At 1825 Interiors, we believe that no table is ever fully dressed without some style. From the dining table to the humble side table, there is always something you can do to align or dress your surface to perfection. If you’re in need of some inspiration, you can count on 1825 for the top table styling tips. So let’s look beyond the surface—literally—and see how your table can become part of the furniture with a few design tweaks.
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COFFEE TABLE STYLING IDEAS
When you first enter a home, the lounge room is often the first thing you see. And what’s often in the centre of the lounge room? A coffee table! Just as the lounge room can play backdrop to this scene-stealing surface, we will let the topic of coffee table vignettes take centre stage for the first portion of this discussion.
Before we break into specific examples, you may require a quick vignette of a vignette—and, yes, these two words have different meanings. The former is a literary short story (used here with much poetic licence), whilst the latter is an ornamental display. However, it is similar to its literary counterpart in that it tells a story in the visual equivalent of 25 words or fewer. A coffee table vignette is an arrangement of four or five items that share a thematic link.
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Our first example, featuring our Vienna Rattan Coffee Table, is a simple vignette ideal for beginners. We’ve selected the Sadie Tray as an anchoring template to establish a sizing scale and complement the table’s rattan material and texture. This botanical arrangement leans on leaves and green colour theming, bringing a touch of the outdoors in. Notice how the faded green on rustic rattan interacts with the neutral rug, wooden floorboards, and earthy cushion-on-couch combinations around it.
Unlike many vignettes, this one is asymmetrical, but its thematic elements form a love letter to the rugged outdoors. The trinket tray and glassware are that touch of elegance that smooth the rough edges whilst paying homage to the leaf arrangement, which ‘rounds off’ the display.
In this slightly obscure example, this vignette tells a horsey tale. Though the lounge room fits the Hamptons aesthetic, its centrepiece backtracks through Long Island and settles in a more rural location. For us, it evokes images of apple orchards and horses grazing in paddocks.
How do we encompass beautiful beaches and countryside all in one photo? To echo their ‘Hamptons’ surroundings, every item in the vignette has a neutral base—from the Gomez Timber Bead Edge Oval Tray to the surface upon where it sits. Whilst Stephen’s Wooden Coffee Table complements the white walls, timber floor, and accent cushions to perfection, the display speaks with its three streaks of colour. Red, green, and royal blue combine to form the room’s brightest and most focal point.
Whilst apples, a horse, and a houseplant don’t belong together per se, the thematic link between them is clear. Moreover, these three items work because of their neutral bases and symmetrical use of space. Notice how the houseplant and the horse stand at an equal height, occupying the Gomez Timber Bead Edge Oval Tray’s length?
If you want to use a fruit display, we suggest using faux fruit. Keep your presentation consistent, and save the real stuff for the fruit bowl!
DINING TABLE STYLING IDEAS
If you’re having guests over for dinner or afternoon tea, you’ll want the dining table looking spick and span. However you spin it, though, the food is the main course of a dinner party, so you should dress your dining table to honour this. In interior design, blank space can speak volumes, and sometimes the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid) can work just as well as any ornate display. Styling a dining table can be as easy as choosing thematically linked crockery or placing a floral arrangement in or towards its centre. Exhibit A:
Image: 1825 Interiors
Because our Newcastle 1000 Round Dining Table above has minimal surface area, we’ve brought out its beauty in the basics. In other words, you can integrate your dining table essentials—from the salt and pepper shakers to the crockery—into your table styling project. Notice how the serving tray’s material is a timber that’s colour-matched to the table. See how the sugar and coffee jars establish themselves as a separate section of the display and yet complement with colours just a few notches lighter than the driftwood colour theme.
To ‘round off’ this dining table vignette, we’ve finished with a wild explosion of flowers akin to fireballs. Because this is a display, we catered to visual (rather than literal) tastes and topped the serving tray with the reddest biscuit we could find: jam fancies. Of course, you needn’t alter your menu for aesthetics’ sake, but these red-tipped fancies interact with the floral arrangement in a beautiful way.
As aforementioned, this is a dining table’s version of a vignette. Consider which four or five items you need for afternoon tea, whether they share a thematic link, and how you can use symmetry to make a marvellous centrepiece.
Image: 1825 Interiors
On the other hand, sometimes it pays to keep things even simpler. Guests will come by on occasion, but the truth is your dining table will see you and your family the most. In our example above, we have beautified the Vintage 1500 Dining Table without the frills. Although it has only two pieces of white decor, we have used them well. The white vase with botanic detailing is a perfect match for its white, leafy lilies, and it also matches the white lattice tray holding the fruit. Due to its tri-colour presentation, the fruit breaks from the neutral theme of the room and becomes the focal point.
Because this is the dining room, you can use real fruit in this context. But, again, make choices aligning with your dietary preferences rather than aesthetics—if they fit your theme, all the better!
CONSOLE TABLE STYLING IDEAS
Console tables are similar to coffee tables, but they’re more versatile. While coffee tables are a staunch lounge room staple, console tables are appropriate almost anywhere throughout the house. Perhaps the most common way to use a console table is by the front door or in the hallway. It’s the surface where you leave your keys or trinkets as you enter the house.
Console tables can consist of one, two, and even three surfaces or shelves. These variations render it challenging to give cookie-cutter styling tips. You can style your console table simply or go more elaborate. Whatever your decisions, ensure they honour the theme and table itself. A great way to start is by adding a mirror or appropriate piece of wall art above your table. Exhibit A:
The Vintage Console Table. Image: 1825 Interiors
Exhibit B:
The Coastal Hall Table. Image: 1825 Interiors
When styling the surface itself, size and elaborateness can be proportional. Our most petite console table of all, the Newcastle Half Round Console Table, subscribes to the philosophy that two’s company, but three items are very much a crowd:
Image: 1825 Interiors
This arrangement, consisting of two neutral-toned vases—one hosting white roses—reminds us of the power of blank space. Sometimes, less is more. So it makes sense when you consider that our Newcastle furniture loves natural timber tones and sleek, black lines—these features are characteristic of minimalism.
Even when you have multiple levels to play with, blank space can be powerful. Take a look at this Hamptons-inspired arrangement featuring our Byron Cross Leg Console Table:
Image: 1825 Interiors
Because Hamptons designs are reminiscent of oceanic colours and seafoam, any such display will often consist of Blue Willow patterns, white ornaments, and bleached shells and coral. In this example, our Blue Willow ginger jars each occupy a level. While the smaller version sits centred atop the table, grounding the bleached shell and shell-embossed vases, the larger variant sits underneath and to the left, dwarfing the white lattice jar and second bleached shell.
The smaller jar is the accent piece of the tabletop vignette, whilst the larger jar balances the display, drawing the eye downward to emphasise the table’s lower level. We have set it off-centre to draw a diagonal line between the two jars, reminding us that the table is more than just its top surface. We needn’t crowd the table or even maintain symmetry to achieve this. This table is a powerful combination of the vignette and blank space used well.
To complete the display, we’ve filled the space above the table with two pieces of wall art, which are colour-matched yet visually different. Their identical sizes and colours play into the Hamptons theme, whilst the differing images provide that perfect blend of visual variance.
SIDE TABLE STYLING IDEAS
The true coffee table counterpart, the side table is that petite surface you place beside the couch. Traditionally used to facilitate lamps, these surfaces can also hold mugs, remote controls, and reading materials. You can even use them to serve snacks to guests. When using a side table for the aforementioned purpose, why not present your offerings on a fancy plate or tiered cake stand? Exhibit A:
The Florence Side Table. Image: 1825 Interiors
You could even take things up a gear and invest in our Osman Metal Side Table On Wheels, which you could manoeuvre around the room with elegant ease. Exhibit B:
Image: 1825 Interiors
However, if you’re using your side table for its traditional purpose, you may wish to adorn it with some suitable accessories. Remember, you have less surface area to play with, so this won’t be an elaborate display such as you would find atop a coffee table. For side tables, lamps and houseplants are popular additions. For a personal touch, you could even add a framed photo. Exhibit A:
The Austin Side Table. Image: 1825 Interiors
Or, if photo frames aren’t your thing—or if you don’t have one on hand—you could fill that space with a thematically linked ornament or statue. Exhibit B:
The Cheyenne Metal Side Table. Image: 1825 Interiors
Of course, space permitting, you could always take the route of the traditional vignette. If you go in this direction, ensure it looks natural and that it doesn’t crowd out what little space you have. Exhibit C:
The Milking Can Side Table. Image: 1825 Interiors
And, as always, ensure that your vignette—or any styling decisions you make, really—matches the theme of its environment. Exhibit D:
The Vintage Side Table. Image: 1825 Interiors
FEELING INSPIRED YET?
And that draws to a close our top table styling ideas to inspire. Whether you want to try your hand at a vignette, shed some light with a lamp, throw an aesthetic dinner party, or simply experiment with colour, theme, and blank space, we hope this blog post has the creative juices flowing. So, play around and see what suits you. There’s more to a surface than appears on the surface, and we are so excited to get started on our next blank canvas. So, which ideas will you try?