HOW TO DECORATE A COFFEE TABLE LIKE A PRO
Let’s talk about how to decorate a coffee table and do it as seamlessly as the pros! It’s all about creating a small vignette that can be a mini focal point in your room! All you need are a few items and these savvy tips!
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I used to feel so out of my element when I tried to style a coffee table! It never looked like the fuzzy, but beautiful image of the styled coffee table I had in my mind!
I’m all about finding easy ways to reproduce something over and over. My mantra in so many area of my life is
DON’T RECREATE THE WHEEL!
So I started to pour over coffee table vignettes to see if I could find common elements that made easy and attractive ways to decorate a coffee table. And guess what, I did. I found 5 things that make up most of the most appealing coffee table!
And I’m sharing these 5 things in a “recipe” for how to decorate a fabulous coffee table every single time!
Please remember this, decorating your coffee table is not rocket science. There is really not one way to do it correctly. It’s using these 5 easy tips and then getting a bit inspired and creative to add your own personality to your coffee table!
Look around your home and start a collection of coffee table accessories that show off your personality and style!
THE NUMBER ONE BEST COFFEE TABLE ACCESSORIES YOU CAN COLLECT ARE… TRAYS!
A tray works like magic to corral all the other accessories you will put on your coffee table! And it gives the things you will put on your table some boundaries.
Trays are usually inexpensive and having a few different types of trays will give you lots of variety when you style a coffee table!
Yes, you can style a coffee table without a tray, but a tray adds so much texture and our eyes love trays!
FLOWERS, PLANTS AND NATURAL ELEMENT
Add life to your coffee table and room by adding something natural to your coffee table vignette!
Here are a few natural elements to add to your coffee table design…
- cut flowers
- topiaries
- plants
- cut greens such as a large leaf
- sticks and twigs
- nests
- moss balls
- twig balls
- potted flowers such as orchids
- flowering branches
You can see how to make EASY PEASY TEXTURED MOSS BALLS HERE.
I love to add flowers to my vignette! If you don’t want the maintenance try a faux plant or flower. Or if you don’t want to baby a real plant look for an easy-care real one!
There is always something organic, live or faux, in my coffee table decor! It’s just pretty! And we all love “pretty”, don’t we?
ADD BOOKS TO YOUR LIST OF COFFEE TABLE ACCESSORIES
No wonder some books are called “coffee table books”. Books are amazing “filler” and perfect “risers”. And of course they are also great to read!
Stack books in or along side of your coffee table tray and you have an instant paring that looks balanced and beautiful!
But don’t let a stack of books stand alone. Add the next smart element that every table vignette should have…
ADD ONE QUIRKY OR INTERESTING ELEMENT TO STYLE A TABLE
I love this part of decorating a coffee table! Because I LOVE to embellish things. I really think I can make almost anything pretty!
Make sure you have one (maybe two, but don’t overdo it) fun, interesting, quirky thing that is special to you! These are things you love and maybe even collect.
I LOVE small boxes. I’m not sure why, but I can’t resist them. I recently got this little box at Pier 1 on my last visit. I could not source it online, so look in your local store.
A stack of books is the perfect place to display your quirkiness!
I paired my little inlaid box with a finial that I call the “egg”. I’ve had this little decor do-dad for a couple decades and it still finds its way into my vignettes!
See how to DECORATE WITH FUN, TRENDY ACCESSORIES HERE.
LIGHT UP COFFEE TABLE
Add a bit of ambiance to a coffee table by using candles in a vignette. How pretty!
I’m using three-wick candles I got on sale at Pier 1. It’s Citrus Cilantro! See it HERE.
But don’t be afraid to use a tall candleholder topped off with a chunky candle if you need a little height in your decor.
As you are creating a fabulously decorated coffee table you might want to keep these things in mind too…
- vary height
- add texture
- keep a tight color palette
- edit, edit, edit- don’t overcrowd a vignette
These 5 coffee table accessories will help you seamlessly create coffee table decor like a pro…
- 1 basket
- 2 organics
- 3 books
- 4 something quirky or personal
- 5 candles
Make sure to see ACCENT DECORATIONS EVERY HOME NEEDS to see 16 must have accessories every room needs. These simple things will bring interest, warmth and a big dose of your personal style to your home!
Here are other posts about how use accessories in your home
Thinking of Marie Kondo and her “does it being you joy? I find joy in creating and having pretty vignettes around my house. It is very relaxing to put one together that reflects the season or holiday and I like to shop my home for items to use.Thanks Yvonne for your inspiration and guidelines.
You are so welcome! I love to put together things in my home that create a relaxing, inviting sancturary for my family and friends!
Looking ay my coffee table I have a round wooden tray, creamy white old ironstone pitcher sitting on an old book, a wicker covered container with a candle, two small cross stitch pillows I did and the quirky is an eleven pound cat stretched out beside the tray. Yep. I’ve got it covered!
Sounds like you’ve got it covered, Debby! YOU GO GIRL!
I am a tray girl too and have several around my house.I also incorporate old books into vignettes to vary heights.Thanks for the tips.
As you can tell Doreen I love trays too!
Yvonne,
You are a PRO at home decor! And at explaining how to recreate something similar in our own homes. Your photos in this post are fantastic… clear, sharp, interesting angles, and excellent examples for what your text describes. Then came the Waterlogue-type photo! Loved it and your creativity.
Judith
Thanks so much, Judith! You are a darling!
So thankful to be learning from a pro. Shopped with my daughter at her Home Goods, yesterday. She asked what was with the pillow obsession, as they were plentiful, and I lingered in the aisle. Funny comment from the child who always gifts me with pillows, as recently as Mother’s Day. And now to gather my summer decor to place on the round wicker tray for the coffee table.
My goal is to teach easy decorating in doable bites. And I am so passionate about helping women create a beautiful home that is their definition of beautiful!
So many wonderful suggestions and ideas! Thanks for th advice and creativity!
Yvonne…Just loved reading about How to Decorate Your Coffee Table Like A Pro. You make it so easy! It was extremely easy and I plan to save this article for future reference when I get a new coffee table (soon I hope). Would like to know the color paint you have on the wall behind the coffee table. It’s not a true white but it sure makes everything in the room stand out.
thanks for such an interesting article.
Hi Yvonne, I follow your blog religiously and have them coming to me directly by email. I am ok making vignettes, but coffee tables have always stumped me. I was so glad to see this post and I am going to attempt AGAIN, to stage mine after reading through this post 4-5 times. I think I’ve got it; I don’t know. I have ordered another large tray to try to accomodate my goodies and I have also ordered burlap to cover my books. Would you like to see a picture when I am finished, to see if I’m a good student or not? LOL I really do like this post and it has inspired me to try, try again.
Hi Judy! I would love to see a picture! I know you can do it!!!
All hail the Vignette Queen! Saw your post at Talk of the Town… We’d love to have you share at Tuesday Turn About via My Wee Abode (LOL!) (Can you tell I’m working the party? LOL!)
I love your ideas and the easy to follow cheat sheet for styling a coffee table! Yvonne, I am curious if you have found one shape of basket/tray is better suited to the shape of a table than another? For example, would a round or square tray look better on a round table than a rectangular tray?
Great tips! I’m not the best at decorating so this was very helpful. My friend Katy and I just started a new link up. We’d love it if you would share your posts!. You can find the link here if you are interested. https://handmadeweekly.com/handmade-otherwise-link-party-week-1
Where did you get the book covers? I love your posts!
Hi Betty, great question! I made them. They are so os super easy to make. See the tutorial here:https://www.stonegableblog.com/burlap-covered-book-diy/
These tray ideas are great. Such a simple way to style.
Yvonne, my home is so much lovelier, thanks to your wonderful decor inspiration. I have adopted your tray ideas, pillows, baskets, vignettes, throws, organics and many more. Love the neutrals and have added splashes of blue/white, with touches of less formal chinoiserie. Light, bright and airy for summer is my choice. Thank you for all you share with us.
Wondering where you find all the great baskets you use in your vignettes? I am looking for a great rectangular one like the one in this post.
This post has lots of basket sources! Go here: https://www.stonegableblog.com/decorating-with-baskets-5-easy-ways/
Thanks so much! Love your site! And thank you so much for sharing your faith!
Can you please provide details of where I can purchase the tray on your coffee table?
Hi Mary, here is one similar: https://rstyle.me/+luSj3B44zi-DrzqX2MQipQ
Like so many items, they only stay in stock for a little while.Hope this helps.
I love your drips! I am switching my wood tones over. Where did you find your coffee table? I love it’s wood tone!
Hi Brittany, we have had that table for almost a decade. It came from Ethan Allen and has held up so well. Look there.
Excellent points on home decor for many people who cannot afford or don’t trust interior decorators
Yvonne, I always love your vignettes and have several “Pinned” onto my decorating boards. When I attempt to create one, I am always stumped as to their orientation. I may create one that looks great when looking into the room, but then looks funny when sitting on the couch on the other side! Any ideas for helping create a vignette that looks good from more than one direction?
Most vignettes don’t have a perfect 360 degree view! Just enjoy it!
I created my first vignette for my dining room table this past month (can’t do one for a coffee table as we don’t have one…it was impeding the grandbabies’ route in the living room…maybe one day again)! Yesterday, preparing for Spring decor, I bought a white distressed tray, a small gold box, a turquoise glass box and an artichoke statuary (been looking for THAT forever), need to find some taller items, I’m sure I have some things that would work, but wouldn’t pass up a taller turquoise vase to buy!
Yay! Good for you Carol!
Yvonne have you or Bobby taken up painting now? I see the watercolor of your coffee table???
I think that is a little decorative box