The 12 Best Rectangular Coffee Tables — Classic Designs at Affordable Prices, Curated by a Shopping Editor

The best rectangular coffee tables are well-made, well-priced, and oh-so-stylish. Livingetc Style Editor Brigid Kennedy has tracked down her favorites to make your search that much easier.

rectangular coffee tables on a colorful background
(Image credit: West Elm, Crate and Barrel, Anthropologie, Castlery, West Elm)

There is something so brilliantly classic about a rectangle coffee table — a shape we all know and love, a silhouette that works in every room. It's as timeless as an Eames chair, as stylish as a Togo sofa, and as dependable as a Chesterfield. It's at once an old fail-safe and a stylish reinvention. And today, it is the subject of a brand new shopping edit from yours truly, style editor Brigid Kennedy.

As I continue my quest to uncover all of the best coffee tables from the best home decor brands, this variation on the theme has stood out to me as perhaps the most enjoyable, if not the most recognizable. I also have quite the affinity for rectangular coffee tables, considering I grew up with a glass-topped wicker piece in my living room (I also once broke said glass with my head, but that's a story for another time).

'In interior design, the coffee table stands as a versatile centerpiece, blending functionality with aesthetic appeal,' said Nina Lichtenstein, founder and principal designer at Custom Homes by Nina Lichtenstein. It's quite true — a good coffee table can anchor your entire living room, and I think you'll love what I've got to show you today.

Prepare your space for some changes, because a new table is on its way!

12 of the best rectangular coffee tables

Livingetc knows design. We spend hours testing and comparing the latest products, bringing only our edit of the very best to you. Find out more about how we review.

In what kind of room should you use a rectangular coffee table?

Rectangular or square coffee tables are best in 'larger living areas or open-plan spaces where they can anchor seating arrangements and provide ample surface area for functionality,' Nina told me. 'Their linear shapes complement contemporary interiors, offering clean lines and defined boundaries.'

Plus, they're 'perfect for showcasing decorative objects, arranging books or magazines, and serving as a focal point in spacious rooms.'

Brigid Kennedy
Writer

Brigid Kennedy is a freelance writer and former style editor for Livingetc.com, where she scoured the internet for the best and most stylish deals on home decor and more. She also served as the website's in-house sofa expert, completely revamping and reworking Livingetc's expansive sofa buying guide by interviewing a total of 17 interior designers and sofa experts at top brands like Article and Benchmade Modern; sitting on upwards of 50 sofas across both Pittsburgh and New York City; extensively polling her friends and family for their own sofa-buying anecdotes and product recommendations; and traveling to Dallas, Texas, to tour the floor of a couch factory. In total, she estimates she has spent 40+ hours (and counting!) reading, writing, and talking about couches with accredited sofa connoisseurs o then pass that knowledge on to you. She describes her personal design style as colorful and clean, and in her free time enjoys reading, watching movies, and curating impossibly niche playlists on Spotify. She recently relocated from Manhattan to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she's decorating and DIYing a new home downtown.