Marble side table made to your measurements

What kinds of marble side tables can you have made?

We make a marble side table for any spot in the home: beside a sofa or armchair, in the hall or behind the sofa as a console, next to the bed as a bedside table, under the TV as a TV stand, or in the study as a desk. The size and shape follow your measurements, so a console can fill a recess exactly and a bedside table can match the height of your bed. You give us the measurements, choose the marble style, thickness, edge and finish, and tell us what kind of base you want. The measuring guide explains what to measure, and in the quote request you can describe your idea and attach photos.

Every piece is unique, for two reasons. It is made to your measurements, and marble is natural stone, so its veining and shade differ from slab to slab and even within one slab. The Finnish stone industry association says lively colour and structure are characteristic of natural stone, so the finished table will not look exactly like a photo or like another table.

How high should a side table next to a sofa be?

Next to a sofa, a side table top should sit at roughly the height of the armrest. A British interiors guide puts it within about 5 cm of the arm height and gives typical sofa arm heights of 60-80 cm. An American dimensions reference gives the same rule and arm heights of 61-81 cm. Leave a few centimetres between the table and the sofa.

The top can be round, square, oval or a half-moon that tucks in against the side of the sofa. On a small table the stone does not reach far beyond its base: a 45 cm top on a central base 25 cm wide overhangs by 10 cm, while the recommended maximum for 2 cm stone is about 15 cm.

Marble console table: size and safety

A console table is always sized to its spot: measure the width of the wall or recess, leave room to walk past in front, and think about what will stand on it. Made to measure, a console can be exactly as narrow as the hallway needs and exactly as long as the wall allows. A 120 × 35 cm top, for example, weighs about 23 kg at 2 cm thick.

A heavy stone top on a slim frame makes a console top-heavy. Tukes, the Finnish safety agency, recommends fixing chests of drawers and shelves to the wall so they cannot tip over even when a small child climbs on them, and Health Canada advises securing furniture to a wall stud or with heavy-duty fixings. Tell us in your quote request if the console will stand on a narrow frame or if there are small children at home, and we will explain the options.

Marble bedside table

A bedside table works best with its top level with, or slightly below, the top of the mattress. According to an American dimensions reference, bedside tables are usually 51-71 cm high depending on the bed and mattress, and they stand about 5 cm from the edge of the mattress or bed frame. So measure the height of your mattress top from the floor and include it in your quote request.

On a bedside table, marble meets water glasses, cosmetics and oils. The Natural Stone Institute says cosmetics and oils darken stone, so coasters and trays are a good habit. If you want a matching pair, order both at the same time: the shade of natural stone varies from slab to slab, and planned together the two tables match best.

Marble TV stand: width, height and load

In practice, a TV stand should be at least as wide as the TV. An American dimensions reference says the screen’s diagonal should be at most about 20 cm larger than the width of the stand, so a 65-inch (165 cm) TV needs a stand at least about 145 cm wide. The same source puts the centre of the screen at about 107 cm from the floor for someone sitting on a typical sofa. The height of the stand is therefore about 107 cm minus the height of the TV’s foot and half the screen height: for one maker’s 55-inch model, that means a stand about 65 cm high.

The frame decides how much the stand can carry, because it holds the stone, the TV and the devices. If the top extends beyond the frame at the sides, keep the overhang short, no more than about 15 cm for 2 cm stone. The TV’s foot also needs depth: one maker’s 55- and 65-inch models have a foot 26.5 cm deep, so the top must be deeper than that. Fix the TV and the stand to the wall, because the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says anchoring prevents TVs and furniture from tipping over. Cable holes and other cut-outs are written into the order confirmation.

Marble desk

Choose the desk height so that your forearms are roughly level on the keyboard or the desk, as the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health advises. An American dimensions reference gives an average desk height of 71-76 cm, and the institute’s example of a good workstation has a 120 × 80 cm computer desk. If you want a sit-stand desk, tell us which frame you have in mind: a 120 × 80 cm stone top weighs about 52 kg at 2 cm thick, so check the frame’s load rating in its maker’s specifications.

Marble conducts heat more than ten times better than oak, so the top feels cooler under your forearms than wood does. For a desk, consider a honed finish, which reflects light more softly than a polished one.

Is a side table real marble or a look-alike?

Always check what the top is made of in the product details, because the word marble in a product name, such as “marble side table”, tells you nothing about the material. In Finnish shops, a table named “marmori” may have a top of ceramic on MDF, or MDF printed with a marble pattern. Weight is a good clue: a marble top 40 cm across and 2 cm thick weighs about 7 kg on its own, and stone feels cool to the touch. The full checklist is on the marble coffee table page.

Which marble style suits a side table?

You choose three things: colour, veining and finish. A small top shows only a piece of the slab’s pattern, so even bold veining stays calm, and in a pair of bedside tables or a console the same stone ties the room together. From Iran come, for example, cream and ivory marble, beige with reddish and yellowish veins, silver grey and dark grey with fine white veins, and black either with white veins or nearly uniform. Tell us what style you would like and we will suggest suitable stones. Colours and vein types are covered in the guide to marble types and colours, and the origin of the stone on the Iranian marble page.

How much does a small marble table weigh?

A marble top weighs about 2.7 kg per square metre for every millimetre of thickness, so a 2 cm top weighs about 54 kg/m². The figure comes from the density of marble, which published measurements put at about 2,640-2,770 kg/m³.

The weights are for the top alone; the base comes on top of that. When the piece is ready, we agree a day with you and come to install it.

Base, edge and finish

The base is a question of both looks and weight. A marble base makes the table solid and heavy, a metal or wooden frame is lighter and leaves more floor visible, and a pedestal suits a round top as long as the overhang stays short. A conservative guide from an American stone tool supplier allows about 15 cm of overhang for 2 cm stone and about 20-25 cm for 3 cm marble. Describe the base you would like in your quote request and we will tell you the options.

For the edge you can choose, for example, straight, bevelled or rounded. The edges and corners of stone tops can chip when knocked, and a rounded edge is safer than a square one, which is worth remembering next to a bed or along a walkway. For the finish, polished, honed or brushed all work: polished brings out the colour, honed shows scratches less, and brushed is matt and velvety.

How do you care for a small marble table?

Wipe the surface with a neutral stone cleaner or mild washing-up liquid, rinse and dry. Use coasters for glasses and cups, blot spills instead of wiping them across, and avoid acidic cleaners, because lemon, vinegar and other acids etch marble. The Finnish stone industry association recommends marble mainly for interiors. Stain removal and sealing are covered in the guide to marble cleaning and care.

What makes up the price, and how does ordering work?

The price depends most on the size and thickness of the top, the stone, the edge profile, any cut-outs, the base and installation. The exact price is calculated from your measurements and choices, and you see it in the quote.

Ordering works like this: you send your measurements and wishes, you receive a quote, and before making starts you receive an order confirmation listing the measurements, stone, thickness, edges and cut-outs. You check it and accept it in writing. Payment terms are given in the quote and the order confirmation. Making takes about 6 weeks, because nothing is in stock: every piece is made to order from Iranian marble to your measurements. When the piece is ready, we agree a day and come to install it. The steps are described in more detail on how to order.

Can a made-to-measure table be returned?

A made-to-measure table cannot be returned, because it is made to the measurements and choices you give us. Goods like this have no 14-day right of withdrawal under the Finnish Consumer Protection Act (chapter 6, section 16(1)(3)). That is why, before making starts, you receive an order confirmation listing the measurements, stone, thickness, edges and cut-outs, and accept it in writing. You can still cancel the order before delivery, and you then pay the costs the cancellation has actually caused us, such as stone already cut for you and work already done (chapter 5, sections 25 and 28). Liability for defects applies as normal: you can always report a defect within two months of noticing it, you choose whether the table is repaired or replaced, and under the law faulty installation counts as a defect in the product. We do everything we can to make sure you are happy with the result. The full terms are in our order terms.