Easy Coffee Table Decor Ideas and How to Style Them
Simplified coffee table decor ideas for every season and how to style items like a pro to make your living room feel purposeful and beautiful.
Coffee table decor is weird. Like… when else in the history of ever would you find yourself staring at an inanimate object for an hour wondering what to do with it?
I mean, coffee tables are the most high maintenance pieces of furniture ever and have some nerve making you second guess the decorative objects you place on it.
There is a formula to it though if you’ve ever wanted an easy way to style a perfectly decorated coffee table vignette but didn’t know how to do it.
Here are some simplified coffee table decor ideas broken down so you can embrace your personal style in your living space like an interior designer.
How to Decorate a Coffee Table
(By the way, if any other places in your house have eluded you too, you can see lots more decorating secrets in this Simplified Decorating series.)
1. Start With a Tray as a Foundation
A large tray is a great way to decorate when you have kids, if they enjoy getting rough and rowdy, I can just lift the tray away with all the decorative items on it whenever needed.
But trays also give you a foundation to make all of the small items on a coffee table look collected and purposeful. Use one that isn’t too small but still leaves room for you to kick your feet up.
Break up your shapes, if you’d like: If you have a round coffee table, use a rectangular tray. If you have a rectangular table, use a round tray. There are no rules for shape.
2. Add Natural Elements
Try using various textures:
- a potted plant
- a vase of flowers
- a bowl of moss
- an urn of stems
Choose something that brings nature into the mix. Think about seasonal items.
It can be as simple as a bundle of fresh flowers from the grocery store, but if you like longevity, fake stems are the best way to keep it low maintenance.
Lean into bright colors of the season with the blooms you choose. (These are some of my favorite fake flowers.)
This usually creates the focal point of your living room.
3. Incorporate a Container
Try using:
- a wooden box
- a decorative bowl
- a small lidded basket
- a lidded brass canister
Decorative boxes are the perfect place for storing TV remote controls. Use a decorative bowl to toss in smaller items as needed.
This is one of my favorite coffee table decor ideas because it’s beautiful and keeps your home’s decor functional.
Tip: Vary your materials.
Pick a container that varies in material from your coffee table trays for a layered look.
If you’re using a marble tray, use a wooden bowl. Or if you’re using a brass tray, choose a rattan box, etc.
Using items that are all made of one material makes coffee table decor look flat.
By adding varying materials, you create a curated style that pops with visual interest.
4. Use a Couple of Books
Choose hardcovered favorite books that are interesting and beautiful to you that you’d enjoy picking up and flipping through regularly.
Pick a big coffee table book that interests you: particular artists, beloved travel destinations, signature fashion styles, a favorite period of history, whatever speaks to your heart.
Pay attention to different options of color schemes on the book covers as they play a part in the overall look of the room.
These are some of the best coffee table books for all interests.
Tip: Use stacks of books as risers to elevate the rest of your coffee table decor. This will create various heights in your decorative accents.
5. Add a Candle
Lighting a candle in the evening sets the mood for the entire room and helps you relax a little better. Choose one in a scent you love.
(Or if you prefer diffusing essential oils instead, opt for a cordless candle diffuser for aromatherapy benefits.)
If you have little ones or pets and you’re concerned about safety issues of a real candle flame, battery operated candles can look convincing as the real thing instead. For a little extra height, use taper candles.
6. Finish With a Decorative Object
Try using:
- a small bust
- a paperweight
- a decorative chain
- a strand of beads
- an interesting figurine
- an abstract sculpture
Have fun with an out-of-the-ordinary object. Maybe an abstract brass knot sculpture, a black and white marble paperweight, or a decorative soapstone chain for added texture.
If all of the other items on your table are short, choose an item that will add some height.
I love finding figurines at the thrift store and painting them to look like concrete, granite, or aged brass for just a couple bucks.
How to Style a Coffee Table After Pulling Together Your Decor
1. Edit
Don’t go so overboard with your coffee table decor ideas that you can’t actually use your coffee table. Less is more.
Pare down items as needed so that you don’t end up with a table full of clutter.
2. Mix Textures
Mix up different materials like marble, rattan, stone, glass, ceramic, brass.
It adds dimension and interest, especially when sticking to a neutral color palette.
3. Use the Visual Triangle
A good rule is to decorate in odd numbers: 3, 5, or 7.
Then, vary the heights of those items to form a triangle. Can you see it?
So keep that in mind as you tweak your coffee table vignette.
Favorite Coffee Tables
These are some of my favorite coffee tables, but really coffee tables are one of my favorite pieces of furniture to makeover, if you keep your eyes peeled at the thrift store or search Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.
That’s it! Move things around, play with different textures, and you’ll end up with a pretty, collected coffee table.
If you need some different ideas, here are a few more.
Coffee Table Ideas
If you need a bit more inspiration, here are more styling ideas from living rooms’ past.
Winter Decor Styling After Christmas
It’s tricky to decorate for winter after Christmas.
Keep it simple with a tall vase of plain green stems like eucalyptus or ruscus.
Or you can keep some of your Christmas greenery in a vase but remove any red accents like holly berries for a neutral winter look.
Fun Family Room Coffee Table
Be playful with a coffee table in a family room or game room by adding small wooden games like Tic Tac Toe or a miniature checkers board.
Stack kid-friendly coffee table books for the family to flip through.
For an interactive center table idea, use a foosball style coffee table!
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Classic Christmas Table Decor
Make a grouping of 3 items on a metallic tray with a vase of holly berries, a decorative box, and a trio of flameless candles.
Add a few Christmas greenery clippings around the tray.
Coastal Beach House Coffee Table Styling
Lean into the natural elements of the coast with plenty of texture grouping together a rattan tray, an oyster shell “bowl”, a stack of coffee table books about beaches, a fresh scented candle, and wooden decorative beads.
Neutral Year Round Coffee Table Arrangement
The best part about dried hydrangeas is they can last for a few years, and you can preserve them easily using clippings from your own backyard.
Gather a simple wooden tray and add various textures with a concrete bowl, terra cotta vase of dried flowers, neutral coffee table book, white scented candle, and a small decorative object like a chain made of clay.
Simple Fall Table Styling
Group simple items together like a stack of autumnal colored books, sculptural objects, a fall scented candle, and a neutral vase of faux fall leaves on a tray in the center of the coffee table.
Spring Styled Traditional Coffee Table
Stick with timeless pieces like this coffee table setup with a glass vase of faux pink roses, a thrifted brass bowl, a decorative sculpture, a short stack of books, and a simple fluted candle.
The most important thing to remember in decorating is to have fun with it and be open to editing.
It’s a good idea to use it as a place your favorite things since it is the centerpiece of your living room that you’ll see all the time.
It’s better to use too little than too much, or else too many small pieces collected on flat surfaces can begin to feel like clutter.
In the end, the perfect coffee table is one that works for your everyday life and looks like a reflection of your own style.
That’s the main fast rule of coffee table styling: be yourself and have fun with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
The size of the tray you need will depend on the size of your coffee table and table designs, but you want to choose a tray that won’t hang off of the edge. An appropriate sized coffee table tray would be around 20 inches.
Stack the books and face the spines toward where most traffic would flow into the room. When you walk into the room, you should be able to see the book spines on the coffee table.
More Living Room Decorating Ideas
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Perfect Rug
How to Mix and Match Throw Pillows
