19 Aug Style like a pro – part 3 – styling up coffee and dining tables
Style up your coffee and dining table
Have you looked at pictures in magazines and online of beautifully styled coffee tables and dining tables and wondered how to get that look? Struggling at home with piles of stuff overloading your tables? Well, let’s see if we can help you with this one.
Coffee and dining tables are prominent pieces of furniture in your home, so it’s worth taking the time to dress them in a chic, eye catching manner. Now this is not always easy as it sounds when you are living in a home. Kids dump stuff everywhere, husbands want to put their feet up on the furniture and sometimes it all becomes just too hard to manage a styled look in your home.
So how do you go about making sure your tables look great?
When styling your coffee table, you need to keep your rooms overall colour palette in mind so it works together cohesively. Whether you’re using neutral hues or a burst of colour, be conscientious of every detail, even down to the covers of your magazines and books wherever possible.
A tray is a great way to bunch items together in an organised fashion so that your table can continue to be used for coffees, homework and those pesty feet resting on the edge! Vary the heights of the objects you use and keep in mind the rule of three to avoid making the tray look cluttered. Place this either in the centre or to one side of your table to increase the functionality and retain the styling.
Keep in mind that a coffee table piled high with stacks upon stacks of fashion, architecture and typography books renders the table virtually useless for a mug or tired feet at the end of the day. Place your books in different directions and heights to add depth and dimension while leaving parts of the coffee table visible. A decorative hinged box that ties in with your other accessories on the coffee table can also hide away daily items such as the TV remote.
If your coffee table has a smaller surface area, a fail safe approach that we often adopt is a small bunch of flowers or a plant, a stack of 3 books or magazines, candles, decorative items that reflect the colours of your room and a touch of timber or warm metal accents.
Your dining table is usually a different story. Given the larger surface area you can afford to go big and bold when styling your dining table as there are usually less restrictions when it comes to height and colour. Think a luscious, bright floral arrangement, a big bowl of fruit, a series of terrariums or even a set of faux antlers.
Keep in mind anything too tall may look over the top and can end up touching pendant lights which never looks good. Also make sure that if you are going for height that there is enough balance in the width of the piece as well. A tall piece can be prone to toppling with wind if you have your doors open (or smaller hands that like to climb up on chairs and onto the table) so always be aware to check this.
Your greenery does not always need to be fresh cut either. While fresh flowers and stems are amazing, their lifespan is limited and keeping up with fresh cut is expensive. Smaller low maintenance terrariums or cacti are very cool (and kids love them). There are also stunning floral arrangements available from faux plant manufacturers such as Rogue Home. These are not the silk roses we grew up with at our grandmother’s house, they are incredibly detailed and realistic, quite often people visiting our styled homes ask whether the arrangement is real or not.
The main thing is keep it looking fresh and simple – too often people over-style which can make your space look a bit messy.
We would love to see what you’ve created on your coffee or dining tables at home – please tag us on Facebook or Instagram with what you have achieved in your home.