How to Style a Coffee Table
My Mom called me today asking what she should put on her coffee table. Her new daughter in law’s family is coming in to town, and as anyone would, wants her place to look nice. My visceral reaction is to tell her not to touch anything, and I will hop on a plane and come improve her home and get it ready for guests. This is something I really enjoy doing, and I have an extra connection to my childhood home, but it’s not realistic! So I will try to pass along inspiration, ideas and some fail proof tips, so she can execute her own coffee table styling!
Identify a color story
Look around your room, what is your color scheme? Pick out two accent colors and use this as your guide. Here, we staged a large, modern home and kept the pallet neutral with a light, aqua blue as our accent color. For this coffee table, I mixed a soft white peony arrangement with a succulent, which is sharper and more modern. We added a blue vase for color and anchored the grouping with a white serving tray. The brass and gold accents on the tray and vase add extra punch to this display!
Pick a focal accessory
A fresh or faux plant or floral arrangement is always a good idea. Plants and flowers bring a room to life, add color and softness. Usually a plant or flower arrangement offers height and great texture to your display. Here, we staged this home with a modern-Spanish style. The home had several carved, wood Spanish pieces that we wanted to work with. We added lots of textures and color to brighten the space. The coffee table was handmade by a friend and the top of it was so gorgeous, so we kept the accessorizing light. A gold tray, orange ranunculus and a candle.
Pick one to three supporting accessories
These supporting accessories should vary in height and can be clustered together near the focal accessory. Mix the textures, colors and height. Incorporate metal accessories or some books that fit your color scheme. You can also add smaller plants or succulents to your vignette. I highly recommend using a serving tray, place your accessories on it and arrange them as you like. The serving tray acts as a nice anchor and allows for easy removal. Notice that some of these coffee table arrangements are super simple, and some are more layered! The above display is atop a large dining table, so we pick large pieces to match the scale.
In this room, we found some gorgeous boxes at Home Goods and based the whole stage color scheme off the navy and turquoise boxes! This home was so fun, we loved using lots of succulents to match the homes lavish garden in the backyard.
Now look around your home and see what you have. Grab a few books, some flowers from outside, a knick-knack accessory or two and dig out your dusty serving tray! You’re ready to create your own little vignette for a table top! Enjoy!