Texture, Height, Personalization

For those of you that do not know, my littlest man is about to turn one.  I could go on and on about all that, but rather I will express the fact that homeboy likes to get into stuff.  This makes certain decorating tactics a bit of a challenge.  Specifically, any type of coffee table styling.  A recent SS discussion was focused on revamping a living room, and shifted to coffee table styling, hence this blog post.  Although I cannot currently style my coffee table, due to said toddler, I swoon over a good centerpiece, and have a few keys rules I follow when styling one.

A coffee table that fits your style is a good place to start.  We got this old trunk from my husband's grandparents, which has worked as a great unique coffee table within our house.

Here are the three essentials when styling a coffee table.

1)  Texture

2)  Height

3)  Personalization

Texture

Incorporating texture avoids anything too matchy-matchy (unless that's your thing, and then just run with that!). You can achieve texture by utilizing different fabrics, patterns and materials.  I chose to use a piece of scrap lace fabric, a metal tray and a vintage hankerchief.  I also included a textured pitcher and a patterned frame.  

Height

Creating height is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and avoids the decor being one note and dull.  You want to tell a story, and have the eye move from one feature to another, in a playful manner.  I achieved this by adding vintage books (which also lend themselves to texture due to their aged appearance) and a pitcher with fresh picked wild flowers.

Personalization:

It is absolutely essential to add personal features to your coffee table.  This is the heart and soul of the styling. This could be in the form of a photo/frame, momento, valuable gift, etc.  I chose to use a photo, which you can change frequently.

It is also important to create some type of frame for your focal point, such as the vintage tray that I used.  You could use a large book, piece of fabric, or tray of some sort to achieve this effect.  

Other pieces you could add would be candles, figurines (I spray painted a forgotten toy horse from my kiddos play room), vase, candy bowl, etc.

Have fun with it, and switch pieces out from time to time to keep it fresh and new.  Change the photos, get different flowers, and enjoy this special piece of your household!

Do you currently have a styled coffee table?  If so, let us see a picture!  Do you have little hands that make it difficult to keep it styled?  Share Share