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27 Ways To Style Your Coffee Table So It Always Looks Good

It's one of the best spots in your home to showcase treasures.

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preview for Pro Designers Show the Secrets to Styling a Coffee Table

As the centerpiece of your living room, your coffee table decor is an opportunity to express your personality and style. The items you display there function like the accessories you pair with an outfit—they communicate who you are and what you love. Whether you're a minimalist or maximalist, there's a coffee table styling method to suit your interior design aesthetic and make your coffee table look cute.

Practically anything can work as coffee table decor. Interior designers recommend incorporating some of your favorite treasures, whether that's your seashell collection or the book you're reading. Fruit (real or fake), design books, candles, and even your children's toys can look interesting when you display them thoughtfully.

A coffee table isn't just for looks, though. It also has to be functional. You need to be able to sit a cup of coffee or glass of wine down somewhere on the surface, so it shouldn't be cluttered. Stylish coasters and trays can help protect the surface and provide organization. Decorative boxes are great for hiding remote controls and electronics chargers; a large bowl can artfully display dog or cat toys. Your coffee table may also need to accommodate your entire work ecosystem if you work from home often. In that case, you could consider one with built-in storage.

The shape of your coffee table helps determine how you style it. For a round coffee table, keep it simple. Use a contrasting square tray to keep things organized. Or showcase a favorite houseplant in a pretty planter and keep the rest of the surface blank. Square coffee tables give you a little more room to play. Divide the tabletop into quadrants and display something different in each square.

Now that you know the basics, take a look at some of our favorite interior designer coffee table looks. These 30 coffee table decor ideas have the inspiration you need to revamp the focal point of your living room and style it to reflect your personality.

1

Add an Ottoman

coffee table decorating ideas
House Beautiful

Allow your coffee table to double as guest seating by layering a comfortable ottoman underneath. Decorate the tabletop with a low arrangement of seasonal blooms and a few color-coordinated objects in the room's color palette.

2

Play with Natural Textures

coffee table decorating ideas
House Beautiful

To further ground this stone slab coffee table, Studio Shamshiri layered more natural materials—paper books, a wooden bowl—on top.

3

Use a Tray

coffee table ideas
Amy Neunsinger

To help a padded ottoman double as a coffee table, top it with a tray for your living room essentials. Pick one with handles and you can move it easily whenever you want to put your feet up.

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4

Stick to the Essentials

coffee table decorating ideas
House Beautiful

Minimalists, it's okay to keep it simple with just a few books—your recent reads maybe—and a small air plant. In this airy space, that keeps the attention on the vaulted ceiling .

5

Leave Room for Drinks

coffee table decorating ideas
House Beautiful

A functional coffee table has an abundance of negative space. This simple setup leaves plenty of room for snacks and drinks and gives the eye a calm, uncluttered place to rest.

6

Display the Toys

coffee table decorating ideas
House Beautiful

Yes, your child's collection of colorful toys can, in fact, come in handy. In this compact family room, a toy truck (that coordinates with the room's palette), is displayed alongside adult trinkets.

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7

Keep Snacks in Reach

coffee table decorating ideas
House Beautiful

Instead of your grandmother's wax fruit, keep a bowl of the real thing out in the open. Pears or apples add color—plus, you won't have to hit pause and head to the kitchen when you want a snack.

8

Add Greenery

coffee table with greenery on it
Stacy Zarin Goldberg

A little plant life at the center of your living room revives it in an instant, as seen in this Maui retreat by designer Breeze Giannasio. The best part? You can achieve the effect with real or faux plants.

9

Leave a Book Open

coffee table wth open book
Alyssa Rosenheck

On a coffee table in a bright sunroom, Taylor Anne Interiors left a coffee table book opened instead of adding it to the stacked pile. It's an easy way to feature your favorite pages of the coffee table book you adore the most.

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10

Create a Lived-In Look

living room with kidney shaped coffee table
Frank Frances

Take the open book concept one step further by laying it on top of a few stacks of books for a more lived-in look—as if you were just flipping through them. Designers Cortney and Robert Novogratz achieved this look on a kidney-shaped coffee table in their West Village home.

11

Try Classic Taper Candles

red coffee table with taper candles on it
Eric Piasecki

Taper candles look good on your dining table and mantel, and they can add height to your coffee table display. In the library of a New York City apartment, Cullman & Kravis played up their height difference by staggering a pair on different levels.

12

Use Woven Accents

coffee table with greenery on it
Tessa Neustadt

Tap into a coastal grandmother aesthetic by incorporating woven elements like rattan trays and baskets on your coffee table. In the living room of designer Tammy Randall Wood's home, a woven tray mimics the look of the vintage wooden table.

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13

Focus on Metallics

coffee table decor gold
Katie Newburn

Make one metallic item the centerpiece of your coffee table as designer Shavonda Gardner did in the living room of this California home. Whether it's a planter, vase, or statue, surround it with book stacks and tiny objects you love.

14

Bring in Fruit

coffee table with fruit in a bowl
Laurey Glenn

Bring a pop of color onto your coffee table by displaying a bowl of fruit as designer Caroline Gidiere did in this living room. A faux display will make for easy maintenance, but a real selection makes for a readily accessible snack.

15

Show Off the Table

colorful coffee table with pink yellow blue purple and coral
Thijs de Leeuw/Space Content/Living Inside

If you have a bold coffee table—like the multicolor one in this Amsterdam home by designer Nicole Dohmen—let it take center stage. Dress it with minimal items, like a colored glass tray and candle.

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16

Think Outside of the Box

white cylinder coffee tables
Jonny Valiant

Instead of one big coffee table, group several heavy, sculptural cylinders that can be easily moved around. Add colorful accents like flowers and books to stand out against the white base, and leave some blank for drinks.

17

Switch Up the Heights

blue orange and white family room
Francesco Lagnese

The key to any good coffee table is a variety, of both textures and heights. Dan Mazzarini keeps things interesting here by stacking books next to a candelabra and a vase of fresh flowers on a simple white coffee table.

18

Go Small But Mighty

room, interior design, living room, furniture, home, pink, property, table, house, purple,
Courtesy of Tessa Neustadt for Emily Henderson Designs

If you're working with a tiny table, like a pouf, limit yourself to one or two items. All you need is a mini vase of flowers and you're set.

See more at Emily Henderson.

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19

Turn It Into Storage

neutral modern living room with open doors
Francesco Lagnese

Another coffee table win by Dan Mazzarini: This table serves as storage for floor cushions that provide extra seating. Plus, they give the coffee table a decorative look on the sides without taking up any surface real estate.

20

Stack It Up

living room, room, furniture, interior design, coffee table, property, home, table, building, floor,
Courtesy of Tessa Neustadt

Stack books and place decorative objects, like bowls or a vase of flowers, on top of each. Individual stacks will help make it feel more compact and less cluttered.

See more at Amber Interiors.

Headshot of Sienna Livermore
Sienna Livermore
Deputy Editor

Sienna is a Deputy Editor at Hearst, where she oversees the commerce team's coverage of wellness, home, tech, fashion, parenting, and more. She lives in California with her husband and two littles.

Headshot of Kelly Allen
Kelly Allen
Associate Editor

Kelly Allen is the Associate Editor at House Beautiful, where she creates design, culture, and travel content online and in the magazine. She’s been on the team since 2019, writing features on dreamy TV sets and movie filming locations, in-depth city guides, and inspiring home tours. From researching ethereal estates to discovering can’t-miss set decoration details onscreen, she’s always eager to answer burning pop culture questions through a design lens. In her five-year career, she’s built a strong network of designers across disciplines to tap for their invaluable expertise. Her background includes honing reporting skills while tackling viral news for Delish and contributing to Cosmopolitan’s entertainment coverage. When she’s not watching every new film and TV show, she’s browsing vintage home stores, attending industry events, and wandering around New York City—highlighting it all on Instagram.

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