How Coffee Table Books Upgrade your Decor

Tory Burch in Color | Michelle Obama a Photographic Journey | Places to Go People to See | Something to Food About | Gardenista

I use books to decorate throughout my home. The living room is an obvious choice but you'll also find them in my home office, bedroom, kitchen, and home bar area. Decorating with books, including coffee table books, is easy and adds some versatility in that you can move them around as seasons (or just your moods) change.

Michelle Obama A Photographic Journey

Spark Conversation

Coffee table books can serve as conversation pieces--especially if you actually read them. Keep the most interesting-looking ones where people will naturally gather and be prepared for questions about their contents and topics. Interesting books can also inspire your guests' decor. I loved this Michelle Obama book on my friend's coffee table and ordered it from Amazon on the way home. Side note: Who else has already pre-ordered #ForeverFLOTUS' forthcoming memoir, Becoming?

Nasty Galaxy | How to Be a Domestic Goddess | Forgotten Ways for Modern Days

Display Your Interests

There are coffee table books for just about anything from food and drink to fashion to travel and history. Pick books on topics that interest you and that you'll want to actually flip through rather than just stack on a shelf and forget about. This will come in handy when they spark conversation (see first point). From the stack above, you can see that I'm into domestic arts, natural hacks & remedies, and women running the universe. 🙂

Tory Burch in Color | Sex and the City | SATC Boxed Series Set | All in Good Taste

Add Color

...or reinforce your existing color scheme. There are books to go with just about any palette, from bright to muted to black and white. There's no shortage of color in my home decor but if you have a primarily neutral palette, bright books are a great way to add a splash of color here and there.

Sh*t Girls Say | #GirlBoss | Homegoing

Create Dimension

Add height to vases, lamps, etc. by stacking coffee table books under them. I recommend grouping them in threes but you should play with the dimensions as you see fit for your space. For example, if you have a stack of three thin books on one side of a table, you can balance the other side out with a similarly-sized stack of two thicker books. You can also mix and match stacks of books with decorative boxes.

Vintage Cocktails | Home Bar Details

Tips for Buying & Using Coffee Table Books

• Wayfair is having a 3-day clearance sale, starting tomorrow, which includes decorative books and book sets!
• Half Price Books is a treasure trove not only for novels and nonfiction reading but also cookbooks and coffee table books.
• Amazon carries almost every coffee table book there is and, even without Prime, they ship quickly.
• As if you needed anything else to add to your Target list, they have a great book selection, too (I'm kidding--who actually sticks to a list in Target?!)
• You can quickly and easily freshen up your space by swapping books between rooms or surfaces.
• If you're getting married or throwing a housewarming soon, add a few coffee table books to your registry.