I love decorating for fall! It really helps to ring in the season especially in Texas where our weather isn’t inviting us to frolic in colorful falling leaves just yet. Adding fall decor to your coffee table is a fun way to spruce up your home for fall in a subtle but festive way. Your coffee table is often the center of your living space and creates a great focal point in your family room when you decorate it for the seasons. Its also important to keep the coffee table functional for drinks or a foot rest, however you use yours, you don’t want your decor getting in the way. Read on for functional and festive fall coffee table decor ideas.
Most of the fall coffee table decor ideas below can go on almost any coffee table, I would say we have a very average-sized coffee table so the decor would fit almost any home. If you have a larger or smaller table then, scale your decor to the coordinating size. The two piles of books are great for almost any shape. You can see they look great on a round table but would also work on a square/rectangle-shaped table. The only really specific one is where I have a rectangle tray which I would recommend a round bowl instead of the round table.
7 Fall Coffee Table Decor Ideas
Traditional
For a traditional style, I kept my usual coffee table set up, which is the two sets of coffee table books with the marble bowl on one side and a candle on the other. I just swapped the candle for the pumpkin and added our leaf coasters for a more ‘fall’ feel. This blue pumpkin is a really traditional style decor item, which is a little out of character for me in this midcentury modern home decor style I’ve adopted. When we lived in our apartment I was definitely more of a traditional or glam style, so it made more sense then.
As you can see behind my couch, for my fall living room, we have more Halloween decor, so I think I’ll swap this look in after Halloween is over so I can enjoy the spookier vibes for now, and then more traditional classic fall vibes in November before I put up Christmas decorations.
Floral
I love fresh fall flowers in my home, and I picked up these mums and hydrangeas last week at Trader Joe’s and created my own floral arrangement. They look so pretty on the coffee table with the pumpkin for a pretty fall, fresh, style. I chose pink and green, but if you want to do something more festive for the season, you can choose red and yellow for more fall colors.
What I love about this look is it adds varying heights to the table. In decorating, height differences are what helps your home look more styled. So often people gather a ton of tiny items together and call it a day, but the professionals say that varying heights is a more put-together look creating more visual interest. If your coffee table is in front of the TV you’ll want to watch the height, but this vase keeps the flowers low enough you can see over them, but still great for visual difference.
Minimal
If you need more space on your table, or you have grabbing hands that will want to pull items off of the table, you may want to opt for a more minimal look. For this style, I opted for only one stack of books with the pumpkin in the middle. Of course coasters still for functionality. I love a minimal look when I want to keep things looking clean or sometimes when we’re having people over and I know we’ll want the coffee table space for more drinks.
Spooky Halloween
This year, I have gone all out for Halloween, so I had to show a great spooky Halloween option for your coffee table! I just love how the black pumpkins and skull blend with my usual decor. This style really fits my home and I think I’ll be leaning more into Halloween for several more years to come. I thought about adding some spooky garland, but that would make the table much less functional and I think it would get in the way, so for now, I left it off. I also really love the apothecary jar and ingredients. They are so fun, and all from Target dollar spot. I have found some of the best things there, but have linked different but similar items below.
Blending In
Most of my home has a black and neutral color scheme, with some gold accents. For this simple look, I grabbed a small black pumpkin and added it here for a more modern look that blends into my normal home decor. This might be one of my favorite options because it keeps my theme alive and really allows me to maintain the look I want in my home.
Sparkly
It wouldn’t be a round-up of mine without some sparkle! I love this simple fun look to add some glitter to your fall decorating. We can file this under Halloween, but it can really go either way if you keep it out through November. I love this look and decor for a home with kids because the glittery orange pumpkin is foam, so it can’t be hurt or hurt anyone else if little grabby hands throw it. This bowl is super light and the pumpkins inside are soft so again they can’t be broken if they are tossed around. These were all Target dollar spot finds, so I linked similar items below!
White and Gold Pumpkins
When we lived in our apartment, my entire theme was white, gold, and grey. It was a very girly and millennial and I still have a ton of the decor and work it into my decor now, too. I loved this coffee table arrangement with the gold tray and vase filler mini pumpkins inside. I recommend a rectangular bowl or tray for a rectangle coffee table and a round bowl for a round table. For a more minimal look, you can keep it to a single tray. However, we love fall-scented candles lit at night and always need coasters around, so those are a must!
See more of this style here in my post: Small Apartment Decorating Ideas for Fall.
How To Decorate A Coffee Table For Fall
Step 1: Clear off Your Table
Before decorating a coffee table, you’ll want to start with a clear surface. See what space you’re working with and don’t let your previous decor influence your creativity. I like to remove everything and start to style from scratch,
Step 2: Clean
Don’t decorate a dirty surface! Who knows what has been sitting under your regular decor? Our table gets so dusty and furry with the dogs, so we clean it often, but I admit I don’t always remove everything before wiping it down.
Step 3: Play Around
It’s so fun trying different styles with your decor. Add and subtract and play around with your style to find your favorite options! I made all of the above options with the decor I already had.
Step 4: Choose Your Color Palette
Decide what color palette you want to work with. There are so many options from traditional orange, red, and yellow. Or you can choose something that matches your home decor, like black and white, as I have done in several styles above.
Step 5: Decide on Your Design
Figure out what fall coffee table styling you love and make a decision. The best part about decor is you can change it at any time, so if you love it today and want to change it next week, it’s up to you!
Step 6: Finishing Touches
Place your finishing touches, add your coasters, light a candle, figure out where your remote will live, and make sure your style works for your life.