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How To Style a Coffee Table
A coffee table is more than just a functional piece of furniture. Styled the right way, it can bring the whole room together.
How you arrange and decorate your coffee table says a lot about your living room’s personality and style. Modern coffee table decor should reflect your everyday lifestyle while adding the finishing touches that make your space feel polished, appealing, and personable.
So, where do you start when approaching coffee table decor? Let’s explore the basics of how to decorate a coffee table.
6 Ways To Style a Coffee Table
Ever wished your coffee table could look as good as the manicured tablescapes in a magazine? With the right tips in mind, styling a coffee table doesn’t have to be complicated.
Here are six coffee table decor ideas to take your room's style to the next level.
1. Form a Grid
Placing items haphazardly across the table can make it feel cluttered and disorganized. To keep your coffee table clean and streamlined, try forming a grid.
Use painter's tape to divide your table into separate sections. Then, start positioning objects within these sections and experiment with placement until you strike the perfect balance.
2. Use Decorative Storage
Coffee table items are meant to be both functional and decorative, but too many smaller items can quickly turn the table into a cluttered mess. Decorative storage lets you contain that clutter without disrupting the aesthetics of your room's design.
Use decorative storage boxes to stash away items like remotes, cords, coasters, and more. Trays can also be a practical and stylish method for organizing items you don’t mind showcasing, like matches, small sculptures, candles, wooden beads, flower arrangements, and more.
3. Vary the Height
If all your coffee table decorations are placed at the same height, the design loses visual appeal. To create a more attention-grabbing display, experiment with different heights and scales.
For example, place something tall, like a vase full of flowers, next to something flat and broad, like a stack of magazines.
4. Play With Texture
A coffee table with only clean, smooth objects can appear flat and uninteresting. To make your coffee table the focal point of your living room, you need to explore the art of layering.
With textured decor, you can build layers of colors, patterns, and textures to give viewers a more engaging tactile experience. Think about design elements like knitted decor, woven runners, potted foliage, crystals, and more.
5. Add a Pop of Greenery
Bringing nature into your home with coffee table decor can add visual interest to your display. If you want to keep a contemporary, clean look for your coffee table, simple items like a piece of driftwood or a bowl of preserved moss will work well.
For more complex nature displays, there’s no limit to what you can include. Think flowers, potted plants or succulents, or even a DIY terrarium.
6. Think About Season
Who says your coffee table must remain the same year-round? As the centerpiece of your living room, the coffee table is the perfect space to feature seasonal decor. You can keep some items the same while rotating others.
For example, nothing says fall like a pumpkin, gourd, or bowl of candy corn. Summer style can mean adding a seashell or a stack of beachy books. When spring comes around, think about adding fresh floral elements like tulips.
How To Style a Coffee Table by Shape
If you arrange objects on your coffee table at random, you might notice that something about the layout doesn't feel right. Maybe an object feels missing, or the display just looks overloaded and unbalanced.
Each coffee table has a unique shape, and with every shape comes a different formula — a recommended way to accent the table's shape. These guiding formulas can help you identify the style that works best with your coffee table.
Round or Oval
The round or oval shape is the best coffee table for small spaces. However, it also generally offers less surface area.
For a minimalist look, the decor should be concentrated in the center. Try placing one big decorative accent right in the middle of the table, like a dish, tray, planter, or sculpture.
Try clustering a few large objects in a triangle shape for more visual appeal. To provide variety, it helps to arrange these objects at different heights. For example, the triangle could include a vase with flowers, a decorative bowl, and a stack of books or magazines.
Square
Just like the circle, decorations in the square tend to be divided into three. However, the layout will look different to match the square shape.
First, divide your square into four quadrants. Then divide those squares into three sections — one taking up two squares. You should end up with one rectangle and two smaller squares across from it.
In each section, place one or two objects side by side. The rectangular section is a good place to include more than one object, like a tray topped with smaller objects or an oversized book. Both square sections can include anything that fits the size, like a dish, vase, candle, or smaller-sized book.
Rectangle
With a rectangular-shaped table, you’re working with a lot more space. This means you have two options: Embrace the empty space or fill it with smaller objects.
For the first option, you can keep it simple with a single decorative accent in the center. To balance the look of the coffee table, try choosing a large rectangular object, like a tray topped with smaller items, an oversized book oriented in the same direction as your coffee table, or a rectangular planter.
For a maximalist look, follow the same strategy as the square table. Divide your rectangle into three sections and fill each section with an object. If you want something clean and streamlined, just one object is needed. But if you prefer a more eclectic look, try placing two or three objects side by side.
Make a Statement With Your Coffee Table Design
Your coffee table is more than just a place to put your morning cup of coffee. A well-styled coffee table can become the focal point of your living room — showcasing your personal aesthetic and elevating the look of your space.
From balancing heights to mixing textures, following a few key tips can help you create a cohesive and sophisticated design that transforms the look and feel of your home. That said, there are no clear-cut rules for coffee table design. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different arrangements until you find the one that really clicks.