Styling a Coffee Table in 4 Easy Ways

Here are four ways to style a coffee table that will impress your potential buyers. (infograph)

Source: Architectural Digest | Clever

Arranging items on a coffee table is an art that can be easily mastered. Experiment with the four ways in this infograph. Ultimately it depends on the effect you are looking to achieve to inspire a potential buyer that this is the home for them. The message from the coffee table should be a representative of the lifestyle a home buyer can see themselves living in.

1. BASIC - Add one or two stacks of large books (coffee table books). Let the books be the focal point. You can find these beautiful large books at thrift stores and local rummage sales. Scatter small accent pieces around the books. Place a vase of flowers on the coffee table to keep the focus on the table.

2. ENTERTAINING - Place an elegant tray on the coffee table and put an attractive water carafe with glasses on the tray. Because you rarely have food out when buyers are viewing a home, try putting out small unusually designed bowls that indicate they could be for used for snacks. Place a game such as a chess set or a deck of cards on the table to look like the home is just getting ready to entertain family and/or guests.

3. CENTER OF ATTENTION - Start with a statement piece like a grand bowl or a sculpture (a sculpture on this table should be low in height no higher than 15 inches and take up about 1/3 to 1/2 the coffee table's length - with a maximum width of about 1/3 of the table's width, to accomplish it as a statement piece). Add a two to three large books. Try a smaller arrangement of flowers like a grid of bud vases to keep the design interesting but still keeping the statement piece as the focal point.

4. TEA TIME - The addition of a tea set should match the overall design of the home (modern, country, traditional). An exception is a classic silver tea set that can add charm for most homes. Be sure there is something compelling that the tea set rests on like either a complimentary tray or try something unusual like a slab of stone such as marble. To soften the look add textiles (small tablecloth or cloth napkins). Use one book an oversized art book that is "open" to an interesting picture (preferably an abstract).

Whatever way you style the coffee table, it should not be overwhelming but enhance the rooms look by providing a visual statement of the lifestyle of the home.

Eileen Robinson is the author of The Luxury Home Selling Guide.

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