A light table is a table that has a light incorporated into the table top. Generally this kind of a table is used by draftsmen for drawing, and by doctors to check x-rays, although more often than not they would use a light board for this.

A light table is very useful here because it throws up contrasts much better than if you had a general light on.

Lately, however, light tables have started being used for other purposes than purely practical ones. For example you get designer light tables that have been designed by large design houses. You also get simple night light tables that can double as a night light.

With LED’s becoming cheaper, you are also able to get light tables in any color you want, with some of them even offering different lights.

If you are the nerdy sort, you get light tables that can be controlled by your computer so that you can change the color to suit your mood. Imagine having your table swirl in different colors to the rhythm of your music, much like your music player does.

These light tables are actually very simple and can be made by you if you are a little handy with your hands. All it requires is a square of sturdy, translucent plastic material to serve as the table top, and a couple of lights installed below for you to have a reasonably effective light table.

In fact with LED’s costing less than a dollar apiece these days, you can purchase strips of whichever color LED light you like and connect them all together so that you can have whatever color you wish to.

To most of us having a light table may sound totally useless, but imagine having guests home for dinner. Everyone is sitting around your living room, having something to drink. This setting is nothing unusual and most of the time, everyone will be relaxing around a couple of sofas with a tea table in the center.

Just imagine how the whole thing will look if this tea table was a light table. You need not have a table lamp and the light table will give everyone the impression of sitting around a fire.

Or imagine having a small light table beside every chair where your guests can keep their glasses. If the light is sufficiently dim, the light table will allow them to find their glasses in the dark while still not spoiling the ambiance of the room.

There are a number of thing that you can do with a light table, and what can be done is limited only by the depth of your imagination. Just look at a few pictures online for ideas and who knows, you may want to have one yourself.