Modern rustic spaces are some of the most fun to refresh whether it's reclaiming wood flooring that was hidden under a carpet, adding faux-wood beams to a ceiling if you have the height, and combining natural colors and textures throughout while maintaining clean lines and a contemporary look. While replacing furniture like a couch or wall art is expensive, refreshing the decor on your coffee table is not.
Because the coffee table can be a focal point as it centers the sitting area, it brings new life when you change out the styling for the season, or just because you feel like a simple refresh. If you’re looking for design inspiration, here are five ideas for modern rustic coffee table decor to help.
Each one follows these principles to keep the style in tact:
- Natural textures and materials
- Neutral color palettes
- Biophilic design elements
- Industrial touches
- Clean lines
Wooden Trays and Stone Sculpture
There’s no shortage of wooden trays and displays you can use, even a cutting or charcuterie board can work. The same goes for stone. There’s marble and granite spheres, orbs, and eggs, pyramids, and even candle holders that can fit the style.
A clay or ceramic jug that doubles as a vase with features or dried grass like Pampas can complement the style keeping the natural elements and lines in tact. Finish the style off with photo books showing nature or farmlands.Industrial Lofts and Urban Apartments
Modern and rustic can work with industrial spaces, including loft apartments in cities. The trick is combining metal with wood to bring the industrial feel with a bit of nature with candles vs. lightbulbs for natural and warm light.
A fun spin on this can be using shapes you’d expect in rural settings like spurs in metal art, wagon wheels for the chandelier above for country rustic but a modern look in the room. We did a metal art candle holder with two sprockets as art on top of coffee table books. The coffee table books bring a more modern rustic feel by having images of cabins, the country, and architecture like barns.
The farmhouse and country touches help to balance out the ultra modern and industrial feel of exposed brick and open duct systems you may see in industrial living spaces.
Real Wood and Epoxy Coffee Tables with Modern Earthy Decor
A third way to do rustic modern coffee table decor is to pick a coffee table made from real wood. It can be a large piece of natural wood, a recycled part of a barn door, or pieces of natural lumber combined with colorful epoxy for a smooth surface and interesting visual.
On top you can keep the rustic but modern look intact by having stone decorative orbs, ceramic or clay vases or jugs in modern shapes, and a wicker tray to hold remote controls, cork coasters, and other daily use items. A small houseplant like a succulent or cacti helps bring more nature in while retaining the modern look with its clean lines and unique shapes. If you don’t like the spikes, try herbs like thyme or oregano.Rental Units, Beach Homes, and Family Rooms
Modern rustic works for beach houses, sunrooms, and family rooms for homes with kids. You can use earthy color palettes like mustard yellows and natural wood furniture, with neutral greys in the couches.
The coffee table decor can be wood or paper sculpture since these are less expensive than stone and easy to replace, clay or stone vases in cylindrical shapes for the clean modern design with rustic materials, and a stack of coffee table books featuring the landscapes in the surrounding areas. Ceramic and glass bowls are the perfect complement as they bring a modern flare with practical purpose, and can be neutral or focal point pieces depending on if you want them to blend in or stand out.
Minimalist and Clean
A final way to do rustic modern coffee tables is to go a bit maximalist with decor by taking up a bit of extra space on the coffee table so it becomes a focal point in a modern-minimalist aesthetic room.
For this one we did a wood bowl with smoothed stones, three vintage books, and a potted plant. A good alternative that keeps the rustic modern decor for the potted plant or other item is a clear glass vase with pampas grass or wheat tops. A natural texture runner with tassels and straight lines helps to bring nature with linear elements finishing the rustic modern coffee table look.
Rustic modern coffee tables are easier than you’d think, and it's an easy style to change out when you’re ready to refresh your space.
