Coffee table hunting

My blogger friend (and former real life coworker) Lisa of ...just over the river put out the ABP for a new living room coffee table. Her adorable new dog Pilot has a habit of getting his toys stuck underneath their current coffee table, which leads to rug scratching and head clunking as he attempts to get the toys out. Worth a mention is that Lisa is not exactly super thrilled with their current coffee table so this pretty valid reason to get a new one has her excited.

I started to write a response to her coffee table APB when I realized that it was going to make for one super long comment. Which prompted me to switch the location of the response to here, with the suggestions I found that might work for her (and anyone else out there searching for a new coffee table).

Here are the requirements:

No or very little hang-over on the table top for dog safety
"Light and airy" (the current table is too "heavy" for the space)
Could have a bottom shelf but not too low
A durable top because "someone" forgets to use coasters and we put our feet up on the table
In the $200-ish range would be awesome
Could be glass or wood
Could be rustic with modern lines

And the following suggestions:

This Nate Burkus Glass Top Coffee table is funky and a little unexpected, but it would pair well with Lisa's living room style. The slim profile would also open up valuable eye square footage in her cape cod home. Plus, with a glass top glass marks will wipe up with ease!

Next up we have a coffee table that I love so much that I would make out with it behind the bleachers after school.

Hello Holbrook Coffee Table! It has the same look as Restoration Hardware's Brickmaker Table, for about 1/5 the cost. With the heavy top balanced out by a substantial,yet open bottom the table slides in as an"airy-ish" option. Plus the Holbrook also offers up a marriage of rustic and modern lines that was one of Lisa's wants for the style. Or at least its my interpretation of it rustically modern. Unfortunately the Holbrook is out of the set budget and the top might need some extra protection from the "someone" who forgets often use a coaster.

To make up for going over budget on the last table this one is way under. Check out this $99 special from JCPenny! It has a modern airy vibe, and plenty of room for dog toys to roll through underneath.

Squeee!! I love the Metal Accordion table from Urban Outfitters! From the flat square top down to the wee little feet of the table. Very open and airy, plus it is easy on the wallet with a non-budget busting price of $128!

There you go Lisa, all my suggestions. Now I know why we don't currently have a coffee table... finding "the" one is hard. Good luck and I hope this helped a bit!

Edit:

The over-budget Pottery Barn Tanner Coffee table is a fave of mine and a home blog staple.

You can replicate the look by grouping two of these metal and glass cocktail tables from Overstock.com. They had the cheapest price I've found for that look. Bonus is that if you ever get tired of using them as a coffee table they can be broken up and relocated to be used in a while slew of different places around the house.

If anyone has any more suggestions for Lisa, drop on over her blog and leave a comment!