Interior designer Kelly Hoppen's simple coffee table styling tip is a fabulous way to introduce colour in a neutral room and achieve that 'just thrown together' look.
Kelly, who is known for her signature style of clean lines and neutral tones, shares how she achieves a perfectly curated coffee table display that looks just like a work of art.
In theory, it's all about picking out an accent colour, which can be used in small quantities to lift or add punch to a colour scheme. This failsafe technique, used by stylists and designers to create maximum impact, is also an ideal way to update your home seasonally with little effort.
As Kelly demonstrates with books and flowers, it works really well in a pared-back, neutral or monochrome room. Here, a pop of unexpected red and variation of height creates a striking focal point, like a piece of art, adding more visual interest to the living room.
Kelly captioned the video posted to Instagram: 'If you know me, you know my flowers have to be one colour. I love matching a bunch of florals to accents on accessories… anyone else?'
The interior designer explained how she clustered books together with a red theme throughout, and then picked out red as an accent colour for a bunch of peonies. 'I love this Willy Rizzo vintage table, with the books piled high and then this [vase] sort of just sitting slightly off-centre off the circle here. It just makes a kind of art piece but it looks like it's just been thrown together,' she explains.
How to get the look
In the video Kelly references the original revolving TRG coffee table, designed in 1969 by Italian artist William Rizzo, inset with an eye-catching wine chiller/stainless vessel (this is where Kelly's chosen to display the vase). A Fornasetti candle and a 101 Copenhagen Kyoto vase complete the setup.
To recreate the look on a budget, follow these three steps and shop some cheaper alternatives below.
- Curate your coffee table books based on colour. Stack two piles of varying heights.
- Get a bunch of fresh flowers (or dried) in the same accent colour.
- Place the flowers in a glass vase and position off-centre on a round mirror plate or tray. Voilà!
Get the Kelly Hoppen look (on a budget)
If you're a bibliophile, you'll probably look to your extensive book collection. If not, head to Etsy for decorative stacked books – coffee table styling made easy!
This gorgeous concrete-inspired coffee table is perfect for minimalist spaces, or those which lean into an industrial look.
Here's a glossy white coffee table. Inset are three 'trays' in various size, giving you more opportunity to maximise on styling.
With a conical design, this white wood grain-effect coffee table is perfect for contemporary spaces.
Flowers will always depend upon seasonality but head to Flowerbx for a wide variety of beautiful flowers which you can filter via colour.
Stick to the same colour family, like this stunning bouquet of pink and red blooms.
Keep it traditional with vibrant roses that will always make an impact.
Nothing beats a clear glass vase for a fresh bunch of flowers. Hand-blown from recycled glass, we love the distinctive chunky rolled rim on this design.
Snap up this pack of mirror plate centrepieces – use just one or keep the stack for styling. It'll help to bounce light around the room too.
You can also achieve the look with a mirrored tray. This sleek chrome finish is an elegant choice.
Here's a Fornasetti candle dupe for a fraction of the price, saving you hundreds of pounds.
Complete your coffee table display with a versatile large black vase. It'll make a big statement in any setting.
