Interior Designer Inspiration for Styling Your Coffee Table

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We love the look of a stylish coffee table to give your living room a sense of harmony. When you think of your coffee table as more than just a surface to place drinks and a book or two, you can create a stylish addition to your decor. When designing your coffee table, you will want to consider functionality. A beautiful display of books and accessories is wonderful, but be sure to leave room for essentials (like coasters and space for snacks and drinks). Once you’ve evaluated how you actually use your coffee table, get inspired by these nifty style ideas from top interior designers:

Simplified coffee table style

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Jill Hoskings-Cartland of Hoskings Interiors Find several opportunities to transform a simple coffee table into a focal point. With their advice, designing a coffee table that is attractive and functional is easy.

- Glass instantly adds sophistication to a vignette. A bell jar, or a collection of this traditional bell-shaped jar in varying heights, can include everything from greens and florals to sculptures and collectibles. Display them on a tray to present them as a selected grouping.

- Coffee tables should be functional, so when planning your centerpiece or vignette, incorporate enough space for your guests to leave a drink when you’re entertaining. Use 1/3 of the total length / diameter of the table as the approximate space you will need to design a centerpiece.

- It’s the successful combination of color, texture, and various heights that takes the centerpiece of a coffee table to the next level. Books, vases, vegetables, and carefully designed metal items in a cohesive arrangement can create a perfectly balanced, magazine-worthy vignette.

- Repeat the wall color, sofa color, or a color in a nearby artwork on your coffee table. This makes the aesthetic connection so important and creates a repeat of color.

- Change the vignette on your coffee table according to the season. It will keep you from getting bored and help you celebrate the season without having to wait for the December holidays. As fall approaches, think of silver pumpkins and a fall flower arrangement in a silver vase as an alternative to the standard “pineapple basket.”

Be open to new ideas

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Mark cutler is a dynamic interior designer based in Los Angeles. Mark’s approach is to rethink the traditional idea of what a coffee table can be. Customizing the settings of your furniture and accessories can create a totally unique look when designing your coffee table.

Mark asks, “Why just one table? Depending on the situation, a group of small tables may be the best solution. In the featured photo, It was a large room, so a group of tables allowed the group to expand and contract as needed, whether it needed a place to put a cocktail or a place to rest. Also, as it was a beach house, we were trying to tell a story about the location and I thought the group told a great story about floating debris and debris that can get onto the beach. ”

“I like to use a variety of objects on a table. Boxes are great for storing a collection of remote controls, books add a bit of flavor and tell the story of your interests, and even some pieces of glass art or sculpture add a variety of colors and scales that can capture attention. My general rule is to use collections in odd numbers so you will often see groups of 3, 5 or 7 in my work. This always seems more harmonious. “

Keep your coffee table style simple

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Alice Chiu from Miss Alice Designs share your inspiration for creating a relaxing and organized coffee table design. “I like to keep the coffee table very simple without a lot of clutter, so I usually only comb with a book or two (different sizes and stacked) and flowers, or a stack of designer magazines and small decorative objects on top. I also like to vary the scale of each item to add visual interest to the table. Organizing a few items on a larger tray keeps the coffee table simple and tidy. “

Design your coffee table with meaning

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Interior designer Chad james shared her favorite (and easy) tips for designing your coffee table with special items you may already have around the house. “I love organizing items as if they were in a museum. Consider them special collected items. “Here are some ideas to get you started:

- Choose a beautiful and unique box to store items that are not so pretty, such as remote controls, matches or candle lighters, a set of coasters, etc.

- Choose from eight to ten of your all-time favorite and most beautiful large-scale hardcover coffee table books.

- Add your favorite scented candle in a hurricane shaped glass vase.

- Display something that is alive, such as single flowers or a rich patch of green foliage.

- When placing these items on the table, be sure to consider size and scale. For example, stack the largest books on the bottom and the smallest on the top.

“Finally, be sure to add something that tells your story. Something that is collected or has great meaning to you … such as a bowl of stones that you and your grandfather collected on walks in the country or a small pewter cup that has feathers that you have found on your outdoor trip “

Think outside the box when designing your coffee table

Mother and daughter Catherine and Justine Macfee are the creative force behind Interior design by Catherine Macfee. Their collaboration gives them a unique perspective on creating beautiful and fresh interior spaces.

Creative director Justine Macfee suggests that your coffee table be as unique as its accessories. “As the centerpiece of any living room or entertaining space, the coffee table can always be a special anchor in setting the tone for the environment. We like to use coffee tables that are unique and represent the strength of the whole house. We have created custom tables using steel, wood or glass to create these versatile and usable tables. Besides the traditional ‘coffee table book’, we always try to bring something unique. “

To give your coffee table a natural look, Justine brings inspiration from the outside. “One of my favorite things is bringing a piece of the outdoors,” he says. “For example, for a house on the beach, we like to bring in polished driftwood and put it on a small stand. For a town house, we like to bring a piece of modern miniature sculpture. In an informal mountain retreat or a home in a wine country, we always try to find that unique piece of art that is representative of its outdoor environment and culture. “

These tips should make your coffee table design less mysterious. Let us know how you style yours in the comments!