The coffee table, whose origins date back to 17th century, is one of the most important pieces of furniture in the living room. It is a witness to all of your activities when guests visit your house, or when you're enjoying quiet time by the sofa.

Decorating the coffee table will help transform your living room into a more livable space and you can do this using only five key elements.

What you'll need:

1. A natural living ornament, such as flowers or plants.

2. Some books. Check Amazon's selection of coffee table books.

3. Statement pieces and knick-knacks, which may include decorative gifts, or travel memento, or a quirky item you just love to have.

4. Scented candles. Check out Bed Bath and Beyond's selection of scented candles.

5. Stylish trays. Check Etsy's selection of coffee table trays.

For these items to work together, you can apply four different styles of decorating.

CORNER. The first is in balancing out four corners of the coffee table with the decorative pieces.  On the top left corner, you can have a bouquet of flowers then on the right top corner, you can pile up the books and add the candles above it. On the bottom left corner, you can place the tray with your statement pieces. You can finish this off with another statement piece or memento.

GROUPING. The second approach is to group all items into one tray. Putting the flowers, books, candles and knick knacks together within the tray adds a cohesive style. It would be best to try this on an uneven coffee table, or one that has an unusual shape, or if the items cannot directly on to the table's surface.


REPETITION.
The third approach is repetition and works best for rectangular or wider coffee tables. This technique provides symmetry, such as putting a pile of books on both sides of the table, then alternatively putting decorative pieces in between.


SIMPLE
. The fourth way is the easiest - you can keep it simple. Less is indeed more sometimes and going with a few elements can bring attention to the rest of the room.