A coffee table, also called a cocktail table, is a style of long, low table which is designed to be placed in front of a sofa, to support beverages (hence the name), magazines, feet, books (especially coffee table books), and other small items to be used while sitting, such as coasters.
A low table, typically placed in front of a sofa
low table where magazines can be placed and coffee or cocktails are served
(Coffee Tables) While any small and low table can be, and is, called a coffee table, the term is applied particularly to the sets of three or four tables made from about 1790; of which the latter were called 'quartetto tables'.
An acrylic textile fiber
a glassy thermoplastic; can be cast and molded or used in coatings and adhesives
acrylic fiber: polymerized from acrylonitrile
used especially by artists
An acrylic paint
ensemble for a party
In preparing for a party, it was impossible to ignore that my apartment is set up to be inhabited by a single person, and there were no comfortable nodes of congregation for multiple human beings. A quick rearrange was in order. The slipper chair came from Goodwill ($36!), the acrylic table was free, and the loveseat I've been hauling around since Oak Island. In the corner you can see a Craigslist dresser in progress.
"found" furniture
The acrylic cover from an architectural model makes a great coffee table. The boss usually reuses these, but there are no models coming down the pipeline that will have a square base, so he gave the acrylic away rather than have it take up space at the office. Lucky me.