Filed under: Your Home, Living Room, Projects, Furniture
Here's a designer secret: Coffee tables matter more than you think. Here's how to make yours stand out.It's easy to forget how important a coffee table is to living room design. It anchors the couch, provides an essential place to display our favorite art books and remotes, and if well chosen, they can make a design statement.
To help you rethink your coffee table design, we rounded up some of our favorite makeover projects. Get ready to be inspired!
Photo: Make
Coffee Table Makeover Idea #1: Paint it!
Yes, you'll have to sand your old coffee table. But it will be worth it once you're painting it your dream color. Try a fun spring color, like honeysuckle or Robin's egg blue or a bold spring green. Or have some fun, and paint it in a fun checkerboard pattern or like a playing card, as shown above.
If you're transforming your room from whites to woods, try painting it a deep espresso to match your new furnishings. If you're going from white to wood, try a distressed look. Or paint your favorite pattern on it, like this designer who used a Marimekko print as inspiration for her coffee table makeover.
Photo: Creative Little Daisy
Coffee Table Makeover Idea #2: Change the topper.
If your table is wood, but you'd love a glass table -- you can still change the look. Buy a piece of glass large enough to cover your table, put your favorite postcards (or any other collage of beautiful imagery) between the wood and the glass, and voila -- tres chic. If your prefer an upholstered look, but can't afford a new piece, buy or sew a cushion to sit on top, like Creative Little Daisy did. Instant update! See photos below.
Photo: Sew Many WaysCoffee Table Makeover Idea #3: Make a new one.
Get inspiration from Project Pretty. She bought three end tables, pulled them apart and then reconstructed them into one fantastic looking coffee table. Check it out here. It may have you DIY your own creative version.
Coffee Table Makeover Idea #4: Cover it with your favorite print.
Sew Many Ways had one particularly fun idea. She tore pages out of an old dictionary, artfully arranged them on the coffee table and stuck them on with Mod Podge adhesive (see above). The end result: One great lesson in creative thinking. Try her idea with your favorite wallpaper, like this DIYer on Design*Sponge, or fabric. Or you might even cover your table with leather.
Photo: Pottery Barn
Coffee Table Makeover Idea #5: Choose new tabletop decor.
If you're too lazy to paint or take on a DIY project, maybe it's time to swap out your coffee table decor. Try an artful fan of magazines or a well thought out collection of items that play off one another, like a white porcelain figurine, a candleholder and a quilted bin for your remotes. Maybe there's a color that you can't get enough of. Introduce it through items on your coffee table, then pick it up in a throw pillow on your sofa or a couple of strategically-placed items on your shelves. For more inspiration, flip through your favorite home retailer's catalog. I often look at Pottery Barn (shown above) for ideas.
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