by Kristin Kirk with Kristin Kirk Interiors
A staple to every living room, your coffee table is one of my favorite pieces you can easily enhance to quickly add depth to any living room. While it can be easy to think of coffee tables as just a place to rest your drinks, prop up your feet, or corral magazines and remotes, they can be the perfect place to add some personal style to your home! Because they are found in some of the most used living spaces, they provide the perfect canvas for an interesting and creative vignette. A well-appointed coffee table will always be found in the chicest and most stylish homes. These key elements can help you use your coffee table as a fun and inexpensive way to make your home a stand out space!
1. Books.
I ALWAYS start with books when styling a coffee, or for that matter, any kind of table, bookcase, or shelf. We all have them in our homes, and they are a great way to add height and color, and are wonderful for highlighting your own interests and personality! I like to group books of similar sizes into stacks to create a more cohesive look. ** budget friendly tip*** I often scour antique shops, thrift stores, and used book stores for large coffee table books that represent mine or my client’s interests. You can find beautiful books (and interesting) books for a fraction of the price when buying them new.**
2. Organic/Natural Element.
I always like to add a natural element when styling a coffee table. Whether is be a pot of greenery, a small succulent, a found element such as antlers or a turtle shell, or an always inviting vase of fresh flowers; an organic element can add a new texture and break up the sea of synthetic objects. Natural elements can provide you with variations in height and soften up the hard angles and lines of your table. I love buying a bouquet of fresh flowers at the grocery store. I just group them by flower type or color and put like groups in small vases on tables all around my house. You can really make one bunch of flowers go a long way!
3. Trays, Bowls, and Boxes.
I love using trays as a place to begin when styling a table. They add a layering element as well as define a space for a little vignette. Square and rectangle boxes and trays add nice lines to round tables, while round bowls soften the hard lines on square tables. I love finding unique and interesting bowls and boxes to display. They are great ways to show off collections – not to mention being perfect storage for keys, remotes, and other objects! I will often start with a larger tray as my foundation on the table, then I add stacks of books, a plant and a cool object. I place smaller bowls and boxes on top of, or next to the stacks of books. These may house small objects, or be a focal point themselves.
4. An Interesting or Quirky Item.
The chicest of coffee tables always have a conservation piece on display. I really like to use this element to show off a client’s interests and personality. You can display a cool piece of jewelry in a glass case, a fun animal figurine, or a prized antique piece. This is an opportunity to really showcase some of your favorite things. It is also a good way to easily change things up! I swap out my favorite objects all the time, or add something new I find while shopping! I like to add an interesting object on top of a stack of books or grouped together on a tray. Placing your more interesting objects on a stack of books can give them the height they need to take center stage. The key is to draw your guests in and make them want to look a little closer!