How to Style a Coffee Table

The coffee table: home to magazines, car keys and eight remote controls. It’s the focal point of your living room, and yet it always dissolves into a mess. It’s time to tidy up those glossies, find a new home for keys and remotes, and transform your coffee table into something that’s equal parts chic and functional.

I got the VITTSJO table from Ikea. What I love about it is 1) if I was being really frugal, I could separate the two parts and use one as a side table (which I may have done for the first few months of living in my new place) and 2) the glass top and bottom shelf make it easy to style without having to clutter up the frequently-used top surface.

On top, I chose to have one tray holding a few of my coffee table essentials: the latest magazines, a scented candle, fresh flowers, and a simple, decorative object. I keep the TV remotes in the space between the two table tops so they’re hidden, yet easy to grab when needed.

Down below I stacked three piles of my favourite fashion books. I colour co-ordinated them and added a pretty magnifying glass to the shorter stack for decoration.

My Sunday mornings are usually (or should I say, ideally) spent curled up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee, reading my favourite books and magazines. This clutter-free surface allows me to do so without having to clear items away first.

Clean, simple and affordable, this coffee table is ready for anything. 

Shop my essentials: Indigo Square Tray (similar here), West Elm Silver Decorative Ball (similar here), Indigo Mini Candle, Ikea Vase, Anthropologie Mug, West Elm Cups, West Elm Bowl, Indigo Magnifying Glass