How to Decorate a Coffee Table Tray

If your living room's coffee table or ottoman is too bare for your taste, consider adding a coffee table tray. Decorative coffee table trays instantly add color, texture and personality to your living spaces. They also allow you to get creative and incorporate decorative elements that complement your interior design style. Plus, you can remove the tray when you would like to put your feet up, play a game or enjoy dinner and a movie with your family or friends.

Whether you prefer a traditional or eclectic interior design style, coffee table trays come in various sizes, colors and materials, including wood, metal and glass. Whichever kind of tray you choose, decorating a coffee table tray is a fun way to express yourself, organize your coffee table and design beautiful vignettes you'll enjoy every time you sit down to relax.

Let's explore some decorative elements you can use to create beautiful, thematic coffee table tray displays.

Flowers, Greenery and Other Natural Elements

Flowers, greenery and other natural elements — like floral pomanders, feathers, pinecones, driftwood, sea shells and coral — instantly warm up living spaces. Whether you opt for fresh floral bouquets from the garden or realistic faux silk flowers, you can swap your tray's plants and other natural elements with the season. 

For example, a brightly colored, faux pink cherry blossom in a beautiful scalloped glass bud vase would be perfect for a spring coffee table tray vignette. Alternatively, a blueberry cypress spray with pinecones set inside a tall vase would suit a holiday vignette. 

However you style your greenery, remember to select unique, charming planters and vases that perfectly complement your arrangements.

Books, Magazines and Photo Albums

To decorate a coffee table with a tray that has some height and dimension, stack books, magazines or photo albums on your tray. Books of different sizes, shapes and thicknesses are perfect for layering and inspiring exciting conversations. You can also wrap them in fabric covers that match your space's furniture, window treatments or wallpaper.

Books and magazines about past or future vacation destinations and interesting hobbies can relax, inspire and motivate you. An interior design magazine might even influence your next table tray spread. Plus, picture books, photo albums and digital picture frames act as conversation starters for you and your guests and are fun to flip through on rainy days.

Book Toppers and Architectural Elements

After stacking your magazines or books, tie your table spread together with a paperweight, book topper or another interesting architectural feature. For example, you could add metal elements or details that match the metal hardware on your furniture or window treatments, like a gold curtain rod or decorative finial. 

Here are some other unique elements you could add to your tray for a coffee table:

• Crystal or travertine spheres
• Decorative magnifying glasses
• Sea coral, sea shells or starfish
• Jewelry boxes
• Decorative bowls
• Wood or glass beads or blocks
• Metal or geometric objects, like brass animals or shapes
• Glass tea light holders, terrariums or cloches
• Medicine bottles or glass trinkets
• Decorative perfume bottles

Decorative Boxes

Don't like the look of TV remotes, TV guides, coasters, keys and other knick-knacks cluttering your coffee table? Add a decorative box to your coffee table tray. Choose a box with a print or fabric that complements your furniture fabric, wallpaper or window treatments for a cohesive design look. 

Otherwise, select a box that blends into your vignette so other decorative and architectural elements can take center stage — such as a large floral arrangement, an artistic pillar candle or a lantern.

Candles, Candle Votives and Lanterns

Candles transform living spaces with their subtle ambiance and gentle aromas. They also make perfect additions to coffee table trays — regardless of the season or your room's aesthetic. For example, you can draw the eye to your vignette with tall candle sticks, colorful votives and unique lanterns. 

For those who love the farmhouse chic decor style, consider adding a unique Medieval-Style bird cage or an antique white metal lantern to your vignette. However, if you prefer a subtler look, add candle sticks or votives of different sizes and shapes to your table tray, like these romantic amber glass votives or sleek gold candlestick holders. 

Decorate a Coffee Table Tray With Decor Items From Serene Spaces Living

Find all your coffee table tray decor items at Serene Spaces Living. Whether you prefer a sophisticated or laid-back home aesthetic, our trays, greenery, candles and other decorative elements make it easy to personalize your space and invite joy into your home. Gather inspiration for your next coffee table or ottoman tray vignette by browsing our lookbook by interior design style. 

Otherwise, shop our spring, summer, fall and winter decorative collections to change up your tray vignettes with every season!

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