We all struggle to keep our spaces clean, while living in smaller spaces where the room has a dual function. The tables in your home function as more than just places to put dishes: most of them can also serve as gathering spaces for projects. The problem is that they are also largely immovable, but being able to move them out of the way may instantly reactivate your space. If you move your coffee table to one side, you now have a larger party space and a console table for snacks; the same as your kitchen table or even your kitchen island. The solution? Casters.
Rollers on the bottom of office chairs can be bought and mounted on almost anything, including footstools, coffee tables, and even sofas. They don’t have to look as practical as your office chair, either. They come in a variety of styles. _ Adding casters to my coffee table means I can easily get to the dog toy hidden underneath it, makes it easier for my Roomba to do its thing, and most importantly, lets me actually wash my washable carpet because I can go over it more easily.
I chose old-fashioned casters for this apothecary table so I could reach out from the couch and drag my coffee closer to me without having to get up, and my dog could reach the giant tennis ball magnet underneath it.
I chose old-fashioned casters for this apothecary table so I could reach out from the couch and drag my coffee closer to me without having to get up, and my dog could reach the giant tennis ball magnet underneath it.
Photo: Amanda Blum
To install, all you need is a drill and your casters. Make sure you choose casters that are appropriate for the weight of your furniture, and ideally, you’ll need casters that can be locked into place.
Turn the furniture over, secure the caster brackets to the legs you want, and use a marker to mark the location of the holes. You always want to pre-drill the holes rather than just trying to screw in the casters because you don’t want it to split the wood. Also, remember that when placing the casters, you want to make sure they are far enough away from the outer edges of the furniture so that your toes don’t touch them. In fact, you can place them far enough away from the edge that they become invisible
