Ask Joshua - Book stacks for the coffee table

Hi Joshua,

I recently decorated my living room and my new coffee table just arrived. I’m excited about it since it’s my first time having nice things for my new house. I’m trying to figure out how to style my coffee table. I’ve looked at Pinterest for ideas and noticed that books on the coffee table are common and I love how they look on the coffee table. I’m not sure where to start and what books I should get. Can you please advise?

Thank you,

Hannah - Indianapolis, IN

Scandinavian style living room designed by Joshua Jones, JJones Design Co.

Hi Hannah,

Thank you for asking a great question about finding the right books for your coffee table. I can see how it might be a bit overwhelming since there are literally millions of options. Let’s narrow it down a bit then.

Firstly, focus on your interests, whether it’s in travel, fashion, interior design, photography, biography, food, history etc. This makes the décor personal to you and can be potential conversations starters with guests about something you’re passionate about. Plus, the books should be more than simply accessories, they should be functional; i.e. you want to read them, so make it about something you like.

You can find the books yourself. When you do so, try to get books of different sizes. While it’s not a rule per se, it does make the stack more visually interesting if they pyramid in a pleasing way. Colors can also be important here as since this is supposed to also be decorative, the colors need to work with each other and the rest of the room.

Another option is to purchase a collection of books that are curated and designed for being a stacked collection on a coffee table or shelf. This takes a lot of the work out of figuring out what looks good and let’s you focus on picking a theme, color or subject, that works for you and your space. If you’re curious about some of these book collection options, I’ve put some together and created a digital shopping list for you below.

Best of luck,

Joshua Jones

Shopping List

Have an interior design related question? You can ask Joshua here.

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