Our Favorite Coffee Table Books

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We love books. We love reading them. We love how they feel and smell, as well as how the right ones can elevate your interior style. Coffee table books are a great way to add style and elegance to any living space. They can add that hint of color, some much-needed texture, variety, or become a statement piece on your coffee table or a credenza. Here we list our favorite coffee table books and how to style with them.

There are many ways to style with books. A couple of tricks I learned in my staging years in New York City were to choose the appropriate size of books for the piece of furniture like a coffee table, if you place books that are too small for a large coffee table, they will disappear and have no impact. If you choose books that are too large for a side table you are styling, they will weight down the table and make it look awkward. You want to make sure the books and the piece of furniture you are styling work in harmony.

Some great ways to style with books is to stack two or three books with another stack, an open book in the opposite corner of the table or use a book stand which adds a little height and variation.

I'm sure most of you know this, but I will still mention it. While styling an area with coffee-table books, make sure you place the larger-book on the bottom. The book placed on top can be the same size as the book underneath. I prefer for the top book to be a half an inch smaller on each side. I like books to be similar in thickness. As for the colors, you can keep it neutral (whites, grays, blacks, beiges) for additional layers of texture and sophistication, or you can add a pop of color that ties to your accent pillows or that favorite side chair for some interest and fun.

We have combed through a lot of books out there and chose some great picks to help you elevate your style game.

Plant: Exploring the Botanical World

amazon.com

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Following in the footsteps of the international bestseller Map: Exploring the World, this fresh and visually stunning survey celebrates the extraordinary beauty and diversity of plants. It combines photographs and cutting-edge micrograph scans with watercolors, drawings, and prints to bring this universally popular and captivating subject vividly to life. Carefully selected by an international panel of experts and arranged in a uniquely structured sequence to highlight thought-provoking contrasts and similarities, this stunning compilation of botanically themed images includes iconic work by celebrated artists, photographers, scientists, and botanical illustrators, as well as rare and previously unpublished images.

Original price was: $59.95.Current price is: $35.72.

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Anatomy: Exploring the Human Body

amazon.com

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Anatomy: Exploring the Human Body is a visually compelling survey of more than 5,000 years of image-making. Through 300 remarkable works, selected and curated by an international panel of anatomists, curators, academics, and specialists, the book chronicles the intriguing visual history of human anatomy, showcasing its amazing complexity and our ongoing fascination with the systems and functions of our bodies. Exploring individual parts of the human body from head to toe, and revealing the intricate functions of body systems, such as the nerves, muscles, organs, digestive system, brain, and senses, this authoritative book presents iconic examples alongside rarely seen, breathtaking works. The 300 entries are arranged with juxtapositions of contrasting and complementary illustrations to allow for thought-provoking, lively, and stimulating reading.

Original price was: $59.95.Current price is: $36.99.

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