Living With Inspiration: The Coffee Table Books We Love
There’s something quietly powerful about a coffee table book. It’s decor, yes—but it’s also a mirror. It shows what you’re drawn to, what you’re curious about, what kind of spaces you dream about when no one’s watching.
In a world where inspiration lives on our phones, coffee table books slow the process down. They ask you to linger. To feel the weight of a hardcover. To sit with a page longer than a scroll. They’re visual, but they’re also emotional. They hold stories, philosophies, and a point of view.
We style with them for aesthetics, but we keep them around for substance.
More Than Decor: Why Coffee Table Books Matter
A well-chosen book stack does more than “fill space.” It sets the tone of a room.
A bold, oversized book says: this space is confident.
A soft neutral cover whispers: this room is calm.
A book filled with essays, interviews, and personal narratives adds depth—literally and figuratively—to your home.
The impact isn’t just what the spine looks like on your table. It’s what happens when someone picks it up and starts flipping through. Suddenly your living room becomes a conversation. Your design choices become a story.
The Visual + The Voice: Books We Love Right Now
These are the coffee table books we keep coming back to—not just for how they look styled on a table or shelf, but for what they say.
Kelly Wearstler – Synchronicity
Hardcover, oversized (approx. 9 x 12 in), full color
This one is bold, layered, and unapologetic. It’s a visual punch, but the content is what keeps you flipping pages—her creative process, her eye for tension between materials, her ability to make spaces feel collected instead of curated.
Kelly Wearstler – Evocative Style
Hardcover, large format (approx. 10 x 12 in), full color
More intimate in tone. This book leans into mood, storytelling, and emotional resonance. It’s less about trends, more about personal expression through space.
Architectural Digest at 100: A Century of Style
Hardcover, oversized collector format (approx. 10 x 13 in), full color
This one feels archival in the best way. It’s history, legacy, and design evolution all in one. It’s the kind of book that reminds you trends come and go, but great design always finds its way back around.
Vibe Decor: Modern Trivia for the Design Enthusiast
Decorative hardcover, medium size (approx. 8 x 10 in), full color with graphic elements
This is the fun one. It’s playful, light, and perfect for guests. It brings personality to a space and invites interaction—people actually pick it up and quiz each other.
Live Beautiful – Athena Calderone
Hardcover, oversized (approx. 9 x 11 in), full color
Soft, lived-in luxury. This book bridges aspiration with reality. The spaces feel elevated but attainable, and the writing gives you insight into how beauty can still feel livable.
The Authentics: A Lush Dive Into the Substance of Style
Hardcover, large format (approx. 9 x 12 in), full color
This one is about depth. The concept of authenticity in design—where things come from, why they matter, how layers of personal history create richness in a space. It’s a great anchor book in a stack.
The Space That Keeps You – Jeremiah Brent
Hardcover, medium-large (approx. 8.5 x 11 in), full color
Emotion-forward design. This book speaks to how spaces hold us, change us, and reflect us. It’s thoughtful and grounding—great for clients who want their home to feel like a sanctuary, not just a showpiece.
Liaigre: 12 Projects – Christian Liaigre
Hardcover, large format (approx. 10.7 x 13.5 in), mostly color with a refined, minimal palette
Understated luxury. Quiet confidence. This book is about restraint, proportion, and timelessness. It styles beautifully in neutral, minimal spaces.
Made for Living – Amber Lewis
Hardcover, oversized (approx. 9 x 11 in), full color
This one lives on our tables. It’s warm, layered, and deeply human. The spaces feel lived in, not staged—and that philosophy is something we carry into our own design work.
Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century (Black Edition) – William Norwich
Hardcover, oversized (approx. 9 x 12 in), primarily black & white with select color imagery
This book feels like a design documentary. The black-and-white imagery adds a timeless, editorial quality, and the writing grounds the visuals in cultural context. It’s equal parts design and history lesson.
Livable Luxe – Brigette Romanek
Hardcover, medium-large (approx. 8.5 x 11 in), full color
Approachable luxury. This book is about making elevated design feel human. It’s aspirational without being untouchable, and that balance is something we’re always chasing in our projects.
How We Style Them (Without Making Them Feel Precious)
We love stacking by size: oversized on the bottom, medium on top. Mixing spines with covers. Letting some books lay open to a favorite spread. Pairing them with objects that feel personal—candles, small sculptures, a tray from a trip, something that makes the stack feel lived with, not styled once and forgotten.
Coffee table books should look good, but they should also look used.
This photo is from one of our D2 Studio and Co projects. The coffee table books in this photo reflect the couple’s interests and features one of the previously mentioned books we love! We were so excited to bring these books into their space, knowing they’d be loved and appreciated.
For us, coffee table books are a bridge between inspiration and intention. They’re not just styling tools—they’re daily reminders of what kind of spaces we want to create and how we want to feel inside them.
In our design work, we think about homes the same way: not just how they look, but how they speak. What story they tell when someone walks in. What they say about the people who live there.
Your coffee table books are already telling that story.
The question is—do they feel like yours?
XOXO- STYLE Nation
