End Table Angst

I remember being a newlywed, and having almost no furniture. We had the big stuff (just barely): a couch, a TV, a bed, a kitchen table. I had no: lamps, rugs, or end tables. And when friends came over who drank things, I soon realized the importance of an end table! If you're looking for an end table, here's a fun site with all kinds of them!  My VERY favorite one is actually a coffee table trunk.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Our first coffee table was Adam's dad's foot-locker from Vietnam.  Isn't that great?  It was beat up, and vaguely green.  I bought a can of mauve spray paint and gave it a make-over.  And after 4 babies, the paint was scratched and the trunk was mauve with green showing through.  When we had the money, we bought this:

It's been great, but it's the coffee table that the kids are growing up with.  Feet are propped on it.  Drinks are set on it.  Movies are watched on it.  We just had a game of Clue on it today :)  It's well used, and I've never told myself that it will look pristine.  I'm thinking I'll spring for that trunk I linked to above, after the kiddos are out of the house! Just in time for grandchildren? (BTW, Philip spray-painted the foot-locker black, and took it off to college. Three generations of men in the family have used that thing!)

But on to end tables.  Awhile back, I got this one, I think from TJ Maxx.  The top of it lifts right off, and can be used as a tray.

I love gate-leg anything.  I may have already posted about this little delight that I found at Salvation Army. If you have limited space, this kind of table is SO useful.  It can slip in anywhere (it's only about 6" or 7" wide), but if you open it up ...

... it's this big! Two people can set plates and cups on it.

Now that we have Bible studies at our house regularly, and serve snacks, I really need a table near each guest.  What's your favorite end table?