End Tables and Side Tables With Room for a Lamp and a Mug

Whatever you hold while sitting on the sofa needs somewhere to go, and an end table is that place: a mug, a book, the remote, a lamp to read by. A top that sits close to the height of the sofa arm makes the reach feel natural, so you can set a mug down without leaning.

Shape changes how a table works with the furniture around it. A C-shaped table slides its base under the sofa so the top hovers over your lap. A half-round one sits flat against a wall or the side of a chair. Nesting pairs pull apart when guests arrive, and a table with a drawer keeps the chargers and coasters out of sight. If the table will hold a table lamp, look for a top wide enough for the lamp’s base with space left over for a cup.

Tribesigns C-Shaped Wood End Table

Its base slides beneath the sofa or the bed, so the Tribesigns brings a laptop or a plate right over your knees, then pushes back to the side when you stand up. The C runs in one continuous band of wood grain, so the table looks like a single bent plank, a clean, sculptural shape in rustic brown or walnut.

It works as a breakfast tray in bed or a laptop desk beside a reading chair.

ALPOME Round Marble Side Table

A top of natural white marble, with veining that differs from one table to the next, sits on a slim brushed-gold cross base. The combination is pure 1960s glamour, and the slender frame keeps it light on the floor, which makes it a natural drinks table beside an armchair or a bath.

It arrives assembled, ready for a glass of wine the evening it comes out of the box.

HOMCOM Nesting End Tables With Basket Storage, Set of 2

Lift the wooden tops off these HOMCOM tables and each one becomes an open wire basket for throws, magazines, or toys. Put the lids back on and they are tables again.

Diamond-pattern black wire gives the pair an industrial look, and the smaller one tucks inside the larger when you need the floor. The tops double as trays for carrying snacks to the sofa, which is half the fun of them.

Tribesigns Round Two-Tier End Table

Curved black ribs arc from the base up to a round wood-look top, so the frame of this Tribesigns table becomes the decoration. A smaller shelf sits within the curve, a good place for a stack of paperbacks.

In rustic brown it suits a living room with leather and warm woods, and the open frame keeps it from looking heavy next to a big sofa.

MODERION Oval End Table With Drawer

The MODERION is a traditional table of the kind that stands beside a wingback chair in a library, with carved, turned legs, a cherry-walnut finish, and an inlaid sunburst on the top. The oval top leaves room for a lamp and a teacup together, and a full-width drawer keeps reading glasses and coasters out of sight.

It looks most at home with chintz, brass lamps, and a patterned rug.

HOMCOM Art Deco Faux Marble Side Table

This HOMCOM table has gold squares interlocking up its sides like an Art Deco screen, with a white marble-look top and a lower shelf. It is a glamorous little piece for a bedroom or a dressing area, where it can stand in for a nightstand and hold a lamp and a jewelry dish.

Against a dark green or navy wall, the gold lines stand out sharply.

Tribesigns Half-Round End Table

Flat on one side and curved on the other, the half-round table pushes against a wall or the arm of a sofa and leaves the walkway clear. It is designed to stand against something solid, which suits it to a hallway, the side of a bed, or the end of a sofa where a round table would jut out.

Rustic wood shelves on a slim black frame give it a light, workshop look.

CHIC TEAK Teak Nesting Side Tables, Set of 2

The tops of these tables are made from solid teak rounds, set so the end grain faces up, and the result looks like a mosaic of small logs, each with its own rings. Each pair is handmade, so no two tops match.

On black steel legs, the pair slides together when it is not needed and pulls apart for a party. They suit a modern room with a plain linen sofa, where the wood grain becomes the main pattern.

Tribesigns Rolling C Table With Outlets

Roll the Tribesigns up to the sofa on its locking casters and a laptop and a phone can charge where you sit, from the power outlet and USB ports built into the top. Part side table and part desk, its top rises from sofa height to standing height, and a keyboard tray slides out underneath.

That makes it useful in a small apartment where the living room is also the office.

HOMCOM Round Pedestal Side Table

A turned black pedestal under a round, pale gray top gives the HOMCOM the shape of a café table cut down to sofa height. The single column leaves room around the base for feet or a basket, and the gray and black contrast suits a farmhouse room as well as a modern one with painted floors.

It is light enough to carry to wherever a drink needs a place to land.

Tribesigns Three-Tier End Table With Ring Frame

In a small bedroom, the Tribesigns doubles as a nightstand, its stacked shelves holding a lamp on top, books in the middle, and a basket underneath. Two black rings stand up through the shelves, a playful geometric frame that keeps the industrial look from feeling stern.

Beside a sofa it does the same job, with room for a lamp and a stack of magazines.

HOMCOM End Table With Drawer and Shelf

A plain table in dark brown with square legs, the HOMCOM is a quiet piece for a guest room or a nursery, where it holds a lamp, a glass of water, and a drawer of small things. Its open shelf sits high off the floor, easy to sweep under and roomy enough for a basket of books.