Outdoor Coffee & Side Tables

As a general guide, an outdoor coffee table works best sitting close to the height of your sofa or lounge seat cushions. This keeps drinks, books and platters easy to reach from a seated position without leaning down. If a table sits much higher or lower than the seat, it can feel awkward to use, so it is worth checking your sofa's seat height before choosing.

A coffee table is lower and larger, designed to sit at the centre of a seating group as a shared surface. A side table is smaller and usually a little taller, designed to sit beside a single chair or at the end of a sofa, close to hand for a drink or a book. Many lounges use both, with a coffee table anchoring the centre and side tables filling in beside the seating.

A good starting point is to choose a coffee table around two-thirds the length of the sofa it sits in front of, leaving enough space to move around it comfortably. As a general guide, allow around 30 to 45 centimetres between the sofa and the coffee table, close enough to reach easily without crowding the space. Measure your seating area first, and consider a smaller or round table for compact spaces.

The best material depends on the look you want and how exposed your space is. Teak brings natural warmth and ages beautifully. Powder-coated aluminium is light, rust-resistant and low-maintenance, which suits coastal sites. Glass-fibre reinforced concrete and stone-look tops are hard-wearing and add an architectural feel. Woven and mixed-material designs bring texture. Each performs well in the New Zealand climate.

Yes. Many of our designs come as both a coffee table and a matching side table, so you can style them together for a cohesive look. Each piece is sold individually, which means you can choose one or both, or mix designs across your lounge. Our team can help you pair pieces that work well together.

A nesting table is a set of two tables where a smaller table tucks neatly under a larger one, so you can pull it out for extra surface when you need it and slide it away to save space when you do not. Our Jati Kebon Burford is available as a nesting design in both round and square, a flexible choice for spaces that need to adapt.

In most cases, yes. Teak, powder-coated aluminium, glass-fibre reinforced concrete and stone-look tops are all made to stay outdoors year-round. A regular clean helps prevent dirt and grime settling in, and in exposed or coastal spots, a little extra care goes a long way. For the full care routine by material, see our outdoor furniture care guide.