How to Style a Coffee Table

How to style a coffee table is one of the most common questions we get, and it’s no surprise given how large of a role the furniture piece plays in day-to-day life—homework is done there, sometimes dinner is eaten there, movie nights take place there. The coffee table is front and center to so much living.

To answer the question of how to style a coffee table, you have to consider many things. One is the fact that the furniture piece itself comes in so many different sizes and shapes. When considering how to style it, you have to also consider that the shape often dictates what to put on top of it.

We went back through the Studio McGee design archives to identify three coffee table styling themes—the coffee table as a bookcase, the coffee table as a curiosity cabinet, and the coffee table as a game room—and brought them here to get the styling inspiration juices flowing. Here are three of our favorite coffee table styling moments.

Letting your coffee table styling double as a bookcase is a tried and true styling theme. In past Studio McGee projects and McGee & Co. collection shoots, Shea and the design team have approached the coffee table first and foremost through books, then layered in other elements to finish the design. We love the look of three or four stacked piles of books, letting the color of their binds and their covers be just as much part of the design as the coffee table itself. In interior design, coffee table books have more purposes than we can count. They are beautiful, they are conversation starters, and they may even encourage you to slow down and flip through some inspirational pages instead of immediately turning to a device (we’re all guilty of it!). They also communicate a lot about the people who inhabit the house—what their hobbies are, where they love to travel, and what their design aesthetic is. Stack your books in various heights to create some visual interest across your coffee table styling. It also creates a nice landing place to layer in other decorative items—curiosity pieces, floral arrangements, candles, and catch-all bowls for remotes.

To answer, “how to style a coffee table,” visit The Oaks Project in our portfolio for an example of the coffee table as a bookcase.

Cecily Coffee Table

McGee & Co.

McKivits Burl Coffee Table

McGee & Co.

Celeste Coffee Table

McGee & Co.

Decorative objects are a great way to add some visual interest to your coffee table styling, they often are both tactile as well as pleasing to the eye. Something beautiful but functional, like a door stopper, paperweight, or even a pretty deck of cards, will do the trick. These items are meant to be picked up, turned over, and touched. We love the idea of having a textural, tactile moment on display as part of your coffee table styling. You can also implement not-so-touchable curiosities, like a glass box full of a feather collection, a bowl of dried petals from a special occasion, or a succulent garden in a beautiful terrarium. These coffee table styling elements are sure to strike up a conversation and establish your home as a well-traveled, cultured one, thus relaying the same message about those that live within it.

To answer, “how to style a coffee table,” visit Cabo Dos Vistas in our portfolio for an example of the coffee table as a curiosity cabinet.

Lady Onyx Hand Object

McGee & Co.

Diani Marble Cuboid Object

McGee & Co.

Exeter Stone Object

McGee & Co.

We love the idea of giving your family and your guests a reason to engage around the coffee table. Incorporating games into your coffee table styling is a great way to do that, or at least present the option.

To answer, “how to style a coffee table,” visit Water’s Edge in our portfolio for an example of the coffee table as a game room.