Torino Coffee Table: 90 x 55 x 50cm and what to ask first

The Torino Coffee Table has a short listing: one size, 90 x 55 x 50cm, and no description beyond it. Rather than dress that up, this post does the two useful things. It works out what that size suits, and it sets out exactly what you should ask the shop, because the listing answers none of it.

The one figure set, as listed

The figures are printed unlabelled. They read as width, depth and height, and on that reading the 50cm figure is 5cm more than the 45cm height listed on the larger tables linked below. Ask the shop to confirm which figure is the height before you measure anything to it.

What 90 x 55 suits

• Smaller rooms and two-seat sofas. At 90cm it is 30cm shorter than the 120cm tables linked below, which is the difference between a table that reads as central and one that leaves a bay window or a doorway clear.
• Tighter walkways. The 55cm depth buys back a few centimetres of passing room in front of the seating. If your route past the sofa is the problem, that is where it helps.
• Taller seating. The 50cm figure is higher than the 45cm height those larger tables are listed at. Measure from your floor to the top of your own seat cushion, with someone sitting on it, and see how the two compare. Higher can be easier to eat or work at, and it can look wrong beside a low-slung sofa, so this one is worth checking rather than assuming.
• Marking it out. Put the 90 x 55 outline on the floor in masking tape and leave it overnight. It costs nothing and settles the question.

What the listing does not say

Honestly: almost everything. There is no material, no finish, no colour, no top thickness, no weight, no word on whether it comes assembled. The nine photographs on the product page are the only guide to how it looks, and a photograph cannot tell you what a top is made of. So before you order, ask the shop to confirm:

• what the top and the base are made of, and the finish on each
• which figure is the height, and the footprint of the base
• whether it arrives assembled or needs fixings
• the current lead time

If you are trying to match other pieces that share the Torino name, ask whether they carry the same finish. This listing does not describe its own finish at all, so nobody should promise you that it matches.

The alternatives at this size

Across coffee tables, several of the other tables are listed at a larger 120 x 60 x 45cm, so the comparison is mostly about whether you want the smaller footprint:

• the Siena Coffee Table is 120 x 60 x 45cm with an oak effect top and black legs, and its listing does describe the finish
• the Venice Coffee Table is the same 120 x 60 x 45cm with a ceramic top on black legs
• the SG-Lewis Coffee Table is the dressier option at that larger size, on a gold frame with a marble or ceramic top

Delivery is free within 50 miles of the Glasgow store and £50 beyond. The Torino Coffee Table page has the full photograph set and an enquiry button, which is the right place to get the material and the height confirmed in writing before you buy.