As my first attempt at blogging I'm going to start with a detailed outline of coffee table styling for when you have kids. Many people think that because you have kids you can't have nice things. And you would be correct! Don't purchase or display anything that cannot get tossed around, sat on, stood on, and generally have crazy people treat it like garbage. That does not mean you can't try to have things "look" nice.
This coffee table sits in my living room. My living room is part of my larger great room that consists of my living room, kitchen and dining room. Like many families, and people with pets, wherever I am my kids are there too. For example my youngest is sitting right under my feet while I write this blog post. So needless to say this room gets some pretty heavy kid traffic.
This coffee table was handed down from my husbands great aunt. I do feel sorry that she gave us this beautiful solid wood table in immaculate condition only to have our children jump, dance, play dinky cars and bang forks on it. It has held up extremely well for the last 8 years or so, and until our kids have grown up and stopped climbing and dancing on furniture we will keep this table in our family or rec rooms. I cannot recommend enough having a large round coffee table, if you have the space. There are no sharp edges for little ones to smash their faces on or for you to bump your knee on when you trip from stepping on a lego. I have linked some similar round tables at different price points that I think would work well with kids and should hold up to the general wear and tear they bring.
So now you have a good sturdy coffee table as a base, let's fill it with some beautiful things. Styling out your coffee table is very easy when you follow these simple rules:
Use things you don't mind getting trashed such as books, baskets, faux plants, small vases, wooden bowls or objects.
Have varying heights, some high and some low
Mix the sizes of things, some small and wide or tall and slim.
Arrange your items in groups to form a triangle
Have FUN!
Can't get your brain to figure out where to source this styling stuff I'm here for you. Have a look online at places like Wayfair, Overstock, Target, H&M Home, Zara Home, or IKEA for similar knick knacks. Indigo online and in person is a great resource as well. If you can make it out of the house, then hit up thrift shops such as Value Village or Goodwill. Winners, Homesense, Walmart, and Michaels stock interesting items at reasonable prices too. Or simply shop in your own home or the basements of your loving family members. If you are feeling adventurous you can find Garage sales and church bazars that can be a treasure trove of goodies.
You can see in this picture how beat up the table is, but hey, it's better than not having a table and I enjoy the vintage feel it gives my space. I have mixed in some rectangular books here to break up all the round shapes. If you have a square or rectangular coffee table then it will be important to ease all the square edges in the room with some round or otherwise shapely items such as candles, vases and other organic objects.
Don't forget you need to actually use this table for putting drinks, maybe food, perhaps some toys and most importantly your feet up on at the end of a hard day of coffee table styling. Make sure to leave some space around the edges of the table for living your life. If your table is on the bigger side then you may need to have a couple of different areas of styling but keep the same principles in mind.
So I think that's it. Take some different shapes and sizes of things you don't mind getting wrecked and put those on your table and call it a day. Store away the toys, pour yourself a cup of tea and take a picture of your handy work and tag it with #letsgetstylishwithrobin so I can share it!
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