First thing’s first, if you’re giving your living room a refresh, you need to invest in a table that suits the space you’re designing for. If you have an industrial living room, perhaps a wooden coffee table is the right one for you. If you have a luxurious set up, cast your search towards luxury coffee tables made of marble and brass. Discover our full range of coffee tables to suit your space.

Balance is an important component of any coffee table display and when starting to style, you need to think about the height and width of the objects you are using. A larger central object like our Raku Crackle Pot will provide a focal point for the display while placing smaller items of equal ‘visual weight’ around it will bring a sense of composition. As well as size, it’s also important to consider tones and styles. Play around with items and their placement until it feels right to you.

Take a leaf out of any stylist’s book and purchase a tray for your coffee table to ensure that the items work together in a display. The tray will force items together and create a vignette that will be much easier to work with. As well as a larger tray you can also use little trays to hold miscellaneous items. We recommend our these shallow monochrome trays from the Edinburgh-based studio of Myer Halliday.

Not sure what items to use for your styling? There are some classics that you should certainly be considering for your coffee table. A couple of books and magazines can be stacked while decorative objects will act as conversation starters. Vases, candles and small canisters are also good for creating a luxury aesthetic. Choose the items that you think reflect your personality best and display them centre-stage.

Don’t overcrowd your coffee table. While it’s tempting to show off each and every one of your treasured possessions, it’s important to remember what you’ll be using your table for on a daily basis – more than likely, coffee! Leave enough room so that items can breathe and so that you can keep it functional for drinks, reading or a tray of biscuits to be shared with friends.

Your coffee table needs to work with other elements of the room. While there’s always room for contrast (see next step), the coffee table and the styled objects should enhance the room but not take too much attention. Use colours that complement the existing tones of the room or provide an accent.

Mix shapes and textures; there is a chance to experiment here before fully committing to the way your coffee table looks. Pair curved items with straight, mix metals, add texture to rough surfaces and clash colours if you dare.

As a general rule, when styling a coffee table, you should never have anything so tall that it obstructs the view of people sitting on either side of the table. Remember to take a 360° approach and try to avoid using things that don’t look good from all sides. Vases, trays and small vessels will look good from all angles while things like picture frames will not.

Try to always use at least one standout piece in your coffee table styling. It could be an unusual item that sparks conversation or just a big handmade vase as we mentioned before. At AUTHOR we invest in finding pieces that make a statement and come with a story so you’re sure to find something to talk about with all of our luxury hand-crafted pieces.

If in doubt, add flowers. Every coffee table will benefit from a bunch of blooms as they’ll add colour and a sense of freshness to your living room. Experiment with the arrangements; you could go for a big bouquet in one of our Gilded Speak Vases or create a trio of posies using our hand-blown posy bowls.