How To Decorate Your Coffee Table

Decorating your coffee table is a fast-fix way of refreshing your living room décor — just follow our easy tips for styling this focal point piece of furniture.

Keep Your Balance
One of the best ways to ensure your coffee table decoration doesn’t look like one big cluttered mess is to consider the size and general mass of the accessories you would like to display there. A collection of small home accessories will look like a jumble and a table-full of large statement items will take over and lose their individual impact.
When styling your coffee table, use accessories in a variety of sizes and aim to group like objects, such as books or candles, together.

The Highs and Lows

A coffee table styled with items that are all the same height looks unimaginative. Combine decorations and accessories that vary in height for a more eye-catching and interesting coffee table display — tall candlesticks or floral displays teamed with shallow bowls, for example, work well.

Odd is Good

The good old ‘rule of three’ is a good one to turn to if you are struggling with styling your coffee table. This is a rule that is particularly useful when it comes to long, rectangular tables, but will work with any shape.

Visually divide your coffee table into three sections and play around with small groups of items until you are happy with the finished look.

Play with Colour

The colour of your coffee table should play a role in the items you choose to create your tabletop display. A white or neutral coloured coffee table can take a selection of boldly coloured home accessories, whereas a wooden coffee table often suits objects inspired by nature — dark woods and black coffee tables can look stunning adorned with metallic accessories or crisp, white contemporary decoration.

In the case of a coloured coffee table it can be fun and useful to consult a colour wheel in order to see which colours work well together.

Keep it Flexible

Those with young children or pets might feel a bit nervous about displaying their treasured possessions in such a vulnerable position. In this case, using a tray, bowls or terrarium in which to create a display makes it easy to clear the coffee table surface when necessary.

It is also worth considering a coffee table with storage, either in the form of shelves or drawers — that way any décor can be stored underneath when not in use, or open shelving can be used to display coffee table books in a way that keeps the table top clear.

Don’t Overcrowd

Even though decorating your coffee table is a sure-fire way to inject a sense of style into your living room interior scheme, from a practical point of view, it is a good idea to keep one side or section of the table as a clear space for resting drinks, snacks etc.

Create a Gathering Space

With its central position in the living room, the coffee table is the ideal point at which to create a sociable point for congregating with family and friends. Encourage this by decorating your coffee table with some ice-breakers such as old-fashioned board games, unusual decks of cards or intriguing souvenirs from your travels.

Coffee table books are also a great way of drawing people in — leaving books open at a particularly striking or interesting page is very effective. Arranging books for coffee tables in stacks and then using them as platforms for other accessories is a good styling tool too.

Respect the Seasons

As a living room focal point, the coffee table display deserves to be changed up regularly and using the seasons as your inspiration is a brilliant idea. Think seashells and driftwood in the summer, cherry blossom and egg-themed decorations in the spring, autumnal decorations such as gourds and richly-coloured leaves in Autumn and plenty of candles and sparkle in winter.