The best coffee tables to get you through summer
These hard working tables combine style with serviceability to create a highly functional living space
3 min
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,
As Australia’s family offices expand their presence in private credit, a growing number of commercial real estate debt (CRED) managers are turning to them as flexible, strategic funding partners.
Knight Frank’s latest Horizon 2025 update signals renewed confidence in Australian commercial real estate, with signs of recovery accelerating across cities and sectors.
Soneva’s groundbreaking Coral Restoration Program in the Maldives has been endorsed by the United Nations and listed on UNESCO’s Ocean Decade platform, recognising it as a global model for reef regeneration and sustainable marine science.
2 min
In a landmark moment for marine conservation, the Soneva Foundation’s Coral Restoration Program has received official endorsement from the United Nations and been listed on the UNESCO Ocean Decade website — an international recognition of its pioneering work in large-scale reef restoration.
Based in the Maldives and operating from Soneva Fushi’s AquaTerra science centre, the program is now the region’s largest coral restoration facility. Combining advanced marine biology with local collaboration, it has redefined how the tourism sector can contribute meaningfully to ocean health.
What sets the program apart is its blend of innovation and scale. The facility includes a Coral Spawning and Rearing Lab—Maldives’ first of its kind—replicating natural reef conditions to stimulate coral reproduction. Thirty micro-fragmentation tanks further accelerate coral growth, enabling up to 150,000 coral fragments to be produced and replanted on damaged reefs each year.
Since launching in 2022, Soneva’s coral team has relocated more than 31,000 coral colonies and fragments from threatened areas, establishing a thriving coral hub in the Indian Ocean.
he initiative is managed by Soneva Conservation, a Maldivian NGO set up by the Soneva Foundation, and forms part of the group’s broader sustainability strategy.
“This milestone is a testament to the scientific rigour and community-driven ethos at the heart of our work,” Dr Johanna Leonhardt, Soneva’s Coral Project Manager, said. “It validates the potential of hospitality to lead ocean regeneration at scale.”
Beyond science, the program engages governments, NGOs, research institutions and the wider tourism industry—demonstrating how cross-sector partnerships can drive real environmental impact.
The UN recognition now positions the project as a beacon for similar initiatives globally, reinforcing the Maldives’ role as both a luxury destination and a marine conservation leader.
The Soneva Foundation’s wider environmental efforts include carbon mitigation projects, reforestation, and waste-to-wealth innovation. As part of the Pallion group, Soneva continues to redefine what it means to be a responsible luxury brand.
Bhutan is pioneering a new frontier in travel by allowing tourists to pay for flights, visas, hotels and even fruit stalls using cryptocurrency via Binance Pay.
New study finds that CEOs are more likely to be fired for company underperformance if a director has served in the military.
