A coffee table can really change and uplift your living room. Coffee table decor, along with how you decorate end and side tables, differ from many other pieces of furniture in your living room because these items can anchor the area and make a design statement. A coffee table can house books, floral arrangements, candles, cute decorations, unique accessories and often come with a great centerpiece.
The best coffee table decor ideas simply complement your home’s style and add flair you with decorative arrangements and accents. Whether you’re into classic, rustic, farmhouse or modern styling and have a glass or wooden table, here are the best ways to decorate a coffee table in your living room.
Coffee Table Decorating and Styling Ideas
With so many decorating ideas for your coffee, center, end, and side table, deciding on how to style a table can be a challenge. Check out these beautiful designs and styles to inspire you!
Modern Romantic Pink Side Table Decor
A gold and glass coffee table serves as the perfect base for a crystal lamp with gold accents and other cute decorative elements, including the recently trending pineapple. A copper-toned urn filled with fragrant pink cabbage roses completes the modern style for a chic living room.
Rustic Coffee Table For Your Living Room
A sturdy wood and iron coffee table begs for solid decor to provide an anchor. Group several substantial decorative pieces together in a basket – things like a stoneware vase and ceramic bowl filled with moss – next to heavy books.
Modern Coffee Table with A Luxury Feel
Make a small living room feel bigger with a mirrored table with interesting geometrical elements. Stage the space with thematically-appropriate elements like a textured gold box with an interlocking square closure and a three-dimensional geometrical knot figurine.
Contemporary Table Centerpiece Ideas
A minimalist gray living room is livened up with a pink decorative pillow and floor pouf. Continue that theme with the coffee table by layering a grey stone vase on top of a marble top, but fill it with a riotous mixed bouquet of blooms in various shades of pink.
Gold and Glam Style
Make a white quartz coffee table with gold metal legs look even more glamorous with additional metal accents. This example includes a mirrored gilt-edged tray, brass succulent planter, and a gold decorative dish shaped like a lotus.
Decorative Accents For Your Farmhouse Home
Bring the farmhouse indoors by adorning a whitewashed wooden coffee table with little pots of fresh herbs instead of a more traditional centerpiece. Finish the sweet, old-fashioned look with tattered and well-loved antique books.
Country Style Living Room Table with Creative Centerpiece
The decor style in the American Southwest is often anchored by patterned woven textiles. Echo that look with stout candles wrapped in patterned paper and lanterns with their own geometric patterns punched in the sides.
Natural Wood Coffee Table
Embrace the beauty of nature in your decor by getting a wooden table and decorating it with a faux wood slice topped with other natural elements including large pine cones and a glass bowl filled with sand and decorative grasses.
Cute Centerpiece For Your Beach Cottage
Most beach towns have small tourist shops that sell polished seashells. Incorporate them into your decor by placing them in a large shell-shaped dish. You can also put sand and shells into a large glass vase with faux flowers.
Trendy Living Room Table
If you have high-end taste, chances are you don’t mind letting people know. So if you gravitate towards ritzy furnishings like mirrored coffee tables, faux fur throws, glittering decorative pillows, and fine art, then books featuring high-end designers will be right at home.
Adorable Floral Coffee Table
When it comes to creating beautiful decor in the spring, a floral coffee table can be the perfect addition to your living room. You’ll want to consider a center table with neat stacks of books about dahlias, peonies, and other fragrant blossoms. Set different decorative elements on each stack – a figurine, marble coasters, a scented candle, and a vase with a floral arrangement.
Small Coffee Table with Pretty Decorative Accents
Make a small living room feel bigger by shrinking the furniture you’d expect to find. Use a loveseat instead of a full-sized couch, and pair it with a small table topped with dainty accessories like a narrow vase and a small potted plant.
Simple Small Side Table Decorating Ideas
If you only have room for a small side table in your corner reading nook, make it feel more substantial with simple decor. Instead of a full-sized candle, use a votive. Instead of a full bouquet, use a single bud vase.
Decorating Your Glass Coffee Table
A neutral beige living room couch can become hyper-feminine with the addition of pale pink, shimmery throw pillows. Bring the same philosophy to a neutral glass coffee table by adorning it with tall white taper candles and pink books highlighting style icons.
Try A Different Kind of Coffee Table
If you prefer the comforts of an ottoman but enjoy the storage space of a coffee table, then you don’t have to compromise. Just set a sturdy round tray on your ottoman, and fill it with the things you might otherwise keep on a table like candles, a vase of flowers and other decorative elements.
Small Table For Small Living Room Spaces
Even if you live in a small space, you still have room for big style. For instance, you can confuse the eyes by using a mixture of shapes and offsetting a small boxy sectional sofa with a small round coffee table. Use small-scale decor like a narrow vase to make everything feel proportional.
Girly Bohemian Decorations For A Luxury Look
A chic bohemian-style look depends on a variety of pieces: some will be new or high-end, and others will be secondhand or inexpensive. You can capture that bohemian style in a more upscale manner by buying all new items but mixing up shapes and textures. Contrast a velvety rectangular couch with a mirrored square coffee table filled with elements like a cylindrical vase, little round glitzy disco balls, and a starburst figurine.
Enhance A Glass Coffee Table with Cute Matching Accessories
An all-white living room can look dated. Modernize it with a glass table and reflective mirrored tray, then bring white back into with accessories of varying textures. Experiment with a marbled box, a ceramic pineapple, and a vase of large white flowers.
Modern Twist on Rustic Coffee Table
Rustic decor doesn’t have to look like a log cabin. Put a fresh take on foresty decor with a glass-topped coffee table with a wooden base and top it with wooden and copper vases filled with fresh ferns and flowers on a metal tray, along with a small metal lantern.
Unique Decorations For A Large Wooden Farmhouse Coffee Table
No cozy-family-friendly living room is complete without a big, comfy couch and a large tabletop for snacks and drinks. Consolidate decor including books and family photos onto a large tray that can be easily moved to the side for family game nights.
Shiny Metallic Arrangements
An elegant living room with dark colors is elevated with metallic decorative accents. Line a mirrored gilt tray with interesting items like a gold hourglass with black sand and brass and ceramic bowls. For a final touch, add a flower arrangement in a large, gold-dipped bowl vase.
Add Natural Elements To Your Room
A sturdy iron and wood coffee table makes an excellent focal point in the living room of a contemporary farmhouse. Bring in natural elements via round moss ball topiaries and an antique horse figurine in rough-hewn wood.
Artsy and Elegant Design Styles
In an airy living room filled with bright abstract art, even table decor should have a quirky, upscale feel. Center a large round tabletop under a chandelier and fill it with abstract and offbeat statuettes.
Chic Living Room Table with Clean Countertop
Beach decor can easily be kitschy, but it can also be surprisingly elegant. Fill a large silver bowl with large conch shells and delicate hollow balls adorned with tiny jewel-like seashells. Add other whimsical touches, like driftwood lamps, on side tables.
Repurpose Antique Industrial Decor Into A Modern Table
Old wooden pallets can be stained, topped with glass, and mounted on large caster wheels. This makes the perfect centerpiece for an industrial loft with lots of natural light and plenty of contemporary art.
Add Elegant Touches To Play Off An Rustic Look
Large antique wooden spools once used for rope or industrial cabling make excellent upcycled bases. Other vintage items like a large metal platter and oversized glass jars complement the statement piece, while jewel-encrusted votive holders elevate the look.
Tell A Color Story With Your Arrangements
Pink and navy blue make an iconic color combination. Make a visually enticing tableau by grouping together several items in navy and assorted shades of pink, including a potted succulent, candles, slate coasters, and a small flower arrangement.
Cozy Knitwear For Your Table Decorations
A couch piled with large, soft pillows in a variety of textiles carries over thematically thanks to coffee table candles encased in hand-knitted cozies. Just make sure any yarn that goes near open flames is flame retardant (like wool) or flame-resistant (like modacrylic). Alternatively, just use flameless LED candles.
Wooden Table Continues Your Color Story
A limited color palette of creams, tans, and browns is continued on top of a wooden tabletop thanks to offbeat items like bleached antlers and a magnifying glass with a curved wooden handle.
Simple Table Decor In A Busy Living Room
If you have a lot of wall art or are using several different textiles in your design, keep things simple with your style. A square table with clean lines topped with a vase filled with greenery and not much else provides a neutral place to help focus your eye.
Mix and Match Coffee Tables To Create An Enticing Design
Minimalist wall decor and a low-profile couch allow you to play with the conventions of living room furniture. Get two coffee tables of disparate sizes – one large and square with a simple geometric base and one small and round with a more complex geometric base – and max out your potential decor space.
Wood Table In Minimal Contemporary Space
A contemporary living room with beige walls and bright white furniture gains warmth from a honey brown wood top. A white vase full of blossoms and a large cloche containing greenery rounds out the look.
Use Smooth Textured and Cute Colors
A living room with cream, white, and beige can toe the line between soothing and dull. Add just a hint of color and texture in the form of accents like pale pink cabbage roses in a gleaming silver vase.
When A Coffee Table Isn’t Just
A large, round leather ottoman is soft enough to rest your feet on, and still firm enough to place decorative elements on. Arrangements and styling can include a book, small flower vase, and some decorative metal containers.
What To Put On A Coffee Table
If your coffee table seems bare and you don’t have anything that seems useful, really anything of interest goes. Whether that’s a tarnished silver platter from goodwill, milk pitcher full of pussy willows, or wooden shoe from your trip to Holland, all that matters is that it looks good and has a cool story.
White Holiday Decor
If you’re not into over-the-top holiday decorations on your coffee table, keep it simple with frosted candles and a decorative cloche with a white-painted vintage wooden church. When paired with items like a warm flannel blanket, they lend a subtle air of festivity.
Get Extra Storage Space
If you prefer to keep your table simple, clean and neat, consider getting a large box with storage where you can hide and organize decorative items. Keep anything else you do leave out, like books or seasonal decor, in a tray that’s easy to move or hide when tabletop space is needed.
Chic Centerpiece Arrangements
A black and white living room can achieve heightened elegance with gleaming sterling silver decor, including candle holders for long white taper candles and a vase for oversized white blossoms.
Keep Your Table Neat With A Square Tray
If you need a place for everything and everything, a decorative tray is an invaluable tool for your decor. Square up books, journals, and decorative boxes and enjoy the zen that a perfectly organized home can bring.
Nesting Tables Offer Flexibility
If you’re the kind of person who is constantly tweaking your decor, a nesting table gives you the opportunity to get more decorating space. Round tables provide a nice geometric counterpoint to a rectangular couch and picture frames.
Create A Wildly Romantic Scene
With just one round wooden tray, three vases, and a large, riotous bouquet of greenery and pink and white blooms, you can bring tons of visual interest to an otherwise understated room.
Minimalist Black and White Design
A black and white room is often a graphically interesting choice. You can even continue the theme with the center table in your living room. Select large art books, candles, books, and a clear glass vase with lots of white flowers to dress up the room while staying on theme.
Classic Glam Decor For A Small Table
You can create a wow moment in a small space by grouping together several glamorous gold items. A small hexagonal mirrored tray with gold sides provides a great base for a metallic gold vase and gold-edged rose quartz coasters.
Bring The Beach Indoors with Creative Styling
Turn your center table into a cool shadow box commemorating your collection of dried starfish, sea urchins, and shells. You can even incorporate nautical elements like netting. Put a few larger shells on top to add dimensions.
Glass Table Decor For Your Living Area
If you have a bold decorating style that includes mixing and matching textile patterns, a low-profile clear glass may seem counter-intuitive. However, because it’s so neutral and low-impact, you’re able to incorporate even more eclectic bits of decor without going over the top.
Be Minimal with Decorations
A small apartment or loft seems more spacious when filled with bright white and grey color schemes as well as furniture with sleek, modern lines. Keep clutter to a minimum to further play that up. Pick a single book to adorn your living room table, and choose a small potted plant instead of a large flower arrangement.
Wood Panel Wall with Colorful Styling
A small two-seat sofa looks well-balanced when two side tables are pushed together in place of a traditional coffee table. Because you actually have four places to center your decor in this setup, you can create several interesting scenes.
Mid-Century Modern Styles
The mid-century modern decor style has been having a major moment for a few years now, and it shows no sign of going anywhere. Accessorizing a mid-century modern living room can be easy. Just lay out vintage books, a brass vase, and other metallic or geometric decorative vessels.
Unique Furniture Can Stand On Its Own
Sometimes a piece of furniture is so interesting, it deserves to be the focal point of the room. A living room table with cool legs can be adorned with visually interesting crystal figurines to add additional flair.
Consider Wood with A Twist
A fully black and white living room gets an unexpected pop of color from a rough-hewn wooden table. The wood, which would typically be neutral, becomes a shining star. Decorate it with black and white hardcover books for extra contrast.
Less Is More On A Large Square Table
It’s easy to go overboard on decorating a large space, but sometimes a little restraint makes for a big impact. A large wooden table with a weathered white base looks amazing when paired with candle holders topped with pillar candles. Scatter some dried pine cones for a fun seasonal element.
Make The Most of Your Living Room Space
If your living room feels cluttered, a small round coffee table can make you feel like you have a lot more space thanks to the ease of navigating around it. Top it with tall plants to draw the eye up and elongate the room.
Create A Focal Point with A Cool Centerpiece
A long white sofa with clean straight lines plays nicely against a live edge coffee table with a polished warm surface. Decorate it with large round vases filled with greenery to play up the natural element.
Vintage Elements and Items
Contemporary decor often relies on shiny gold, marble, and other high-end finishes. Decorate this space with books celebrating vintage fashion to show how everything comes full circle in design.
Unique Ways To Style For Eclectic Designers
A clear acrylic table gives you the opportunity to really go outside the box. Stack books underneath and gather an assortment of diverse accessories to the top as the table is so low-profile it’s essentially invisible.
Rustic Coffee Table
If you have a long narrow living room, consider repainting an old wooden bench and using that in place of a traditional decoration. Display a statement piece on top to fully illustrate how unusual it is. Think a long piece of driftwood that’s been fashioned to hold multiple votive candles.
Anchor A Glass Coffee Table with Statement Pieces
People with eclectic tastes should consider getting a glass living room table. This doesn’t compete with oddball decor items like a disco ball or a large wooden box-shaped like a die. Let your collectibles speak for themselves without fighting for attention.
Beach-Themed Rectangle Table with Modern Styling
Too many beach-themed pieces of furniture can go too kitschy, so stick with furniture with clean straight lines and neutral tones. Bring in the beach decor through accessories instead of furniture items. Decorating designs looks great with a large shell-shaped bowl and a glass ball wrapped in rope.
Wooden Table in Modern Living Room
Modern wooden furniture has so much character on its own that it’s best to let those pieces really shine. Basic arrangements like books and a vase of flowers are more than enough. You don’t want to compete with the clean lines and gold accents of a truly great mid-century piece.