There are many choices when it comes to coffee tables these days, so how can anyone know if they are purchasing a good quality piece of furniture? Of course it’s all about selection, but there are some important things any shopper should know before setting out to purchase coffee tables.

Shopping Online
Purchasing coffee tables online is definitely a great way to save money. It gives shoppers a chance to purchase directly from the manufacturer or supplier, which certainly does cut out a lot of overhead. Also looking at websites will allow you to see hundreds more selections than you would be able to see if you were shopping in retail stores alone. It is much faster to browse an online catalog rather than visit several different stores. Just be sure to read the descriptions of each table very carefully. Here are some important things to look for when looking for tables online.

Look for Solid Wood or Heavy Metal
When you do start shopping around in local stores, the next thing to look for in coffee tables is solid wood. A solid wood table will be much heavier than a ready to assemble table. Also solid wood will be very sturdy and last forever. Some stores even allow the salesmen to jump on the kitchen chairs to show how sturdy they are. If you don’t think the coffee table will survive someone climbing on it, then it probably isn’t solid wood. When selecting a table that is all metal or has a metal frame, remember that weight also indicates good construction of a metal piece. Heavier metal weighs more, so a light metal table used light, cheap metal in the construction.

Solid Construction
Whether or not you are searching for wood coffee tables, there are a few things to look for in the area of solid construction. The best way to tell if these coffee tables are solidly constructed is to look carefully at the joints. In cases where glue is used, the joints should be so tight that no glue is showing. If the table is wood, then a sign of a cheap piece of furniture is how the joints are constructed. If the table and legs are joined with flat edges and just glued or screwed on, then this is a bad sign. Instead, look for joints that involve dowels or a tongue and groove joint. Basically, if there is a dowel that goes inside of each of the two pieces that are being connected, then it is a good joint. Also if one of the pieces of wood has teeth on the edge and the teeth are inserted into the other piece of wood, then this is also a good joint. Just avoid coffee tables with flat pieces that are glued together. Those joints will not last.

For metal coffee tables, also be sure to look carefully at the joints where one piece of metal is joined with another. Metal joints will require a much closer look than wood joints, but it is possible to tell if the furniture is well constructed. Good quality joints are placed in a way that they cannot be seen, so you may have to search them. Also look for welded joints over riveted, screwed, or bolted joints, which can come loose over time. When looking at the welded joints, press your fingers into them to see how well the weld is holding. A weak weld will also come loose over time. A table with several welds holding it together in very inconspicuous places will probably last a very long time.

Author Bio: Jesse Akre owns Edenvale Shoppes and hosts numerous furniture and furnishings for any home whether it be end tables or patio furniture styles and designs.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: end table,side table,cocktail table,coffee table,coffee end tables,wood end tables,glass end tables