What's on your coffee table?

The weekly micro-decorating newsletter * Issue 3 of 13, SS23 *
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The topic of this week's newsletter isn't meant to be controversial – but earlier this month, I discovered it might be.

While reading The New York Times, I was delighted to see an article about how to arrange things on coffee tables – featured above the fold on the home page, no less, not hidden in some out-of-the-way digital corner. Finally, the art of micro-decorating getting the spotlight it deserves!

The piece summarized key insights from Colin King, an in-demand stylist for big-name retailers who has a new book out with a self-explanatory title:

I dove into the piece with excitement, discovering that King's six-step approach rang true, with easy-to-execute ideas I know from experience work.

And then? I jumped into the Comments section to see what readers had to say – and was barraged with a torrent of nastiness. Normally, the New York Times Comments are smart and civilized, an island of courtesy in the web's wilder seas. Something about coffee tables brought out the ogre in people.

The most recommended comment, from Liz in Berkeley, is mild compared to some of the other remarks:

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Who wants a perfectly composed coffee table? Why not put your feet up on it, some books you are actually reading, a favorite this or that in the way of a container, whatever. When did “styling” things become a priority?

Readers with a more even keel joined in to defend the idea of creating eddies of beauty in a chaotic, often ugly world. A reader with a peacemaking bent, Linda Jean of Syracuse, gave credit to those who see things differently:

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Some people don't need beauty for beauty's sake in their lives just mundane practicality. That's ok.

I've only been a lurker in the New York Times Comments section, though I've been reading it for ages. This time I couldn't stay silent. I began with:

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I'm surprised this article stirred up so much animosity. What's wrong with creating a pleasing arrangement of objects? Colin King has some good advice, even if you wouldn't choose the same items he did.

You can read my full response here. It was satisfying to see it get approved by a moderator, appear on the site, and even get a few recommendations. Time will tell if guy with an eye becomes a roving defender of coffee table aesthetics.

Afterwards, I thought about how I've been delaying writing about coffee tables, even after almost two years of this newsletter. I've proposed a thoughtful side table strategy and warned about the risks of performative decorating, but so far coffee table possibilities have remained unexplored.

In my own home, the coffee table fluctuates between cluttered and considered, with the most interesting states being somewhere in between:

My coffee table, on a good day.

Now that I've seen the furor that coffee tables, or at least advice about them, can elicit in otherwise buttoned-down readers, I'll probably delay writing about this divisive subject for a while longer. Who knows what rage I might unleash?

For now, I'll simply return to the original question: What's on your coffee table?