How Furniture Casters Can Make Any Furnishing Multifunctional

By Amanda Sims

Coffee tables, sofas, kitchen islands, baskets—they're all perfectly functional items, but what if they could do more (and look even spiffier while doing it)? Enter furniture casters. Otherwise known as swivel-y little wheels that can be affixed right to the feet of an existing piece—think office chair wheels, but chic—they are available in every silhouette imaginable, from vintage-inspired and cast in brass to more modern interpretations. Add four or even just two to a piece and marvel at the transformation: furnishings that can be slid right across the floor (without hurting the hardwood), a dash more stylish than they were before.

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The addition of furniture casters won't just change the piece, it will change the room: Pop them onto that coffee table and glide it away to nightstand mode whenever you want to open up the sleeper sofa. Turn a cool chair into a swiveling home office chair you actually want to look at. Watch as baskets turn into laundry hampers you can scoot. Stick them under a simply upholstered box spring you'd like to use as a day bed. Or add just two to the front legs of an ordinary sofa and feel like you totally beat the system, you genius you (and, yes, move it around with slightly more ease).

SHOP NOW: Solid Brass Round Cup Caster With Brass Wheel by House of Antique Hardware, Inc., $32, amazon.com

SHOP NOW: Ball Caster Wheel in Black by SWET, $17 for a set of four, amazon.com

SHOP NOW: InterMetro 3" Caster by the Container Store, $15, amazon.com

Furthermore, installation is easy peasy. Depending on the size and style you choose, casters can be applied to the feet of an existing piece with either a few blasts from a power drill or a little glue or sticker power. Consider scale in addition to mechanism when you purchase them: Do you want large and flashy wheels that will lend a whole lot of look, or a tiny wheel that nearly disappears under the base? Orb-like ball bearings or more traditional tiny cart wheels? Swiveling castors or straight-line scooters? Options abound, so take your time digging for the perfect fit and then get moving.

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SHOP NOW: Brass Solid Brass Caster by A29, $25 for a set of four, amazon.com

SHOP NOW: Reproduction Vintage Wood and Steel Caster by Vintage Hardware & Lighting, $8, vintagehardware.com

SHOP NOW: Planet Series 2 1/2-Inch Metal Wheel Caster by Shepherd, $9, amazon.com