GS-Madrid Coffee Table: block base versus a cross base

The GS-Madrid Coffee Table is listed with a block base that blends silver and gold finishes, under a marble top, at 120 x 60 x 45cm. The listing says each table has a unique marble top and that the metallic elements are meant to pick up the natural veining. The size is shared with several other tables we supply, so the base is the real decision, and a block base behaves differently from legs.

What a block base changes

• Foot room. A solid base takes up space under the table that a leg would leave open. The listing does not say whether the block runs the length of the table or sits at each end, so if you habitually put your feet up, or wanted a footstool underneath, check the photographs and ask us rather than assume it will fit.
• The floor underneath. A block sits on a larger area of floor than a leg does. On a wooden or tiled floor, ask us what the base sits on before it is dragged into position, and move it by lifting rather than sliding.
• Visual weight. A block reads as heavier and more grounded than four thin legs. In a small room that can be welcome, because the table looks like a piece of furniture rather than a frame; in a crowded room it can be the thing that makes the floor look full.
• Hoovering. You clean around a block rather than between legs, which most people find easier.

The figures, exactly as listed

Read as length, depth and height, 120cm suits a sofa of roughly 180cm to 240cm, and 45cm is about level with a typical seat cushion. Leave about 40cm of clear floor in front of the sofa, which puts the working footprint near 200cm along the length. The listing does not label the figures, so ask us to confirm them if one direction is tight.

Ordering a unique top sensibly

Because the top is described as unique, the photographs show one real table rather than the pattern you will be sent. If the veining matters to you, ask us for pictures of the actual piece before it leaves. The listing does not say whether the marble is natural stone or a marble-effect surface, and gives no thickness or cleaning advice, so put those questions to us rather than taking a view from a blog post.

Delivery and the route in

No weight is given, and a solid base under a hard top this size is not something to carry on your own. Measure the doorways and any stair turn on the way in, not just the room. Have somebody with you when it arrives and check the top edges before the packaging is thrown out. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.

The nearest alternatives

For the same mixed metals on a cross base rather than a block, see the GS-Lucy Coffee Table. For a single gold metal with a ceramic top there is the G-Jessica Coffee Table, and for a chrome frame with a choice of marble or ceramic, the Chelsea Coffee Table. They sit together in Coffee Tables.

When your measurements are done, the GS-Madrid Coffee Table page carries the photographs and the order form.