Coffee tables might seem like a simple, practical addition to your living room, but they aren’t just for holding your guests’ drinks. Coffee tables are often the centerpieces of a living room. So, if you want your coffee table to feel like a centerpiece, it’s going to take the right coffee table décor and decorations to bring it to life. But how do you know what to set atop your table without taking away its practicality? How much is too much, and what sort of items are right? Let’s talk about how to decorate a coffee table.
RELATED READ: Picking the Right Coffee Table for Your Space
The Coffee Table Itself
Before we dive into the details of what sort of items you should set atop your coffee table, it’s just as important to talk about the coffee table itself. When you invest in a coffee table, you’re making a choice for a piece of furniture that will be highly visible and need to complement the other pieces in your home. Whether you were conscious of it or not, your previous or current coffee tables were probably selected to fit nicely into your living room’s design scheme. This can include a lot of elements, so let’s take a look at some of the more specific ones.
Color & Composition
When selecting your coffee table, you’ll want to make sure you pick one that’s designed to match with the rest of your furniture. Coffee tables are a great way to introduce colors, patterns or other design elements that can be paired with the rest of your furniture items. A beautiful coffee table in the right type of wood can add a functional and streamlined look to your living room, and the presence of glass or metal can create effects of their own. Consider what type of living room you’re trying to design when purchasing a coffee table and which emotions you want to spread to your guests.
Size
Equally important is finding a coffee table that’s the right size. A coffee table should fit snugly between your other pieces of furniture, so if you have a wraparound or sectional couch you may want to invest in a square coffee table, while if you have a simple sofa and single chair setup a rectangular coffee table may work better. Try to keep your coffee table’s elevation similar to that of your furniture so it can be easily used in a practical way.
Placement
Similar to size, how the coffee table is placed in your living room is important for keeping the design consistent and practical. Make sure that guests have enough room between the coffee table and chairs or sofas that they can move their legs and access a sofa comfortably. Try to keep your table from blocking too much of the room as well – if you have a coffee table that feels like it’s sticking out a bit too much, adding a recliner or a lounge chair can be a great choice.
Coffee Table Decorations
Now that we’ve talked about the table, it’s time to discuss what to put on top of it. There are some easy design guidelines to follow to keep things feeling natural and beautiful that we’ll talk about first.
Less is More
Remember, while a coffee table might act as a centerpiece for a room, at its heart it’s still a piece of functional furniture. Don’t crowd your coffee table with so many items that it can’t be used properly. Consider a few important decorations and keep open space available.
Different Elevations Switch Things Up
Try to not keep all the items on top of your coffee table the same height or elevation. Instead, work with decorations that offer varying heights to create interest. A useful rule of thumb is to start with the tallest item and work your way down from there. Flowers, vases and trays are great for this as they represent the more extreme ends of elevation and can work to create unique patterns.
Introduce Color and Contrast for Pop
Coffee table decorations are a great place to highlight an accent color or add some contrast to your coffee table. Since these smaller decorations will be in the center of your guests’ viewpoint, it can be easier to add diverse elements than it would be with larger decorations. You’ll want to choose objects that don’t just blend in and contrasting color as well as composition can be a great way to achieve this. If you’re ever in doubt, you can trial certain contrasting elements with pre-existing decorations to see how they feel.
Keep Things Natural, Organic and Practical
Again, practicality is at the heart of a coffee table, and a great way to keep decorations looking nice is to select items that feel organic to the coffee table itself. Books are a great way to achieve this, and they can be displayed in unique ways to add both contrast and height to a table. Trays, small candle holders, bowls and flowers are also great choices due to their relative ease of being placed anywhere in your home. You’ll want to avoid more ornate or large decorations, instead opting for things that don’t upstage the coffee table or the things around it. Remember to keep it natural.
With these tips in mind, it’s easy to create a coffee table that doesn’t just feel like a table, but a unique centerpiece for your living room or any other room. Remember to experiment! It’s easy to change out coffee table décor whenever you want to switch things up or try out a new look. Above all else, remember to have fun – if your coffee table decorations don’t feel right to you, then it’s okay to try something else. If you’re ever in need of unique antique or vintage decorations, remember to check out Chairish’s listings for décor you won’t find anywhere else.
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Lead image photo by John Merkl, styled by Jody Kennedy; At the home of Allison Speer, designed by Allison Caccoma