The other day I read an article online entitled “40 Fresh Ways to Decorate Your Coffee Table,” and I have to say the article made me laugh out loud. I’m not one to decorate my coffee table. Our coffee table is strictly functional. I don’t keep flowers, or books, or trays, or other decorative items on it.
My mother’s coffee table is pristinely decorated. An artful stack of books, a charming tray of tea service waiting for company to pop in at any time, a few other knick knacks are on her coffee table. My sister’s coffee table is a mix of decorative items AND kid stuff like toys and legos.
My coffee table? It usually has a few pens, the remote control, my Kindle, a small Fiestaware jar of jelly bellies, a glass of water, some drink coasters and an open DVD wallet ready and waiting at all times. Not overly cluttered, but not neat as a pin either. Having said that, we are SO FAR AWAY from any of the coffee tables highlighted in the article to which I linked.
A plant on the table? Only if I want dirt everywhere since I have a cat that would likely find it fun to play with and/or eat.
Beads? See above re: cat.
Candles? They seems pointless. Besides I used to have a Yankee Candle ADDICTION and the result was that I had about 100 mini Yankee Candles in my house that I never actually lit. I don’t want to feed that dragon.
And the fact is, we DO put our feet up on the coffee table and having decorative stuff on the table just gets in the way of my tv-watching comfort.
We had people over the other night to play a rousing game of “Cards Against Humanity” and I took the time to clean off the table just in case our guests decided to go in that area of the house. I was able to get it down to just the remote, the Fiestaware jar, the Kindle, and some coasters. It’s now Tuesday and the table is still pretty clear, but I know that won’t last long.
And don’t even get me started on the coffee table in our formal living room. It is currently covered in Christmas stuff that never got put away. Since we hardly ever use that room (read: 2ce a year max), I suspect it will all stay there until November when it’s time to dust it all off and put it back up again. This is my life.
How do you decorate your coffee table? Are you a “day in the life” person like me, or is yours artfully styled at all times? Comment below and let me know!
