Whether you're looking for a place to rest your feet after a long day at work or a stylish piece of furniture to add some sophistication and a modern flair to your living room, contemporary coffee tables can deliver. From wood to metal to glass, and every shape and size you can imagine, there's a contemporary coffee table that's just right for your home.

We all remember the clunky, oversized coffee tables that resided in our parent's or grandparent's homes. Heck, some of you still have one. These impossibly heavy pieces had drawers everywhere, stuffed with odds and ends ranging from playing cards to three-year-old TV Guides, and everything in between. In fact, the weight of these old tables probably had more to do with all the junk they housed than the actual piece itself. Modern coffee tables couldn't be more different. These new pieces are light and airy, with open spaces and sleek designs that could sometimes pass for a work of art. Better find someplace else to store your junk.

Wood is still a key component in many contemporary coffee table designs. It ages well and is easy to clean and maintain. The finishes you find nowadays do differ from those in past, however. Dark, rich espressos and clean, pale natural finishes have replaced the mahogany and cherry finishes for the most part. While standard rectangle and square designs are still commonplace, some inventive and quirky styles have emerged lately. Asymmetrical shapes and interchangeable sectional pieces, to name a few, are available for those trend setters out there.

Glass table tops became popular in the 80's and have remained a staple material for modern designers as well. Glass tops allow the base to be accentuated and in may cases to become the focal point of the table. Like wood tables, glass coffee tables can be found in all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, they still haven't invented a glass that doesn't show dust and fingerprints, so these works of art need to be cleaned every couple of days.