• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home Decor
    • Paint Colors
    • Printables
    • Our Current House
    • Our Second House
  • DIY Projects
    • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Tools & Tips
  • Blog
    • About
      • Contact
      • Policies
  • Gift Guides
    • Shop
      • Shop My Products
      • Shop My Instagram
      • Shop My Home
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
The Turquoise Home
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Blog
  • Home Decor
  • DIY Projects
  • Paint Colors
  • Our Current House
  • Organization
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Home Decor / 6 Tips for How to Decorate a Coffee Table

    6 Tips for How to Decorate a Coffee Table

    Last Updated: August 8, 2020 | Published: March 1, 2018 | By: Laura | 12 Comments | Filed Under: Home Decor, Popular Posts, Style & Inspiration

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email

    From trays to interesting focal points, we’ll discover the 6 classic tips for decorating a coffee table!

    With all of our chatter about the new living room rug last week, I started thinking about coffee tables. We’ve never had a coffee table in our living room before.

    In our old house, the living room was just too small for one. And in this house we’ve always had little kids, so we liked having the open floor space for them to just crawl around or learn to walk or practice their gymnastics as they forward rolled off the couch.

    6 Tips for Decorating a Coffee Table

    But now that my youngest is getting a little older, and I’m changing up the living room, I’d like to add a coffee table.

    A Simple Summer Mantel -->> wood frame, white mantel, plaid navy pillows, jute bamboo blinds

    FREE BONUS!
    5 Secrets Every Home
    Decorator Knows

    … to transform your home into your dream home!

    Yes! Tell me the Secrets!

    And here’s the honest to goodness truth. My coffee table will be gorgeously styled for photos, but 99% of the time I’m sure it will be strewn with kids toys, books and papers, kind of like the rest of the surfaces in my house. And yes, I try to pick up and put everything back each night (with the kids help), but just wanting you to know that I don’t have any delusions going into this inspirational post. 😜

    I’ve gathered some of my favorite photos of coffee table styling and how I would like to use my coffee table someday.

    I heard a good formula once that the basis for good coffee table decor is Book + Plant + Interesting Decor Object = Stylish Coffee Table.

    I would start with that and then see if I could add some functionality to it as well.

    This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. See my full disclosure policy.

    6 Tips for Decorating a Coffee Table

    1. Start with a Large Tray

    Starting with a tray or large bowl will make the whole vignette look more cohesive and grounded. I love the look of a woven, natural tray to bring in some texture to the table. Get a large enough tray so that it holds everything you want to put out. This will keep it from looking too cluttered.

    Stone Gable Blog

    Thrifty and Chic

    Liz Marie Blog

    Click/Tap the images below to shop the trays:

    2. The Interesting Large Decor Item

    This could be a vase, fun stone, a live-edge wood statue or a fun, vintage corbel. Add something to your grouping that is the star of the show and a conversation starter. Another option might be putting a smaller item on a stack of books to give it some height!

    I would be willing to spend a little bit more on this item since it’s the coffee table centerpiece.

    Liz Marie Blog

    Click/Tap the images below to shop some beautiful interesting objects:

    3. Plants

    Give your space some life (or what looks like life 😉) with a plant. I’m usually going to go the faux plant route, because nobody wants dead plants in their house. 😜 But I’ve recently bought a couple of easy-to-care-for plants, so we’ll see! A vase of fresh flowers would look beautiful as well!

    I would suggest that if you are going to use a tall leafy decor item, make sure it’s not blocking the view from one person to another.

    Etsy

    Style Me Pretty

    Click/Tap the images below to shop beautiful faux and real plants:

    4. Bowls or Decorative Boxes for corralling smaller items

    We used to have 4 remotes in our living for various TV watching situations, so a bowl for those would have been great! You might need a place to put matches for candles or pencils for working your crossword puzzles, the sky’s the limit!

    Whether you’re gathering useful items or decorative items, a bowl or smaller tray is always a lovely way to keep the coffee table surface looking clean and simple!

    6 Tips for Decorating your Coffee Table

    Cotton Stem

    Country Curtains

    Click/Tap the images below to shop some gorgeous decorative bowls:

    5. Add some Hidden Storage

    Whether it’s a closed coffee table or one with baskets on a lower shelf or drawers, using this decorative piece for extra hidden storage is always a good idea.

    Bless’er House

    Handmade Haven

    6. Less is More!

    Don’t feel like you need to fill up every square inch of the coffee table. Leave some room for people to prop their feet up, place a cup on the table or play a game. And if you’re decorating the coffee table, maybe leave the end table empty so that there is more useful space.

    Dear Lillie

    Shades of Blue Interiors

    Stone Gable

    I hope you find those tips helpful! All of these gorgeous photos make me want to get to work on my DIY coffee table soon! We’ll see if I can get the kitchen table painted, then I’ll start working on the coffee table.

    Beautiful Coffee Tables

    If you’re not a DIY kinda girl, then I’ve got you covered, too! Check out these gorgeous coffee tables!

    Show more
    Scalloped Home Decor

    Pretty Scalloped Home Decor Finds

    ...
    Read More
    Show more
    Screened-in Porch Decorating Ideas

    12 Drool-Worthy Screened-In Porch Decorating Ideas

    ...
    Read More
    Show more
    How to Install Wallpaper (paste-on-the-wall)

    Home Goals 2022, Part 2

    ...
    Read More
    Show more
    Interior Design Coffee Table Books

    Styling the Best Coffee Table Books {Decorating 101}

    ...
    Read More
    Show more
    Chinoiserie pot with boxwood topiary

    DIY Frame for a Frame TV

    ...
    Read More
    Show more
    Tray on kitchen counter with knife block and utensil canister

    How to Decorate Kitchen Counters {Decorating 101}

    ...
    Read More
    Show more
    Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams

    Accessible Beige {The Best Home Decor Paint Colors}

    ...
    Read More
    Show more
    Favorite Spring Decor Finds

    The Best Spring Decorating Ideas

    ...
    Read More
    Show more
    Traditional Powder Bathroom Design Board

    How to Start a Room Makeover

    ...
    Read More
    Load More

    SaveSave

    « DIY Simple Spring Wreath with Peonies
    How to Decorate Your Mantel for Spring »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. RUTH ANN WALTERS

      August 05, 2021 at 2:23 pm

      Your coffee table decorating is both useful and attractive, but how about a beautiful
      quilted table runner or table topper instead of a tray????

      Reply
    2. Claudia

      January 30, 2021 at 7:46 pm

      Great ideas. You are truly talented!!! Thanks so much.

      Reply
    3. Brian

      January 16, 2021 at 11:18 am

      Useful discussion on decorating a coffee table. I like your tips and ideas and thanks for your good share.

      Reply
    4. Judy

      August 18, 2020 at 6:55 pm

      Thank you for sharing . I am looking for a tray to add to my coffee table.

      Reply
    5. Juan Perz

      October 09, 2019 at 9:52 am

      Thank you for sharing this wonderful content. This coffee table decoration tips are beneficial for me.

      Reply
    6. Jennifer

      April 10, 2019 at 7:21 pm

      Where did you get the Cudahy tray? My grandfather worked for them back in the day and I would love to get something like that? Was it a lucky find at a second hand or antique store?

      Reply
    7. Sherry Stowe

      March 11, 2018 at 5:23 pm

      Love the coffee table ideas. Mine happens to be in line sight of the TV so it has to be low….love the plants, maybe a long low box with succulents.

      Reply
      • Laura

        March 13, 2018 at 12:58 am

        That’s such a cute idea with the long low box of succulents. I have the long low box, so I could replicate that pretty easily. Thanks for the suggestion!

        Reply
    8. Ivory

      March 06, 2018 at 1:32 am

      Wow, I don’t know which one to chose, because all of the coffee tables are amazing. I love the all.

      Reply
    9. Chris Pyle

      March 01, 2018 at 6:34 pm

      LOVE the different vases on the Mantel in Style me Pretty! I know not what you were showing but they really caught my eye. Might give me an excuse to collect some more of them for my dinning room table. It needs something different than a great big plant.

      Also adore the big flat wooden bowl. In Cotton Stem.

      Of all the Tables I think I like Bless’er House the best.

      And this is WHY I can not decorate or style my coffee table. Link is safe it is on my Flicker account. HA worth the look. My new little rescue dog just blowing it. No idea what set him off. He just does this sometimes and every night when I go to bed he makes my bed for me. NOT
      https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/40520820172/in/dateposted/

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Grab Your Free Copy of The Decorator's Easy Cheat Sheet
    About Laura Nickelson, the author and creator of The Turquoise Home

    Popular Posts

    Sea Salt | Paint Colors in Living Room | Sand and Sisal

    The Best Living Room Paint Colors

    Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore wall color | paint color

    Best Home Decor Paint Colors: Edgecomb Gray

    Benjamin Moore White Dove Paint Color - inspiration photos

    Benjamin Moore White Dove {The Best Home Decor Paint Colors}

    Grab a piece of plywood and some paint and we're good to go!!

    How to Make a Large Wooden Sign

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Meet Laura

    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Get the 5 Secrets Every Decorator Knows!

    Home Decor Index

    • Decorating 101
    • Paint Colors
    • DIY Project
    • Living Room
    • Kitchen
    • Outdoors

    TheTurquoiseHome.com is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 The Turquoise Home