Favorite Stylish Coffee Table Books Perfect for Decorating With

I have a confession : I love a good coffee table book.

That may not sound like a noteworthy confession, but my love of large hardback books is far and wide. I will never get tired of collecting them, I love everyone that I posses, and like a kid in a candy store, when I stumble upon an interesting book on Amazon, I’m bound to find a dozen more I long to have, especially beautiful art books. I love learning more about my interests or discovering something new so will always be something new to captivate and inspire me. I also love to incorporate books into rooms I decorate or stage, finding ones that compliment the style of the room either by design or topic. They really help to tie in a room’s look, and it’s bonus if you find hardback books that are beautiful displayed both with or without their covers. I usually will look for ones that have either a print or art design on the cover that will go well with a particular space, or I will seek to find books based on the bare hardback sans the book jacket —white, black, or neutral toned books will work for all decor styles.

Decorating with Books

A great way to decorate a coffee table is with a book or stack of books that speaks to you and your own style or interests. Like anything you purchase for your home, you should find books that you find interesting and is unique to you. While these hardback books are commonly referred to as “coffee table books”, you aren’t just limited to coffee tables. Console tables, bookshelves, counters, entertainment cabinets, dressers — adding hardback books to a table or shelf could also help to elevate, separate, or add interest to a particular space, like here:

I personally love to collect books on art, artists, fashion, interior design, nature, & photography. It’s an added bonus if the outside of the book is as beautiful and interesting as the contents inside, so there are some books that work as “art” on a table, like this one Rare Bird of Fashion, that is one of my favorite ones.

It’s also a good example of shopping for books based on what it looks like underneath the book jacket —And this animal print is what the book looks like after I removed its’ jacket — it’s like a surprise when you find a book you love and then remove the book jacket to see how even more amazing it is! There are also books that are just as beautiful once the book jackets are removed and you see a bare, clean white or black hardback cover. Like this white stack here: I removed the jackets from 3 of them so now they all look cohesive together in this white, modern stack.

Share stylish books

The hardback book: The gift that will never grow old. A coffee table book is also a great gift for anyone. I love to be able to find a book on a specific topic that interests someone — maybe they love music and I can find a book featuring their favorite artist or genre like this, or just cover all the bases with this book, 1000 Record Covers -cool to look at AND extremely interesting inside -win win. Or maybe they like to travel or aspire to travel, either way it is probably very unlikely you will be able to gift them a trip somewhere, but you can let them travel vicariously and be inspired by a book like London, Portrait of a City. I also like to collect or gift books based on geography — for me, that is the state of Georgia and general area of the South. The Garden History of Georgia is one I have recently found that I used to restyle a room in my parents’ home. My parents’ also love going to Jekyll Island so I found this unique Jekyll Island Club book that will make a perfect gift. I love that this is both a personal and unique gift idea!

Shop Some of My Favorite Books

Here is my current list of favorite coffee table books if you are looking for an unique gift for someone else or looking to spruce up your coffee or console table with an interesting book:

I also grouped the books below into categories to help you find just what you are interested in, but they are still listed in order as they are featured shown below:

FAVE FASHION/ STYLE/INTERIOR BOOKS:

1 THE FINER THINGS: TIMELESS FURNITURE, TEXTILES, & DETAILS I own this one and really love it.The gilded gold outer design is obviously a big win — it will easily add style to a table!

2 ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST AT 100: A CENTURY OF STYLE This really covers it all in terms of style! And a good large, black and white

3 JOSEPH DIRAND: INTERIOR A nice white book underneath this cover that looks classy and chic, not to mention the beautiful interior shots inside.

4 LOUIS VUITTON: THE COMPLETE FASHION COLLECTIONS I like this fashion book that is different than what you normally find, yet it’s still as classic and sophisticated as the fashions inside. And the brown cover is a good neutral to work on a table.

FAVE PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS:

5 WALKER EVANS: AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS Such a beautiful book of photography! Any style of home would benefit from this book on a table.

6 SLEEPING BY THE MISSISSIPPI Modern and cool new book on my wishlist. Would really work with an eclectic style.

7 ANSEL ADAMS AT 100 I don’t own this one, but it sure is on my wish list. because I love Ansel Adams’ work. Also another example of a great designed cover, this one is perfect for any table style.

8 SALLY MANN: A THOUSAND CROSSINGS Natural, moody landscape photography — this cover is a change from just typical black and white.

FAVE NATURE BOOKS:

9 THE FLOWERS: ART & BOUQUETS Pretty book for any table!

10 WOODCUT This is such a cool book to me. Great for simple, earthy, and rustic home styles, but also the black and white cover easily works into a modern space.

FAVE ART BOOKS:

11 MONET: THE TRIUMPH OF IMPRESSIONISM My love for Monet began at an early age thanks to my mother and I will tire from books on him. Great example of “art” for the table. This is a recent Monet release that looks very interesting for any other art enthusiasts out there.

12 IRVING PENN: PAINTINGS I have always been a fan of Irving Penn’s photography and was excited and surprised to discover this book that is a first glimpse at his painting collection. I love the nice modern designed black hardback.

13 LEE KRASNER This is definitely one I want — beautiful colorful art featured within, and talk about a well-designed cover!

14 ANDY WARHOL : FROM A TO B AND BACK AGAIN One of the few Warhol books that is simple on the outside, which makes it easy to add to other book styles for a table.

15 GEORGIA O’KEEFFE : WATERCOLORS Another one I possess and highly recommend! It features watercolors that Georgia O’Keeffe wasn’t typically known for, so great conversation book for you and your guests too! Looks great with the jacket on or without (features a colorful watercolor abstract printed on the white hardback itself). And because I couldn’t pick just one, this GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MUSEUM COLLECTIONS book features a wide array of her art (and now that i discovered it, it is on my wish list).

ARCHITECTURE:

16 GAUDI If you aren’t familiar with Gaudi, this is an interesting book worth checking out. It features the beautiful, captivating, unique creations he is known for. This is one the thinner books I feature, but I love to feature it without the cover, along with a few other by the same author for a “collection” clean white look.

Pro tip: on Amazon, if you find a book you like that may be too pricey, you can also check to see if there are any used versions and shop “like new” for a cheaper price. I have done this with some of mine and it is essentially a new book you are buying.

For even more coffee table book ideas,

check out this post to shop even more stylish books by color.

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