Mølgaard, the latest designers to join the fold at &Tradition, allows it to be folded up when not in use. Released in 1956, it’s refined form makes it ideal for apartments, as a side table or any small space where a stylish table would look at home, from $3,630 from Cult

Artie Wave table

Looking to anchor your living space? This solid table could be just what the designer ordered. Suitable for use inside or out, the curved lines of the versatile Artie Wave table soften its heavyweight status, $2,875 from GlobeWest,

Wild Child table

Transparent furniture is useful in smaller spaces where a larger table might feel too oppressive. Ditch the clear glass options with the Wild Child table, made from holographic acrylic in rainbow colours, $750 from Fenton&Fenton,

Klaus Busse would like you to close your eyes and imagine yourself behind the wheel of a Maserati. Picture the GranTurismo, which launched in Australia in 2024. Where do you see yourself? Chances are, Busse suggests, it’s not during the school pick-up or commuting to the office.

“You’re probably on a wonderful road in Tuscany, or Highway 1, or you’re going to a red carpet event,” says Busse, who holds the enviable title of Head of Design at Maserati, the iconic Italian car manufacturer. “Basically, it’s about emotion.”

At the luxury end of the market, the GranTurismo Coupe—priced between $375,000 and $450,000—is designed to transform the driving experience into something extraordinary. For Busse and his team, these “sculptures on wheels” are not just status symbols or exhilarating machines but expressions of pure joy. Their mission is to encapsulate that feeling and translate it into their cars.

“I really feel the responsibility to create emotion,” he says. “We have a wonderful word in Italy: allegria, which is best translated as ‘joyful.’ Our job as a brand is to lift you into this area of joy, perfectly positioned just short of ecstasy. It’s that tingling sensation you feel in your body when you drive the car.”

Even as 60 percent of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, Maserati’s design ethos captures the essence of “everyday exceptional.” Whether navigating city streets or open roads, a Maserati turns heads without being ostentatious or aggressive. “I’ve driven these cars all over the world, and no matter where I go, people smile at me and give a thumbs-up,” says Busse.

Since joining Maserati in 2015, Busse has reimagined and redefined the brand, steering his team through the reinvention of classic models and the transition to electric vehicles. Iconic designs like the Fiat 500, which entered the EV market in 2020, serve as a testament to Maserati’s ability to blend tradition with innovation.

Unlike other luxury car brands, Maserati embraces radical change with new designs every 10 to 15 years. Busse loves connecting with fans who follow the brand closely. He explains that each Maserati model reflects a specific era, from the elegant 35GT of the 1950s to the wedge-shaped designs of the 1970s and the bold aesthetics of the 1980s.

“I often ask fans, ‘What is Maserati for you?’ because their responses tell me so much about how they connect with the brand,” he shares.

Inspired by legendary Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, Busse balances tradition with modernity in his designs. As Giugiaro once told him, “We always do the best in the moment.” This philosophy resonates deeply with Busse, who believes in honouring the past while embracing future possibilities.

Through advances in technology, techniques, and societal trends, Busse ensures Maserati remains at the forefront of automotive design. For him, the creative process is more than just a job—it’s a way to create joy, connection, and timeless elegance.