Coffee Table Styling

This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy

As I mentioned on Monday, I got a new coffee table for my living room. This makes me happy on so many levels: I wasn’t loving the coffee table I had, I needed something bigger, and I wanted something I could style. So today I thought I’d show you my coffee table close up and share a few tips for styling any coffee table.

Coffee Table Styling | Inspired by Charm

Before you begin to style, you’ll need a few decorating accessories. My latest favorite place to shop is Hunters Alley. (You remember my bowl and brass pineapple bookends, right?) It’s a fab online marketplace where you can find amazing one-of-a-kind vintage, preowned, handcrafted, and artisanal items for your home. While both individuals and professional vendors can sell on Hunters Alley, listings are edited so the merchandise is only the best of the best. You can “like” products, comment on listings, see what other people are buying, and follow sellers who inspire you! Pretty awesome, right?

Coffee Table Styling | Inspired by Charm

At the risk of becoming a hoarder, it’s always nice to have pieces on hand in different shapes, sizes, and textures that are special and meaningful to you. It makes the styling process so much easier and a lot more fun. I actually just got this plate from Hunters Alley to hold remotes on the coffee table. It could double as a really cool serving tray. I’m also obsessed with the color.

Coffee Table Styling | Inspired by Charm

With that said, on to the styling! I’m a huge fan of Justina Blakeney and her blog. Her basic principles for styling a space (bookcase, side table, coffee table, etc.) have become my no-fail guide for styling basically anything. So I’m going to use her principles (which I’ve adapted slightly) to take you through my coffee table styling.

Function – what you need this space to do.

Color – stick within your color palette.

Shapes – use a variety of shapes to create balance and add diversity.

Texture / Pattern – use different ones to create visual interest.

Spacing – the different between collected and cluttered, leave some empty space.

Foliage – flowers and plants complete a space.

Sparkle – add something that sparkles – glass, metallic, mirrors, crystals, etc.

Coffee Table Styling | Inspired by Charm

Okay, let me show you how this system works. First, I need this table to function as a spot to rest my feet, place a drink, and add a little style. Although there are a lot of things on my coffee table, there is still room to perform all of these functions, plus the books and tray can be stacked to create even more usable space. In terms of color, I worked with the colors in the space, but not all of them. I limited this arrangement to include green, brass and teal. I mostly stayed within those three colors, but did add in something outside of that pallet with my coasters.

Coffee Table Styling | Inspired by Charm

Since the coffee table is rectangular I wanted to incorporate a few contrasting shapes. I added in a large round platter and a faceted terrarium. The shapes of the books and magazines mimic the coffee table. I wanted the pattern and texture of the coffee table itself to be the star of the show so I stuck with mostly solid accessories. However, the coasters and magazine covers do add texture and pattern.

Coffee Table Styling | Inspired by Charm

I also paid attention to the spacing of items. I kept the right-hand side of the table a bit more dense and left-hand side a little more open. In terms of verticals, the tulips, which double as my foliage, add height to my table. The plants in my terrarium are another botanical element. And last but not least, sparkle. Again my terrarium and brass elements bring a bit of bling to my table.

Coffee Table Styling | Inspired by Charm

And that’s it!

Coffee Table Styling | Inspired by Charm

As you may have guessed, these basic principles of styling can be applied to projects of all sizes, from something as big as room to something as small as a bedside table.

I hope you enjoyed these tips and are liking my new coffee table as much as I am.

For more information on Hunters Alley check out their website or follow along on FacebookTwitterPinterest, or Instagram.

Inspired By Charm

This post was created as part of my collaboration with Hunters Alley. As always, the thoughts and ideas are my own.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

38 Comments

  1. Very impressive thoughts! These ideas for decorating coffee table are really outstanding. All of your ideas matter a lot in bringing the beauty in our houses. Also, I agree with your statement, “Spacing – the different between collected and cluttered, leave some empty space”. I have seen several people having a lot of stuff collected in a single room around the coffee table and over the table. This makes their room and table look messy.

    Thanks for sharing this amazing blog post 🙂