Olive Lane Interiors

Luxury interior decor styling with books, candles, and natural textures

You’re Styling Coffee Tables Wrong

January 3, 2026

Sorry to call you out like that, but if the title got your attention, you might be guilty!

Hi! My name is Sandra, and I am the Founder and Head Designer of Olive Lane Interiors, and imagine this – You just bought a coffee table and you are so excited to style it, so you start scrolling Pinterest and you see all these beautiful designs, so you feel inspired to start designing on your own. You go to your local home decor store, and you come back with a smile on your face and bags full of items. You start placing items on your coffee table, and when you are done, you take a step back, and it looks more chaotic than curated. You are so confused because it’s even the same color palette, but for some reason, it looks so bad.

Well, we are here to help! At Olive Lane Interiors, we have a few signature recipes that we like to execute when styling a coffee table, so we are going to give you a step-by-step so you feel more prepared to retackle your coffee table with ease.

Consider the Shape of your Coffee Table

There are so many variations I see other designers styling their tables – maximalist, minimalist, or geometric. There is no wrong answer, but my style is quite traditional and precise, so I always lean toward following the geometry of the coffee table I am styling. For Oval or Rectangular tables, I like to style in a straight line. For Square tables, I always style on the four corners as if I am drawing a square in my table.

Choose Textural Objects Instead of Generic Decor

This is going to be controversial, but you will never see wooden beads or knots in our stylings. When you think of luxury, that is not the vibe. There are so many other better items to use – candles, coasters, or even wooden bowls. ANYTHING besides those random shapes that everyone and their mother owns.

Think in Sections

Before designing your coffee table, think in sections. When your coffee table is sectioned off in thirds or fours (depending on the shapes listed above) rather than having items thrown on, your designed space will have more intention.

Choose Your Anchor Piece

Let’s go back to that bag of goods you just bought. Pull out the piece that seems the biggest and most grand, and that will be your anchor piece that you will style around. Your anchor sets the tone and creates visual balance. Without it, you don’t have a foundation to build from.

Layer, Layer, Layer!

There is a reason why this tip has an exclamation mark. If you were to take anything away from this post, remember this: LAYER, LAYER, LAYER! You know that anchor piece we were talking about earlier, well now you are going to build around and the best way to do that is add layering in your sections to create different heights. If your vase with faux florals and tapered candles are the same height, stack the tapered candles on top of some books, and chef’s kiss. You go from boring to breathtaking!

Walk Around your Coffee Table

When you feel like you are done, take a walk around your coffee table and examine it from every side. You want your coffee table to look complete from every angle where someone would sit. Fill in the gaps where you need more layering or switch out the objects that are too similar in height

And voilà! Just like that, now you know that styling a coffee table isn’t just about filling space. It’s about filling it with intention. With the right pieces in the right places, you’ll never again feel like your decor is just thrown together. Trust the process, style with purpose, and watch your coffee table go from ‘fine’ to ‘I saw this in a designer magazine.’