Our Favorite Decorative Books & How to Use Them

When we pull up to an install there is one thing that we are NEVER without and that is a big box full of coffee table books. Although the term “coffee table books” often refers to the books you stack on your cocktail table they can really be used in a huge variety of places. We use beautiful designer books all over our homes and the homes of our clients!

In a Tray | The first and most important thing that books do is add height. We will often throw cute things into a tray only to find that, when we take a step back, the items disappear. The addition of books adds height to even the smallest of accessories and the beautiful covers add so much interest when you peer closer into the tray.

On an Easel | Cookbook covers should often be considered works of art. The beauty of professional photographed food can add so much visual interest to a kitchen or dining space. We put this beautiful cookbook on display with a rustic wooden easel to layer with the vintage piece of art in our Modern Farmhouse Project.

Stacked on a Kitchen Shelf | When we are accessorizing kitchen shelves we always try and mix in functional items as much as we can. Kitchens need to be hard working and sometimes every item on a shelf needs to have a purpose. To add interest to sometimes basic kitchen items we like to layer them on beautiful books like the mortar and pestle in the Krason kitchen.

Stacked on a Coffee Table | There is no better place for a stack of books than on a coffee table. This allows the books to be center stage in a living room. It’s important that these books look good from all angles and we like to stack them wider to more narrow or biggest to smallest. This way we get to see little snippets of each book as they make their way to the top. Coffee tables can be so overwhelming to style because often we are dealing with a large surface to try and cover. Beautiful books can do more than cover space they can also raise up some of our favorite little accessories and give us an eyeful of visual interest and varying heights.

One last tips when it comes to using coffee table & cook books is to remove the book jacket cover. Books looks so much nicer when their natural cover is exposed. This will make your books feel more collected and well loved than just a stack of brand new books you picked up last week!

Also it help when you pick books you actaully enjoy reading! The books on our coffee tables are often picked up and flipped through so make sure you actually love them! Here are some of our favorites!

1. Kinfolk Home | 2. Suzanne Kasler – Inspired Interiors | 3. Patina Living | 4. Down to Earth | 5. Simplicity |6. American Modern | 7. Architectural Digest |8. Simply Living Well |9. Made for Living |10. Sunday Supper |11. Magnolia Table |12. The Art of French Baking |13. Dominique Ansel |14. Love & Lemons |15. Mast Brother’s Chocolate