There is nothing quite like disconnecting from your phone, tablet, and laptop to hold a real magazine or book in your hands. Hearing the crack of the spine as it opens and enjoying the scent of paper as you flip through the pages makes book lovers feel right at home.
Decorative coffee table books can satisfy on multiple levels. Besides encouraging you to put down your electronics and engage your brain in other ways, they can show people your hobbies and interests. They can also be the perfect finishing touch to bring extra style and innovation into your home.
There are many ways to use decorative books in more places than just on your coffee table, although that’s a great place to start. And for every place in your home that could benefit from a touch of class, there’s a reason that decorative books are the perfect tool for the job.
1. They Add Dimension and Restore Order
Any tabletop or surface in your home is fair game. Use your books individually or stack them to add dimension and height variation. Sometimes it can be as simple as having a stack of three books on one end and a decorative tray to display a vase of beautiful blooms on the other. Look to vary object heights enough so that everything on your table isn’t on the same plane.
Our brains work well with patterns and are soothed by symmetry. Even numbers represent balance and make us feel comfortable. When the number of objects is not even, intuitively, our eyes look to find the missing component to restore order. It is because of this science that interior decorators tend to operate by the power of odd numbers. Since the eye is drawn to finding the pattern, we pay more attention to the composition in front of us. Odd numbers pique our interest and make visuals more appealing. This is the reason that smaller stacks of three and five are ideal.
2. They Can Be Displayed Horizontally or Vertically
No matter where you decide to display your decorative books, just placing them on a surface or stacking them on top of each other can start to look a little boring. When most people imagine horizontal displays, they tend to think of the standard bookshelf arrangement. However, here is another opportunity to steal a secret from the experts. Either on a shelf, tabletop, or even on the floor, switching up vertical and horizontal stacks breaks up the monotony of the display.
3. They Add Color to Set the Mood
Part of the fun of decorating is changing it up to keep your interior feeling fresh. Prominently displaying books with darker, moodier covers in the colder months and choosing brighter, cheerier covers in the summer and spring is an easy update for the seasons.
Another way to play with colors is with a monochromatic display. Whether it means keeping all your books with white covers and black lettering in one spot or grouping together any covers with a shade of blue or green, streamlining the color palette brings a sense of calm to your space.
Is the room decorated in neutral tones? Use your decorative books to add a pop of brightness for instant style and character.
4. They Serve as Bases for Other Decor
Lamps, candles, and knick-knacks all have their rightful place in the world of decorating. They can serve a literal purpose, such as lighting up a room, or a more subtle reason, like showing off part of your personality. But sometimes, unique pieces of decor can get lost when arranged with multiple other items. Draw attention to special pieces by using your decorative books to serve as a pedestal for your favorite small sculpture.
5. They Can Be Used as Furniture
Not in the sense that you will use them like Legos and build a chair to sit on. That would be impractical and uncomfortable. Instead, use a tall stack of books to act as an end table to add a little extra something to your space. Love this idea but not sure where to start? Create a reading nook by placing an armchair in a corner. Then, make a tall stack and place a lamp on top. Make sure you put the larger books on the bottom for stability. You can keep them all the same size or have them get increasingly smaller as the stack rises. Now you have a stylish, relaxing place to sit while you look through and read all of your coffee table books.
6. They Can Show Off Your Personality
This can be evident in how you choose to display them and in the subject matter of the books themselves. Are you into fashion, history, or architecture? Whether you purchase them for aesthetics or their topic, they can be a great conversation starter. Having guests in your home, especially ones you might not know that well, can sometimes feel intimidating or daunting. Coffee table books can serve as a jumping-off point to establish common ground and get the dialogue going.
7. Some Can Even Be Used as Journals and Sketchbooks
At Bellari Home, our decorative books have the same high-quality, beautiful hardback covers as the high-end designer coffee table ones, but at less than half the price. We’ll be honest — sometimes, in decorating, you want the book for its cover, not for what’s inside. Instead of books filled with photos that you may not ever look at, our books are made with blank pages, ready for you to fill with your creative ideas.
Mix it up and use your Chanel decorative book for journaling, the Tom Ford book for sketching, and the Louis Vuitton one for general note-taking. No matter what you decide to use your new coffee table books for, at only $39.99 apiece (compared to the average price of $150), you can buy and use all of them!
At Bellari Home, we take pride in our products and have high standards, so you can rest assured that you are getting great quality and affordable prices. And don’t forget to tag us on Facebook and Instagram! We love our customers and can’t wait to see how you style your decorative books and other Bellari Home treasures!
