# Office Coffee Tables: Heights, Tops and Layout > Choosing office coffee tables: the height that works with soft seating, tops that survive rings, weight ratings and the reception cluster that works. A buying guide from the Deskwell Gazette, linked… - URL: https://deskwell.co.uk/coffee-and-side-tables-the-supporting-cast-of-soft-seating - Type: Blog post - Last updated: 2026-09-01 ## About this post - Written by Emma - Published 2026-10-13 - Tagged Office Design, Office Tables ## Article Every sofa needs somewhere to put the mug. It sounds obvious. It is also the thing most breakout orders miss. The seating gets chosen with care and the office coffee tables get added at the end, if at all, and then someone balances a laptop on the arm of a £700 sofa. Coffee and side tables are the supporting cast. They do not get the photo. They do get used more than anything else in the room. Here is what to check. ## Height comes first The height has to work with the seat. Most office sofas sit between 42cm and 46cm. A coffee table at roughly the same height means you can reach a cup without leaning, and a laptop sits where you can type on it. Lower than that and it becomes a footstool. Higher and it is a desk. The [Impulse round coffee table with metal frame](https://deskwell.co.uk/impulse-round-coffee-table-with-metal-frame) is 48.5cm high, which suits nearly every sofa we sell. The [Brixworth round coffee table with weighted disc base](https://deskwell.co.uk/brixworth-round-coffee-table-with-weighted-disc-base) runs from 47.5cm up to 72cm depending on the option, so the same base can do coffee height beside a sofa or table height beside a bench. Check the height on the spec table before you check the colour. Low tables have a place too. The [Neo round upholstered coffee table](https://deskwell.co.uk/neo-round-black-upholstered-coffee-table) is 37.5cm and 6kg, and it goes with the Neo tub chairs it was designed for. It is fine for a cup and a magazine in reception. It is not a laptop table. ## Tops that survive rings Coffee gets spilt. Cups get left. A breakout table top needs to wipe clean and shrug off heat marks, which rules out anything precious. Our two mainstream ranges use a 25mm MFC top on the Impulse and a 20mm laminate top on the Brixworth. Both wipe. The Brixworth comes in white or black. The Impulse comes in white, oak, walnut, beech, maple and grey oak, so it can match the desks. Weight capacity matters more than people think. The Impulse takes 80kg and the Brixworth 100kg, which is somebody perching on the edge during a stand-up. The [Solstice two-tier round coffee table](https://deskwell.co.uk/solstice-two-tier-round-coffee-table) takes 20kg, because it is a 12mm MDF top on a sled frame. It looks lovely. Do not sit on it. Check the height on the spec table before you check the colour. ## The reception cluster that just works Reception is where a side table earns its keep. Two tub chairs, one low round table between them, and enough gap to walk past. That is the whole recipe. In a bigger reception, three chairs around one 80cm Impulse round works better than a long sofa with a table at one end, because everyone can reach it. A few rules we follow when we plan one: - One table per two seats. More than that and someone is always out of reach. - Round beats square where people walk past. No corners at shin height. - Weighted bases stay put. The Brixworth disc base weighs 34kg to 37kg on its own, which is why it does not drift across the floor when someone knocks it. - Match the frame to the sofa legs, not the table top. Black frame with black legs, white with white. The top can be anything. If you are buying seating at the same time, our [office sofas and soft seating](https://deskwell.co.uk/shop/categories/office-sofas-soft-seating) category lists the seat height of every piece, so you can pair them on paper before either arrives. The Impulse round coffee table. 48.5cm high, which is the height that works. ## Guarantees and the paperwork Every Impulse and Brixworth coffee table comes with a ten year guarantee on the structure. That covers the frame and the top. Rings from a hot cup are not a defect, and no supplier will treat them as one, so if that bothers you buy a darker top or put a coaster on it. Delivery is flat-pack and free as standard, with the delivered-by date on the product page before you order. Assembly on a coffee table is a base, a top and four bolts. If you would rather it arrived built, the pre-assembled option is priced next to the product. The whole range is on our [coffee and side tables](https://deskwell.co.uk/shop/categories/coffee-side-tables) page. If you want the tops to match a set of desks, the [oak office tables](https://deskwell.co.uk/oak-office-tables) page pulls together everything in that finish, coffee tables included, so you are not checking swatches one product at a time. It is a small purchase. Get the height right and nobody will ever mention it, which is the best outcome a coffee table can hope for.