More Than a Table for Coffee

A guide to coffee table styling

If there’s only one thing you take away from this article, let it be this: treat your coffee table like it’s a blank canvas. It doesn’t have to be a designated throne for empty teacups and stained coasters. When thoughtfully styled and adorned, it becomes a slice of personality – a three-dimensional microcosm of your favourite Pinterest board. 

Curation, Not Imitation

More often than not, home décor is imbued with a desire to impress; to convey taste, idiosyncrasy. It falls prey to the ubiquitous “copy-paste” culture, creating living spaces more reminiscent of a Soho House brochure than what one would imagine to be your abode. Nowhere is this performative instinct more apparent than on the coffee table – the centrepiece that so easily slips into imitation, with scented candles and lookbooks all cloned from the same ‘niche’ Instagram photo dump. 

What if I told you the secret to a seductive salon isn’t emulation, but narrative? Be it your childhood home or college dormitory, a homely ambience is an end that is only achieved through authenticity in curation. Where each object tells a story of its own, your 12 square-metre living room transforms into a map of all the places you’ve frequented and everyone you’ve loved before.

Symbolism in Colour

The first step to a beautifully curated coffee table is a colour scheme that encapsulates your personality. Ask yourself: what is the first thing you’d want to see while sipping on your latte before a dreaded 9 a.m. tutorial? If you fancy yourself living in a Sofia Coppola movie, opt for soft hues such as butter yellow and pink pastels. Whereas for those more drawn to minimalist designs for mental clarity, you may be better suited for a monochromatic palette of browns and greys. By narrowing it down to two or three colours, you’ll avoid turning your table into a mind-boggling collage of incongruous items.

Personal Touches

With the limited space that comes with the standard coffee table, it is crucial to be selective about what earns a spot. Replace that random hardback edition of Ferrari 101 with one on graphic design by your mother’s favourite artist; swap the meaningless matchbox for a handwritten letter from your best friend. The coffee table should be a canvas for self-expression and storytelling. Remember ladies: How to Piss Off Men is a lifestyle, not an ornament! Arrange your space in a way that conjugates your name into an adjective, because comments along the lines of “this is the most Sophie thing I’ve ever seen!” may well be the one thing that tops an ice-cold Sarti Spritz at the Criterion.

Trust the Process! 

Decorating your coffee table is an art like any other: perfection takes time. Neither a matter of instant gratification nor mass consumption, it isn’t something that can materialise overnight, in the span of a week, a month, or even years. The accumulation of prized items is a continuous process, just as personal flair develops only through experience and maturation. 

Be patient, leave that awkward bit of space on your table for now – the ideal postcard will find its way to you, and you’ll unequivocally hold it closer to heart than the prettiest Penguin Clothbound Classic you found in Waterstones some Tuesday afternoon. In the meantime, buy yourself flowers; invest in a fancier lip balm, hand cream – something delicate yet practical to keep in an ornate trinket dish, or a recycled Ladurée tin that once held the macarons you indulged in on your trip to Paris in the summer of 2018.

Photography by Sophie Li