Perk up your room whatever the budget

The term coffee table doesn't accurately describe this multi-functional piece of furniture.

Buy right and what you have is everything from a bookshelf and useful storage to a footrest and display table, and, of course, somewhere to put your cuppa. There are plenty of options in this category, but the best feature shelves under the table top or have a sliding top that reveals easy-to-get at storage.

If you have plenty of space – and money – then something simple and beautiful like the wood with inlaid mother of pearl, from DN Designs, is perfect.

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If space is an issue, then invest in a perspex, acrylic or glass table, which is practical but unobtrusive and allows light through it.

Harrogate-based designers Naught One do a fantastic, contemporary Trace table, which costs 820. Muji does a clear acrylic table with built-in magazine rack, for 95.

There are lots of low-budget options, including the trusty and very sturdy Lack tables, from Ikea. These start at 4.99 for a basic version and rise to 22 for one with a shelf underneath.

Another characterful cost-cutter is the storage trunk. You can find these on eBay and in second-hand shops.

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If the lids are slightly uneven or slightly grubby, you can always have a piece of perspex or safety glass made to measure to stick on top, giving an even and practical wipe-clean surface.

The best make-do-and mend version of a coffee table I have seen was in the home of an interior designer.

She found a cheap, long-legged brown table for a fiver and chopped the legs in half.

She then gave it a coat of eggshell paint, covered it in decoupage and finished it with a coat of varnish.

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