The most important things for first time buyers to look for in a side table are the right height for your sofa or bed, a footprint that suits a smaller room, a sturdy build, a finish that handles daily use and, ideally, a little storage. Above all, choose a design versatile enough to work in more than one room, because your first side table will very likely move with you to future homes.
A good place to start is our collection of modern side tables UK, which covers compact and storage designs suited to first homes. You can see how they work with sofas, coffee tables and units across our wider modern living room furniture UK sale range.
Moving into a first home is exciting and busy. Attention goes mostly on the sofa, the bed and the dining table. Side tables are often picked up as an afterthought, which is why so many people end up replacing them within a year or two.
A well chosen side table, by contrast, tends to last. It is small enough to move easily, adaptable enough to work in a living room, bedroom or hallway, and used every single day. Taking a little more care over this choice pays off for years.
Many first homes in the UK are flats, new build houses or older terraces, and living rooms in all three can be compact. Before choosing, measure the space where the table will sit. Note the gap between the sofa and the wall, the distance to the nearest door, and any radiators or sockets nearby.
Leave enough clearance to walk past comfortably. A table that blocks a doorway or forces you to squeeze past every time will quickly become frustrating. In tight spaces, a slim square or round table around 40 centimetres across often fits where a wider one would not.
Height affects comfort more than almost anything else. Beside a sofa, the top should sit level with the arm or slightly below. Beside a bed, aim for the height of the top of the mattress. A table that is too low makes you lean awkwardly; one that is too high makes a lamp sit uncomfortably above your eye line.
If you have not yet chosen your sofa or bed, keep this in mind for later. Measuring the arm height of your sofa before choosing a side table is a simple step that saves a lot of disappointment.
First homes rarely have as much built in storage as you would like. A side table with a drawer or a lower shelf gives you a little extra space without adding another piece of furniture. Remote controls, chargers, coasters and magazines all need somewhere to go, and a table with storage stops them from collecting on the coffee table or floor.
Open shelves suit items you are happy to see, such as books or a basket. Drawers suit things you would rather hide. If you cannot decide, a design with both is the most flexible.
Different materials suit different households. Think honestly about how you live.
A side table is handled constantly: drinks put down, lamps switched on, the table nudged when someone stands up. A wobbly table becomes annoying fast. Look for a solid frame, legs that sit evenly on the floor and a top that does not flex when pressed.
If the table has a drawer, check that it opens smoothly and has a stop so it does not pull out completely. Look at how the legs attach to the top, since this is often where weaker tables loosen over time. Adjustable feet are useful in older homes where floors are rarely level.
Your first home is unlikely to be your last. The side table that sits beside your sofa now might become a bedside table in a future house, or a plant stand in a hallway. Designs with simple shapes and neutral finishes adapt far more easily than those built around a passing trend.
That does not mean choosing something dull. A table with an interesting base, a beautiful wood grain or a well judged colour can still be timeless. The key is to avoid designs so specific to one room or one look that they cannot be moved anywhere else.
For compact living rooms, a nest of tables is worth considering. Stacked together, they take up the space of a single table. Pulled apart, they give you two or three surfaces for guests, takeaways or games. This flexibility is especially useful in a first home where you may not yet have a dining table or much spare seating.
Our modern nest of tables UK range includes wood, glass and high gloss sets that tuck neatly beside a sofa.
Different kinds of first home bring different constraints. New build flats and houses often have open plan living areas with a kitchen at one end, so a side table may need to look good from several angles and cope with the occasional splash. Lighter finishes and simple shapes help these rooms feel spacious.
Older terraces and conversions tend to have alcoves, chimney breasts and uneven floors. Here, a narrow table that slots beside a chimney breast or into an alcove can be more useful than a wider design. Adjustable feet are especially valuable on old floorboards.
If you live in a flat with no lift, think about access as well. Smaller tables that arrive flat packed or in one compact piece are much easier to carry up stairs and through narrow doorways.
A few errors come up again and again with first side table choices.
If space is tight, one well chosen side table can do several jobs. Beside the sofa, it holds a lamp and drinks. Pulled in front of an armchair, it becomes a laptop perch. Moved beside a guest bed, it becomes a temporary nightstand. Lighter designs, or those with a handle or cutout, are easier to move around as needed.
In bedrooms where a full cabinet would feel heavy, a side table is often the better choice. Our guide to choosing a bedside cabinet for a small UK bedroom explores this in more detail, and our explanation of side table, end table and lamp table terms in the UK will help you understand the differences when you compare designs.
Once your side table is in place, it can guide other choices. Its finish can set the tone for a coffee table, a television unit or picture frames. Its height can help you decide on a lamp. Starting with a piece you love gives the rest of the room a reference point and helps your first home feel pulled together rather than assembled at random.
At Furniture in Fashion, we offer side tables in a broad range of sizes, finishes and styles, so you can find one that suits your first home and moves with you to the next.
A table around 40 centimetres across, with a height close to the sofa arm, suits most compact living rooms. Round tables are easier to move around in tight spaces.
It does not need to. Complementary finishes, such as oak with black metal, often look more relaxed than an exact match.
In most first homes, yes. A drawer or shelf gives useful extra storage without taking up more floor space.
Yes, as long as the height suits your bed. This makes side tables a flexible choice that can move between rooms as your needs change.
Solid wood and metal are both durable and forgiving. High gloss is easy to clean, while glass and marble need a little more care.
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