Coffee tables are among the most useful pieces of furniture in the living room. You can use it to set down drinks and snacks while you’re watching TV; it’s a nice place to set down small items like speakers, books, and remotes; and you can put your feet up on it like an ottoman if you want a more relaxed posture.
What a coffee table doesn’t do well is let you hunker down for work or eat a proper dinner as their low height just doesn’t make for a comfortable surface to do either one. Try to do either on a coffee table and you’ll end up straining your neck and back as you hunch over uncomfortably for extended periods of time.
That’s where lift-top coffee tables come in, with their tabletops able to raise up to an elevated height, allowing you to take on a posture that more closely resembles your stance when you’re at a work desk or a dining table. Not only that, the lift-top design allows coffee tables to add hidden storage compartments, too, making them even more versatile.
These are some of our favorite lift-top coffee tables.
IKEA Trulstorp
IKEA may not make the most stunning furniture, but they work well, they hold up, and they get the job done. Not to mention, they make good and functional furniture that’s pretty affordable. As such, the outfit’s lift-top offering looks like the most boring coffee table you can imagine. On the upside, those simple looks make it pretty easy to put together, which is great for folks who have a hard time with flat-packed furniture. Despite the nondescript styling, you should be able to appreciate the handy flip-top function, which has the front half of the tabletop lifting off and pulling outwards in a near effortless manner. It’s very wide, too, with the pop-up section measuring 45.25 x 15 inches (width x depth), so there’s a lot of room to set down your food, drinks, or work gear.
Tangkula Modern Coffee Table
This contemporary-looking coffee table has a lower shelf divided into three columns, making it very handy for storage, while the simple minimalist styling should make it easy to integrate into most any living room. The entire tabletop, which measures 41 x 19.5 inches (width x depth) is able to raise up from 19 to 24.5 inches and move slightly forward, making for a stable surface that you can use for working, dining, or fiddling with your LEGOs. There’s also a storage compartment underneath for putting away stuff you’d rather not have strewn about in the living room. Construction is a mix between solid wood and chipboard parts, so while it’s not premium, it should be pretty sturdy.
Laurel Foundry Pavie Lift Top Floor Coffee Table
This coffee table looks like a giant tiered wooden toolbox with a rustic finish, ensuring it’s going to make for a striking presence sitting in the middle of your living room. Of course, it’s not just a good-looking piece, as the tabletop is connected to a lift-top hinge that elevates it from 16.3 inches to 23.4 inches, all while moving it closer to the couch by about seven inches. It has a large storage compartment under the lift-top that’s divided into two sections, as well as open lower shelves on either side, so there’s plenty of room to stash your gear. The big downside here is that the whole thing is cut in MDF, so it’s not going to be as sturdy as something built out of solid wood, which, of course, explains the rather affordable price.
Latitude Run Kevondrick Lift Top Coffee Table
Picturing a square-shaped coffee table to be a better fit for the living room setup you’ve got compared to the more common wide profile pieces? Try this one, which measures 31.2 x 31.5 x 19 inches (depth x width x height) and brings a decidedly urban styling that looks fit for city living. Half of the tabletop pops up and out, elevating it to a 25-inch height, while revealing spacious dual-section storage compartments underneath. It’s also got a pair of cubbies in the back and a full undivided shelf at the bottom for open storage, so this table is a veritable treasure trove for organizing your stuff. Construction is plywood and laminate board.
Orren Ellis Delrio Lift Top Trestle Coffee Table
We love the decidedly modern look of this coffee table, which pairs a boxy body with geometric metal legs that give it a contemporary flair. The all-white finish give it a subtle style that works well for blending into smaller spaces and erstwhile busy living rooms alike, too. It measures 39.25 x 25.5 x 14.5 inches (width x depth x height), with the entire top able to elevate upwards by almost 10 inches to let you get to work comfortably while you’re plopped down on the couch. The hidden storage is pretty generous, too, allowing you to stash a good load of stuff within easy reach.
West Elm Industrial Storage Pop-Up Coffee Table
Half of this coffee table’s wooden top can be raised up from 18 to 25 inches in height, turning it into a handy desk that you can use comfortably while sitting in the couch. Because only half of the top actually pops up, you don’t have to remove everything on the coffee table, as you can simply push them to the back half. It comes in two sizes (36 inches or 50 inches in width) and four finishes, each one combining a solid mango wood body and blackened steel legs, creating an industrial vibe that should easily fit right into most modern living rooms. The table also has spacious storage with a total area of 32 x 22 x 6.5 inches (width x depth x height) underneath the top, allowing you hide a whole load of clutter out of the way.
Naya Pop-Up Coffee Table
Want something with a clean, mid-century aesthetic? Check out this oh-so-refined-looking Urban Outfitters exclusive, which brings faceted detailing all around the body to really dial in that 1950s feel. The front half of the tabletop pops up and hinges outward, giving you an elevated 38-inch wide surface for comfortable desk use while you’re on the couch, apart from revealing a spacious storage space underneath. Construction is a mix of acacia wood, eucalyptus wood, and MDF. Seriously, this table looks charming as heck.
Salamanca Solid Wood Storage Lift-Top Coffee Table
This coffee table combines solid bamboo construction (20 percent harder than red oak) with mid-century aesthetics, turning out a piece of furniture that’s good-looking, sturdy as heck, and will likely last you for the long haul. Half of the tabletop effortlessly lifts up from 16 inches to 25 inches, with an outward hinge that brings it much closer to your spot on the couch. It’s finished on all sides and retains all the natural wood grain, making for a quite the stunning addition to any living space.
