Beautiful Round Coffee Table Decor for a Stylish Living Room

Last Updated on February 24, 2025

Get inspired with gorgeous round coffee table decor that’s stylish and functional.

We had a gorgeous solid wood square coffee table in our last family room. You know when you have a piece of really high-quality beautiful furniture that just makes you happy every time you see it? That’s this coffee table!

The problem was it didn’t really fit in our new living room. Our old house had gray-ish floors and gray walls. It was very….well, gray. This coffee table is a driftwood color which worked great in our last house. While I really love it, it just wasn’t working in this space. Partly because the new sectional we bought is cognac versus our last one that was chocolate brown, and our floors are very warm brown. Don’t worry, I kept the coffee table! I just moved it down to our basement where the color tones were more complimentary.

We did have a coffee table in our old living room (not family room – I know it’s confusing, but our old house had a formal living room and a family room!). But the buyers of our last house purchased that (along with a ton of other furniture). So, I was on the hunt for a new coffee table.

Finding the Perfect Round Coffee Table

Sectional \\ Jute Coffee Table \\ Silver Hammered Coffee Table \\ White Boucle Coffee Table \\ Mindi Wood Coffee Table

Because there isn’t a ton of space in our living room and our leather sectional takes up most of it, I needed a coffee table that would still allow us room to move around. After weeks of hunting (and mood boarding!), I finally found the perfect one for our coastal living room. It’s technically an ottoman but can absolutely double as a coffee table. It’s 36” and made of solid jute.

Natural materials are perfect in a coastal home, so this jute coffee table was a home run. The only problem was, I wasn’t sure how to style it. I normally feature a natural material coffee table tray, but I didn’t want wicker overload.

Round Coffee Table Styling

coastal living room with round coffee table_

When it comes to styling a round coffee table, there are a lot of factors to consider:

What size is your coffee table?
The size will determine how many decor items you need.

Is your coffee table strictly for decorating?
If you don’t need it to be functional, you have a lot more creative freedom.

Do you want to use your coffee table as a footrest?
If so, you’ll want to make sure you don’t over-decorate so you leave space for feet.

Does your coffee table have drawers?
Drawers can hide remotes. If you don’t have drawers (like me), you’ll need another creative solution.

What material is your coffee table?
You’ll want to mix materials to keep it visually balanced. If your coffee table is wood, you can complement it with organic materials like wicker. If your coffee table is wicker, you’ll want to balance it with materials like glass, stone, or wood.

How to Style a Round Coffee Table in 5 Easy Steps

Coffee Table & Decor: Coffee Table \\ Navy Tray \\ Olive Potted Plant \\ Candle \\ Wood Beads \\ Chevron Decorative Box \\ Wooden Knot \\ Rug

Coffee Table Books: The Interior Design Handbook \\ Beautiful: All American Decorating and Timeless Style \\ Coastal Blues \\ Minimalista \\ The New Design Rules

1. Start with a Tray

Look for square or rectangle trays to pair with your round coffee table. A round or oval tray would be too much of the same shape, so it’s good to break it up. I found the cutest navy rectangle wood tray on Amazon. I wanted to bring in color since I had a lot of brown going on in this room. The navy helped tie in the blue in our area rug too! The silver handles also complemented the polished nickel finishes in our space.

2. Stack Coffee Table Books

Coffee table books make the perfect round coffee table decor (or any shaped coffee table for that matter!). They help add style to your coffee table and give guests (and you) cool things to look at or read while relaxing on the sofa. Choose books that tie in your living room colors. If your style is coastal (like me), look for books in blue and neutral colors. Always choose hardcover over paperback. They look much nicer!

I used the entire front of our coffee table for stacking books. Stack them in different directions (half horizontal, half vertical). I like this method so you can fit more on there! Consider the size of the books you’re buying so that you don’t have any that are too big or too small. They should all be within the same size range.

Also, choose books you or your guests would actually enjoy picking up and reading. I got all of our coffee table books on Amazon, and they’re all about interior design (my obsession!).

If you’re on a budget, you can usually find deals on books at Home Goods or thrift stores. I buy a little at time, because they do add up. Slowly add to your collection and before you know it, you’ll have a stack of books to play with!

3. Add a Large Plant or Vase with Foliage

A potted plant or vase should be the focal point of your round coffee table. Make sure it’s taller than your stacked books but not so tall that it blocks a TV, if you have one in that room. I found an adorable faux olive potted plant from Studio McGee’s line at Target. It used to be on our kitchen counter, but it also makes the perfect round coffee table decor, so I moved it!

This should be at the back of your coffee table. I placed ours in the center of our tray. You could also stack your books in the tray, but I like this look better.

4. Hide Remotes

Electronic remotes need a good home, so make sure they’re tucked out of sight but still easy to access. If you have drawers on your round coffee table, keep them there. If you have no drawers (like most round coffee tables), hide them in a decorative box.

I found a really nice blue and white chevron bone inlay decorative box on Amazon that hides our remotes and also serves as the perfect decor. Read all about it in my “coffee table remote” post and discover lots of other options too!

round coffee table decor to hide remote_

5. Layer in Additional Decor

I call this the “fill in the blank” phase. Once you’ve got your foundation down, you can start to add in simple decor items like candles and small decorative objects.

I added a candle and wood beads in the tray with our potted plant. My remote decorative box sits perfectly on one of my book stacks. A wood knot sculpture made the perfect topper to my second book stack.

Keep it simple! You don’t need to go crazy here. I like Coco Chanel’s motto to always take one thing off before she walked out the door. I decorate the same way. Less is more and round coffee table decor is no exception. Round tables may be smaller than their rectangle or square counterparts, so keep that in mind when you’re styling.

The goal is to add warmth to your coffee table so it’s ultra cozy without being busy. We have just enough room on the sides to rest our tootsies if we need to, which means it’s styled with just the right amount of decor.

Round Coffee Table Decor Mood Board

If you’ve read any of my decorating posts, you know how much I love a good mood board. Especially when you’re mixing multiple items like coffee table decor, it’s super important!

I never eyeball anything when I’m decorating. It’s so helpful to see everything laid out together with the rest of the furniture and decor in the room to make sure everything coordinates. I use Canva to make mood boards, and it’s so easy to upload pictures.

Add pictures of your existing furniture and decor (you can actually just take a picture of the room on your phone if it’s easier!). Then, layer in pictures of the decor items you’re considering. Swap out pictures until you find the perfect combinations!

I’m a big nerd and I also keep a spreadsheet with all the decor pieces I like and a link to the website product page. It gets too confusing when I have like 30 tabs open on my phone or computer trying to keep everything straight!

This is also helpful if you still in the inspiration phase and aren’t quite ready to purchase. Then, you can come back to it and have all your links saved!