Coffee Table Top Decorating Ideas

40 Fresh Ways to Decorate Your Coffee Table

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Unless you started a living room revolution and got rid of your coffee table, there's a good chance it's one of the most important pieces in your space. Your coffee table is so much more than a surface to kick up your feet or place a glass of wine. As the focal point of your living room, it acts as an anchor for your ottomans, armchairs, and sofas.

Your coffee table is such an important part of your living room, so it's important it is designed to the nines. Does stacking art books on your coffee table feel lackluster? Don't worry, we found 40 fresh ways to up your coffee table decor.

1. Embrace Flower Power

Never underestimate the impact of a bright bouquet of flowers in a sophisticated vase paired with a stylish stack of magazines on your coffee table. The setup in Aviva Falk and Nick Bonham's Brooklyn abode feels fun and feminine, but also functional.

2. Go Glam

In this Tennessee house tour, an edgy mix of chrome-finished vessels and a black-and-white tray turns a neutral coffee table into a stunning living room scene.

3. Create an Artful Arrangement

Turn a low-lying coffee table into a bonafide work of art by employing a few eye-catching decor objects. This California rental features a geometric sculpture and malachite stone.

4. Get the Tray Treatment

A cute catchall tray can go a long way on a coffee table. Case in point: Apartment Therapy editor Tayrn Williford's Atlanta, Georgia loft, where she employed a chic tray to corral controllers, matches, and more on a large travertine coffee table.

5. Try a Two-Tiered Table

Looking for an innovative way to bring some serious glamour to your living room? Place some flashy art objects on the lower level of a clear, two-tiered coffee table to make a statement without occupying too much surface space. Let Brittaney Elise Minton's New York City apartment show you how it's done.

6. Go Green

You can always count on a bit of greenery to brighten up a humdrum coffee table. Follow in Linda Cava's footsteps and set a couple of succulents in petite planters on your coffee table to energize your space with natural elements, like she did inside her Brooklyn abode.

Credit: Submitted by Amanda

7. Play With Proportions

Anchor a graciously sized coffee table with a design-savvy tray, like the silver platter styled with small plants and flowers we spotted in Amanda's New York City apartment.

8. Keep it Simple

Minimalist lovers rejoice: You can simply decorate the surface of a two-tiered table, which is great for stashing stuff underneath. In Allison and Ben Yarrow's Brooklyn house, a clean catchall tray was the hero of the coffee table.

9. Create a Museum-Worthy Spread

Whoever said a coffee table can't look like a museum exhibit has obviously never seen Scott Jarrell and Kristan Cunningham's downtown Los Angeles home. Arrange a few artful artifacts and interesting baubles on your own coffee table to score a similar gallery-style display in your living room.

10. Add Some Beads

Searching for a simple way to dress up your coffee table in seconds? Draw inspiration from Anne and Steve's Cape Town home and place a strand of natural beads on your coffee table.

11. Keep it Natural

12. Embrace Your Eclectic Side

Whether with a bright bouquet of flowers or a whimsical knickknack like the dinosaur toy we spotted in Hallie Glennie's Chicago loft, a solid mix of art objects, books, and flowers can turn any coffee table into a stylish setup in seconds.

13. Make it Maximalist

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful, especially when it comes to decorating your coffee table. Take Peti Lau's New York City apartment, for example. The space's coffee table boasts a medley of books, candles, magazines, catchalls, and baubles, and provides the perfect amount of style.

14. Spruce it up With Symmetry

When decorating your coffee table, remember that placement matters, too. A symmetrical setup, like the two stacks of books separated by a plant terrarium in the center we spotted in Carly Berlin's New York City rental, will instantly update any coffee table surface.

15. Add Some Cute Coasters

A few eye-catching coasters can work wonders for a drab coffee table. Employ an artful coaster or two on your coffee table to bring a pop of personality to your living room. Cindy Zhang has a vinyl record-turned-coaster in her San Francisco studio.

16. Accessorize, Accessorize, Accessorize

The bigger the coffee table, the more design opportunity. Follow in Genevieve Bandrowski and Ashley Campbell's footsteps and invest in a large-scale coffee table with built-in storage so you can decorate it to your heart's content, just like they did inside their Oakland, California rental.

17. A Sleek Setup

As Luke and Claire Staszak's Chicago apartment shows, a single decor accent can be all it takes to make a statement on a coffee table. Whether with a colorful tray or a bold book, a lone (but attractive) decorative object can make a big impact on a coffee table.

18. Space it Out

Searching for a simple (and symmetrical) way to upgrade your living room in a pinch? A handful of evenly-spaced books or magazines on your coffee table looks surprisingly hip and design-savvy, just like we saw in Carina Michelli's Buenos Aires home.

19. Organize With a Basket

Not working with a ton of storage space on your coffee table? No problem. A small but chic storage basket can slide right under your coffee table to offer up extra room for stashing stuff. For inspiration, check out Meghan and Jesse Arlen's Los Angeles abode.

20. Grab Some Greens

One big plant can transform your entire coffee table surface into a stylish scene in seconds. Take a cue from Alison and Derek Fandel and use a large, leafy green houseplant to anchor a long coffee table just like we saw in their Atlanta, Georgia, living room.

21. Do it Double

Why have one stylish accent item on your coffee table when you can have two? Take a hint from Lita Lee's Canadian crib and place a leafy green houseplant on top of a nice-looking tray or basket to make twice the impact.

22. Create a Colorful Surface

Looking for a goof-proof way to bring all the different colors in your living room together? Decorate the surface of your coffee table with accent items that draw from the room's color palette, just like we saw in Des Ellis' Houston, Texas, home.

23. Pull up a Seat

A pair of petite accent chairs, like the ones we spotted in Clara Marina's Barcelona abode, is a clever way to dress up a pared-down coffee table and offer some child-sized seating in your living room.

24. Put a Pitcher on It

Why invest in an old-fashioned flower vase when you can put your bouquets in a pretty pitcher on your coffee table instead? Follow in Katy and Jules' footsteps and opt for a pitcher to hold flowers or plants for an unexpectedly sophisticated coffee table display, just like they did inside their living room in London.

25. Flex your DIY Muscle

26. Build a Planter

Who needs a planter when you can turn your coffee table into an indoor garden? The coffee table-slash-planter in Chelsea Pursley's Austin, Texas rental is perfect for growing small plants—no vessels necessary.

27. Get Geometric

Searching for a fun way to dress up a round coffee table? Geometrical objects, like the mini pyramid sculpture we spotted in Cindy Epping's Portland, Oregon living room, provides a nice contrast to a shapely coffee table.

28. Split it Up

Hannah Wilson's Dallas digs shows how to combine a minimalist and maximalist coffee table setup by using the surface a two-toned coffee table to play with the two different decor schemes.

29. Mix and Match Styles

30. Master the Pared-Down Look

Ana Kamin's San Francisco apartment makes a case for neutrals. Here, the pared-down accents complete the coffee table without overpowering its eye-catching design.

31. Lay Low

A low-lying coffee table, like the one we spotted in Angela's Portland, Oregon home, is a great place to show off your small (but treasured!) trinkets and knick-knacks.

32. Be Bold

A clear coffee table is no match for a few carefully curated, colorful items. Salvatore and Amina's downtown Los Angeles rental features a glass-topped coffee table energized by bright flowers and loads of multicolored origami accent pieces.

33. Raise it Up

A sleek serving board, like the marble one we spotted in Amanda Holstein's San Francisco living room, instantly elevates a coffee table while still providing plenty of storage space.

34. Style a Stack

When in doubt, you can always count a couple of neatly stacked piles of books or magazines to liven up your coffee table. In Jesica Ryzenberg's San Francisco rental, she made a statement by placing an interesting accent on top of a pristine stack of magazines.

35. Invest in Transparent Pieces

See-through furnishings are awesome for creating the illusion of more space in a small apartment—and Felicity Graham Sargent's Brooklyn studio is no exception. Instead of cramping up her tiny living room zone with bold and bulky decorative items, she stuck with a glass coffee table and transparent accent pieces to keep the space clean and clear.

36. Specialize in Sneaky Storage

Searching for a minimalist-minded way to style your coffee table? A coffee table with built-in storage—like the option in Melissa and Ramzy's Canadian home—allows you to keep your favorite reading materials within arm's reach (sans the unsightly clutter).

37. Take a Seat

Nothing maximizes a small space like multifunctional furniture. Turn your coffee table into a makeshift dining nook by throwing a couple of plush floor pillows or poufs underneath it, just like we saw in Soffia Gardarsdottir's farmhouse in Alftanes, Iceland.

38. Double-Duty Design

Pro tip: Turn a dresser into a coffee table, as seen in Shelley Worrell and Janluk Stanislas' Brooklyn home. In the living room, the pair stylishly conceal a three-drawer dresser under a slim-framed side table to forge a coffee table arrangement with loads of storage opportunity.

39. Wow With a Rug

40. Add a Pop of Color

Looking for a failsafe way to bring some color into your living room? A couple of brightly hued decorative items on your coffee table—like the neon yellow and pink vessels we spotted in Steve and Heather Sack's San Francisco home–add a pop of color to the room without overpowering the space.

Caroline Biggs

Contributor

Caroline is a writer living in New York City. When she's not covering art, interiors, and celebrity lifestyles, she's usually buying sneakers, eating cupcakes, or hanging with her rescue bunnies, Daisy and Daffodil.

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