Living Room

How to make your coffee table more beautiful

Five ways to hit all the right style notes
Chris Warnes

Creating a stunning vignette is easy with these five style tips.

Coffee table tray
(Credit: Chris Warnes)

1. All the textures

Create an eye-catching vignette by grouping elements with different textures. Here, we see the soft and fluffy peony petals sitting alongside a shell and natural hair brush. The rattan basket also adds textural interest juxtaposed against a buttoned fabric ottoman. 

Coffee table tray
(Credit: Brigid Arnott)

2. Mix up heights

Add interest to your coffee table by varying the heights of collated objects. In this example, the various heights creates a sense of contrast, while the use of colour pulls it all together. Need extra height? Stack books and pop a scented candle on top. 

Coffee table in corner
(Credit: Brigid Arnott)

3. Use a round tray

One of the easiest ways to group disparate elements on a coffee table is to ground them in a round tray. In this living room, circles are a recurring motif, appearing in the globe, tray and coffee table. 

Round coffee table
(Credit: Chris Warnes)

4. Say it with flowers

A bunch of fresh flowers is a quick fix for any room – and your coffee table is the perfect platform for a pretty posy. Just make sure that it has a low profile so you don’t have to peer over the top of them to talk to other people. Choose flowers that pick out colours in surrounding artwork or cushions. 

Living room
(Credit: Marcel Aucar)

5. Be clever with colour

Create a sense of unity – and make a strong style statement – by co-ordinating colour. In this example, a vibrant hot pink balances the white walls and dark wood table. The fabric in the chairs is mirrored in the flowers and books. 

For more decorating advice, click here

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