Splurge or Save: Glass Coffee Tables

It's time for another installment of one of my favorite games... splurge or save. This week, we're talking coffee tables.  What is it about this week??  The theme here seems to be "living room inspiration"... I just can't get enough!  Well I'm going with it, to let's talk about glass topped coffee tables, shall we?

I love a good glass top coffee table - super elegant, and simultaneously modern and traditional.  Clean lines, but a bit feminine at the same time...

Can you guess which is the splurge and which is the save??

I think these are perfect if you have an amazing rug you don't want to hide, or a smaller space that you want to visually open up... since you can see straight through them, they sort of fade away and let other elements in your living space shine...

They are also really easy to clean which is a bonus (Windex and a paper towel), but not ideal for a house of kids (cracked head anyone?) or for a pack rat.  You've got to be able to keep it clean and orderly for it to work in your space so if you're looking to store 3 years of Pottery Barn catalogs on the lower shelf, go for something with concealed storage.

Are you ready for the reveal?

Admittedly, if you are looking to really save, a glass topped coffee table isn't going to be the least expensive option out there, but cut glass never is... if you're willing to put a little elbow grease into a DIY project though, there is an amazing tutorial by Kristen of The Hunted Interior.

She recreated a VERY similar coffee table, using gold leaf, and an Ikea coffee table. Who doesn't love a good Ikea hack too?!

Gorgeous, right??

Happy Wednesday my friends!
xo