My Guide To Styling A Coffee Table

Recently I came to the realization that when I style a coffee table, I unknowingly use a formula every time. Sometimes design formulas can be restricting and feel like they don’t allow for creativity. Other times formulas take the brain work out of a task. My coffee table styling formula is the latter for me. Styling a coffee table can be an endless game of give and take, but my formula helps me nail the look quickly, without restricting my creativity.

It’s all about shapes. The shape of the coffee table and the shapes of the decor. In summary, I like to mimic the shape of the coffee table with the decor I use.

I prefer to create a rectangle within the rectangle…using rectangles! 🙂 I usually start with a stack of books or a tray, or both. But the key is to switch up the shapes with some circular or irregularly shaped objects on top.

Square coffee tables are often the most fun to decorate because you get to play around with the most objects. I like to start with two stacks of books in opposite corners. And in the remaining two corners, I fill it in with circular objects.

I prefer to keep round coffee tables pretty simple when it comes to decor. A single vase with a bundle of stems or a pair of round vases is all it needs. But generally speaking I use only circular objects on round coffee tables.

The common theme of them all? A vase with stems! It adds a textural layer and height variation and I always incorporate that in one way or another.

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