How to style your coffee table

Your coffee table is an opportunity to create a beautiful and personal display at the centre of your room. Stylist Jessica Bellef shares the five elements that are required to create the perfect tabletop.

1. The stack of books
A stack of your favourite coffee table books is a great styling element. It's a chance to share your passions, and books work as a talking point for guests as well as adding colour and personality to the room. Here's your opportunity to judge a book by its cover – group by similar spine colour and typography for a visually pleasing arrangement. Place larger books at the bottom of the pile, graduating to smaller on top. Keep your piles low and neat to avoid a cluttered feel. The magic number is 3!

2. The curated collection
Take the chance to display a treasured collection, whether it's stones or shells collected over time, ceramics, or vintage treasures you've collected or inherited. Play with combinations of shapes and materials but make sure they have something in common, whether it's colour, shape or material. If you are really stuck, look at the themes of your books and go from there. Bring a book stack to life by curating a collection of items that reflect the content of the books, for example coral and driftwood with a stack of books on coastal style.

3. The tray
Anchor and highlight your collections of smaller items by arranging them on a tray. It looks more organised, and on the practical side, a tray lets you easily push your collections aside if you need to make space to rest your weary feet at the end of a hard day. Decorative boxes can also be useful for hiding essential but unsightly items. Remote controls are never a good look!

4. The high & mighty
Make sure your display includes items at a variety of heights. Create visual interest by using a book stack as a platform for a small grouping of items. Include something tall and shapely as a conversation piece. Curves are a great idea if everything else in the room (furniture, rug, architecture) features straight lines.

5. The natural element
Try to include something organic – fresh flowers or foliage, an elegant potted orchid, a lush fern or a shapely branch or shell. This will help create a sense of calm in a room that is often buzzing with television noise and laptop hums, as well as adding colour and texture. Best of all, it doesn't have to be expensive and you can change it up with the season, or as often as you like.