The beverage coaster is a home accessory that is both personal, and social. Its existence is as a preventative agent, it protects your stuff from getting water damaged, and yet, it is also decorative, and can become part of the overall look and feel of your home. In the living room coasters should fulfill all of these functions.
The living room is by definition a social space. If you want to be alone you go to the bedroom, if you want to be amongst the house, amongst others, you go to the living room. So in this space, coasters should be first and foremost, social in nature.
There are a lot of ways to have social beverage coasters, depending on the ambiance you are trying to create. At the most basic form, you can go with pieces which are elegant, and tasteful, and which match and add to the overall decorative effect you are trying to create in the space.
Some examples of this include using modern glass or stainless steal coasters in a contemporary or even futuristic design. A more rustic setting should have hardwood, slate, or thatch whicker coaster sets.
Marble drink coasters of course straddle the line, being made from rustic natural materials, which are then refined and polished to have an upscale and stylish surface. This is an effect shared by certain polished hardwood sets as well.
While connecting through decorative beauty is nice, your coasters can be even more social by having some sort of personal relevance to a large number of people. This can be accomplished by purchasing coasters which have interesting, funny, or intriguing pictures and messages imprinted on them.
Many places even offer you the ability to print your own custom pictures directly onto sets of ceramic, sandstone, or cork coasters.
Some common social coaster designs include trivia questions, fun facts, inspirational works of famous art, clever saying about drinking, and pictures of your favorite things, be it animals, nature, places, or history. These coasters are all conversation pieces, and can help to get people talking about random interesting subjects.
One thing you should be aware of about coasters is that some people won’t remember to use them. Further, asking someone to please use a coaster can be a little grating. Nobody likes to be told what to do. For this reason, you should put coasters in a prominent place in the space, somewhere where people are likely to put down a glass. You should also purchase sets which tend to catch the eye. This can often be done just by using coasters which are a contrast from the regular colors in the room.
The coaster has a lot of purposes, and in a living room, it needs to fulfill all of those purposes in the most efficient and attractive way possible. One important thing to remember are the social aspects of this space, which require you to decorate using accessories which will tend to bring people together, and will help to create more conversation about topics.