Coffee Table Decor: Ideas & Inspiration

I’m a sucker for pretty coffee table decor so was thrilled when the ladies from Project Design (Cindy from Rough Luxe Lifestyle, MaryAnn from Classic Casual Home, & Annie from Most Lovely Things) asked me to join them and three other guest hosts (Sherry of Design Indulgence, Kim of Northern California Style, and Pam of Simple Details) to share our favorite coffee table styling tips. If any of you have bare coffee tables in need of a little prettying up, I hope you’ll get some ideas and inspiration from our posts to get the job done! When I took a good look at the two coffee tables in our house, I realized that there are five decor essentials that I always use and I’m going to share each one of those with you today! (post includes some affiliate links – see my full disclosure statement {here})

1. Large Coffee Table Trays (The Perfect Base)

I always use a large tray on my coffee tables. Always. I love that they keep everything neatly corralled and if you want to clear off your coffee table to use it for playing a game or setting out a spread of food, you can take everything off with the simple lift of a tray. Trays are also a great way to add some contrasting texture or color to keep things interesting. For our family room coffee table, I went with a large 28″ square wood tray that takes up a large chunk of the coffee table but still leaves room for my husband to throw up his feet on it (believe it not, I keep a “foot pillow” around for him to do that with – lol!):

I had the hardest time finding a large square tray that I liked but ended up finding the perfect one {here}. This Etsy shop sells them pre-painted but I actually just ordered a bare wood tray and painted it myself so I could get the exact color I wanted. And I love that if I change up my color scheme in the future, I can simply repaint it rather than having to buy a new tray. (Yikes! I just noticed the price on my tray has gone WAY up since I bought mine a few years ago! Check out {this Etsy shop} for similar square trays that are a bit less)

On our living room ottoman/coffee table, I mostly use light woven trays to add some brightness and texture. I recently bought {this large woven rattan tray} which is a nice size and a great price for a tray this large:

FYI, be sure to add felt pads to the bottom of woven trays to make sure they don’t scratch your coffee table! These are a few other favorite coffee table trays that would also work beautifully (Scroll & Click/Tap to Shop):

2. Flowers & Natural Elements

I use flowers and natural elements throughout my home because they add life in a way nothing else can so it’s no surprise that they’re a favorite of mine for coffee table decor too! During the summer when we have a ton of flowers blooming in our yard, I keep small fresh flower bouquets on our coffee table: 

You can add even more life and personality by placing your flowers in something unique like this brass swan planter of mine (you can find similar planters {here}) that I’m pretty much obsessed with:

If you don’t have blooms to clip from your yard, grab a $5 bundle of tulips at the grocery store or for even less maintenance, add a plant. This snake plant that used to be on our living room coffee table is the best – seriously unkillable (and that’s coming from a champion plant killer):

There’s also no shame in going faux! I recently bought {this faux peony bundle} in raspberry and two of {these white hydrangeas} that make the prettiest little arrangement in {this pretty white planter}:

And after moving my snake plant upstairs, I’ve been using three of these faux eucalyptus branches (found {here}) in {this white vase} on our living room ottoman:

You can use other natural elements to add life too – a bowl of pinecones, feathers, or elements from the sea such as driftwood, shells, and coral are just a few ideas. The best thing about natural elements is that there are so many outside your door that you can find and use for free!

3. Coffee Table Books

Books are another must-have for me. They’re perfect for adding a layered look plus it’s nice to have some interesting coffee table books that your family and guests can pick up and read. Being the design junkie that I am, most of mine (big surprise) are centered on design. Books about the area you live in, your favorite state or country to vacation in, or a favorite hobby are other great choices. You could also think about getting a bunch of your photos off of your phone and computer and into one of {these cute digital photo books} – that’s future coffee table goals for me! And if you want to add some color or pattern to your coffee table, a simple way to do it is to use a remnant from a favorite fabric to create a fabric book cover:

If you’re a design lover like me and are on the hunt for some good coffee table books, these are a few that have great content inside and look pretty outside (Scroll & Click/Tap to Shop):

4. Book Toppers

Along with some stacked coffee table books, I always add a book topper or two. These can be just about anything from the large gold wishbone (similar one available {here}) I used on my fabric covered book above to a decorative magnifying glass like one of {these} or a small piece of coral like {this one}):

Wood bead garlands like {this} or sea glass bead necklaces like {these} are other favorite toppers:

Here are a few other ideas for fun book toppers (Scroll & Click/Tap to Shop):

5. Decorative Boxes

Decorative boxes are the best! There are so many beautiful options and they’re great for stashing things that you don’t want cluttering up your table. {This black and white pinstripe box} on our family room coffee table holds extra TV remotes, our lighting remote, and my photo flash drives I need every now and then while laptopping on the sectional:

And the smaller marble box on our living room ottoman tray holds a set of coasters:

These are some other beautiful decorative boxes that would work well on a coffee table (Scroll & Click/Tap to Shop):

Once you’ve got these essentials in place, then it’s time to have some fun and add a few quirky things you love! For me, that’s often brass animals (#obsessed) like this pair of brass cranes (similar ones available {here}):

but for you it might be something related to your favorite hobby or a piece that simply has some history and special meaning. Put it all together and you’ll have a coffee table that’s the star of your space! 

Scroll & Click/Tap to Shop This Space:

Thanks so much for stopping by today! You can find a full source list for my family room in {this post} and a source list for my living room in {this post} in case you were wondering where something came from. And if you’re new here and want to join the Driven by Decor crew in getting DIY and decorating inspiration delivered to your inbox, I’d love for you to subscribe by email – it’s only 1-2 posts per week and you can unsubscribe at any time!

Now are you ready for some more coffee table styling tips? These six talented blogging friends are sharing some coffee table eye candy too!