Accessorizing Low Tables

One of my projects is to find a new coffee table for our living room. Once we got our new sofa, our current rectangular table became too large. The Eileen Gray table (shown below, in front of our sofa) is perfect for a side table, but obviously not functional enough for a coffee table.

We first need to determine what style to get, and then, how to accessorize. According to interior designer James Charles, in the Dallas Morning News, the best tablescapes have:

Composition – how objects work together
Variation – mix objects for color, proportion and contrast
Context – consider the room and type of table you have
Passion – reflection of what inspires you
360-degree perspective – look good from every angle
Patience – getting the right mix takes experimentation

So, with these rules in mind, I compiled my favorite examples from Accessorizing Low Tables, in Architectural Digest.

Cyan, a 160-foot yacht, designed by Nina Seirafi. Sofa and low table fabrics, Bergamo. Stark pillow fabric. (November 2009)

One of my favorite AD spreads has to be this apartment. Modern furniture set against the great bones of this apartment. And those lamps are huge! The low table and sofas, created by architect Chakib Richani for the Paris apartment of fashion designer Elie Saab, were “inspired by the cube.” (December 2009)

Thomas Pheasant designs his own home—a classically inspired contemporary residence in Washington, D.C. (September 2009)

Banana Republic president Jack Calhoun and Trent Norris restored and renovated their 1905 San Francisco Pacific Heights home. Low table, Therien. Sofa, Henredon. (September 2008)

In the Lowry Hotel’s Charles Forte Suite, located in Manchester, England, designer Olga Polizzi chose a Ruth Roland bust of artist L.S. Lowry—the hotel’s namesake—as the centerpiece on the low table. (May 2004)

Los Angeles-based interior designer Timothy Corrigan brought Château de Grand-Lucé—his residence in the Loire Valley of France—back to life. (September 2009)

The table is so unusual and doesn’t need any additional adornment other than the glass orbs. Geoffrey Bradfield redesigned his 1869 Manhattan town house and chose the Yves Klein low table from Sotheby’s for the library. “It’s very unusual for me to use funky colors,” he says. “I like clear colors.” (September 2005)

Another amazing apartment…the molding, those drapes! If I were to do traditional, this would be in my inspiration file (it is anyway, and I am a modern girl).  “The objective was to create a harmonious interplay of French and Asian styles, both classical and modern, in an apartment with high ceilings and original moldings and fireplaces,” says designer Christopher Noto of his pied-à-terre in Paris. (September 2009)

Photo credits: Ken Hayden, Marina Faust, Robert McLeod, Erhard Pfeiffer, Durston Saylor, Billy Cunningham, Mary E. Nichols, Matthew Millman, Michael Moran, Marina Faust, Gordon Beall, Andrew Twort, Durston Saylor, Andrew Twort, Marine Faust, David Marlow