Much to the chagrin of our parents and grandparents, more and more families are spending their mealtimes gathered around the television. It seems that the days of eating at the dining room or even kitchen table are numbered, and more and more families are using the coffee table to hold their plates, forks, knives and glasses. As busy families spend most of the week running hither, wither and yon they find rest and 1950'relaxation together, taking their meals in the comfort of the living room. To help accommodate this trend, there has been a rise in the popularity and availability of square coffee tables.

Traditional coffee tables tended to be long, skinny affairs that were ideal for holding little more than a magazine and a drink. Designed to span most of the length of a sofa, the coffee table lent a certain orientation and structure to the room. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, people started eating in their living room with greater frequency, as the “TV dinner” was born. These meals were typically eaten off of either your lap or a TV tray table. Today, furniture makers are altering the traditional design, and taking their cues from the way that we live, which has led to the presence of square coffee tables.

Square coffee tables are much wider than the traditional oval or rectangle tables of yesterday. This makes them particularly well suited to holding all the accoutrements of dinner – fork, knife, plate and glass. For families that are eating at the table, this is a great advantage. The newer square design is also ideal for gathering around to play board games. As living rooms have increasingly become family rooms that are used on a day to day basis by all members of the family, rather than just by the adults on special occasions, this change in the shape and size has occurred to accommodate the need.

Square coffee tables are decidedly more casual than their oblong or rectangular cousins, so they fit in very well in a room that will be lived in. Available in a wide variety of colours, styles and materials, they are perhaps the most popular of all modern coffee table shapes. For many families, the coffee table is now the dining room table, so switching over to the larger, wider footprint is a logical step. Finding just the right table