An oval coffee table has a way of softening a room for a few different reason. The curves of an oval coffee table tend to invite movement within the room. Additionally, the curves of an oval coffee table tend to discourage sharp corner.
The shape of an oval coffee table creates a natural area within the living room for people to gather around the coffee table. The shape of an oval coffee table is inherenty softer than the formality of a rectangular coffee table. However, there are some challenge to decorating the coffee table in the shape of an oval.
Decorations cannot necessarily be arranged into line across the oval coffee table because the shape of the coffee table isnt rectangular. Additionally, it may be challenging to use symmetry on the oval coffee table in the same way that one might use symmetry on a rectangular coffee table. However, using the proper decor for the oval coffee table can ensure that the oval coffee table feels effortless in its decorations.
Decorating an oval coffee table proper can be essential to the room in which the coffee table exists. Part of the reason why a coffee table can be present in a living room is because it is the visual center of the room. Consequently, the way that the decor exists on the coffee table can make the entire living room feel more relax and more expensive looking.
Alternatively, improper decoration on the coffee table can make the entire living room feel awkward and cheap looking. In order to properly decorate an oval coffee table, a person should understand scale, height variation, negative space, and how the eye travels around the coffee table. By understanding these four element of the oval coffee table, a person can make proper decor choices for the coffee table.
Ways To Decorate Your Oval Coffee Table
1. Single Decorative Objects
There are several ideas for decorating an oval coffee table. One idea is to use a single object on the coffee table. Examples of such an object include a hand carved wooden bowl, a chunky ceramic vase, or a smooth marble obelisk.
These sculptures can create the impression of an oval coffee table that has no sharp corners and only uses one main decorative object. Because there are no corners to the oval coffee table, a single vertical object will allow the eye to travel along the coffee table in a continuous manner without it stop at an edge of the coffee table. Additionally, the negative space that is created by using only one object on the coffee table will ensure that the coffee table does not appear too crowded in small living rooms.
This method of decorating an oval coffee table is best use in living rooms with minimalist decor or Scandinavian style decor. The one tradeoff of this method is the need to select the perfect object that will complement the remainder of the living room decor. Another approach to decorating an oval coffee table is to use books on the coffee table.
2. Hardcover Books
Using only a few books on the coffee table is one way to decorate it. Placing two or three books in a curved arc along the oval coffee table and adding another object to the books allow for these books to be incorporated into the decor choices without making the coffee table look like a library on the living room furnitures piece. The books should be hardcover because paperbacks have floppy covers that do not suit the decor of an oval coffee table.
This strategy works especially well if the coffee table is located in front of a sofa on which people will reach for the books. Another idea is to introduce an organic element into the decor choices for the oval coffee table. An organic element could be a trailing plant, dried bunny tail grass, or even driftwood.
3. Organic Elements
Including such an object will reinforce the gentle nature of the oval coffee table. The organic element should be low enough on the coffee table so that it will not become an obstacle for people to socialize with one another across the coffee table. Any object that is taller than four inch should be avoided.
Using an organic element will provide one of the many benefits to the living room that includes an oval coffee table. In living rooms that contain many hard surfaces and many straight lines, an organic, living, or once living element will provide visual contrast to the rest of the decor. Using a tray on the oval coffee table is another strategy.
4. Round or Oval Trays
Using a round or oval tray on the coffee table will allow for smaller decor item to be placed in the tray on the coffee table. Using a tray will allow for people to avoid placing the decor items near the outer edges of the coffee table. This is beneficial because it will prevent these small items from getting knocked off of the coffee table.
Using a tray allows for the placement of items like a candle, a box of matches, and a dish for rings or keys. Additionally, the material of the tray should contrast the material of the coffee table itself. This strategy is beneficial for living rooms that are commonly used in busy households where a coffee table may accumulate some clutter.
Another approach to coffee table decor is to use a trio of vessel of graduated sizes. Using three ceramic vases or three bottles of glass will allow the decor choices to mimic the curve of the oval coffee table. Using three vessels of different heights ensures visual interest for the coffee table while still maintaining visual appeal.
5. Trio of Graduated Vessels
The tallest of these three vessels should still allow for people to see over the coffee table when they are seated. Using a vase for flowers, leaving one vase empty, and using a vessel for matches will allow variety within the decor choices while still creating visual interest for the coffee table. This approach works well in living rooms with transitional or boho decor choices.
Using decorative items that reflect light can enhance the oval coffee table. Examples of such items include a tray of mirrored coasters, a brass bowl, or a mercury glass dish. These items will reflect the light that enters the coffee table from the windows or the lamp in the living room.
6. Light Reflecting Items
Using items that reflect light will create a halo around these items which will even out the shadows on the coffee table. This reflective decor will also double the visual interest of any items that are already on the coffee table. However, care must be taken with the size of the reflective items.
An oversized item like a giant mirror tray will overwhelm the gentle nature of the oval coffee table and may even create the visual of a giant disco ball. Instead, use only smaller reflective items that will still allow for the desired benefits of reflecting light onto the coffee table. Using textiles on the oval coffee table is another idea.
7. Textiles
Using a linen or cotton throw to drape over half of the coffee table will create a softer visual effect to the coffee table. The textile will break up the visual impact of the coffee table, it will absorb sound in the living room, and it will allow for the eye to rest on the coffee table. Choose a color for the textile that is echoed elsewhere in the living room.
The textile will be beneficial during the cooler months of the year. In the warmer months, a cotton or raw silk throw can be used to cover half of the coffee table. Finally, using an unexpected conversational piece will allow for the coffee table decorations to become an extension of the living room decor.
8. Unexpected Conversational Pieces
Using a vintage pocket watch on a stand, a river stone, a stack of antique postcards, or even a hand painted egg will create an element that people will naturally want to pick up and interact with when they are in the living room. Placing this decorative object near the outer edge of the coffee table will allow people to easily reach it but will not make the coffee table look as if it is trying to dominate the living room decor. This approach to decorating an oval coffee table requires some restraint.
Too many of these quirky object will make the coffee table look like it was decorated with carelessness. However, using one of these items is what will separate the coffee table that is merely tidy from the coffee table that is well-decorated. In decorating the oval coffee table with the approaches described above, the living room will feature an oval coffee table that does not fight with the decor choices but that enhances them.
The gentle shape of the oval coffee table works with the decor choices for the living room because it allows people to look at the coffee table in a continuous loop rather than at a series of separate objects. Additionally, the best decor choices will make a person want to sit on the sofa in the living room and to set their coffee in the perfect spot on the coffee table. A properly-decorated oval coffee table will allow a person to stay in the living room for long periods of time.
These approaches can be used in decorating an oval coffee table, the approaches can be mixed together, and the person can trust the gentle curve of the oval coffee table. Their living room will thank them for it.
