On my long-awaited Alex Eagle moment.
Home Front by Domino
Home Front is a weekly deep dive into the rising—and returning—trends, decor, and teeniest of design details fresh on our radar. Today, Lydia, Domino’s home editor, muses if there’s such a thing as having too much stuff on your coffee table.
Home Front by Domino
Home Front is a weekly deep dive into the rising—and returning—trends, decor, and teeniest of design details fresh on our radar. Today, Lydia, Domino’s home editor, muses if there’s such a thing as having too much stuff on your coffee table.

Having worked at Domino for seven years, I’ve seen hundreds (if not thousands) of homes. At some point, I’m bound to forget a few. But fashion designer and creative director Alex Eagle’s London living room, featured in the pages of our Spring 2017 print issue, is seared into my memory. Specifically, her Axel Vervoordt coffee table. Now that I’m moving into a larger apartment with my boyfriend, I’m finally getting my own coffee-table-as-art moment.

 
On Board
On Board

What is it about this kind of setup that has stuck with me? For starters, the table’s sheer size. It can seemingly hold an entire library of books (or at least three rows of five stacks—impressive) with enough space leftover to display an XL vase, a couple tall taper candles, multiple sculptural ceramic bowls…anything and everything. Why must mine also be so big, so extra? Because it’s not just a coffee table, it’s my personal bio. It’s me showing you what I care about, where I’ve been, and how I like to spend my time when I’m at home. 

The Art of the Coffee Table

Photography by Erin Kelly; Styling by Courtney Favini

Here’s all the stuff I want to plop on top of mine:

 

01. One day, I’ll have a coffee table in every room—even the closet like stylist Courtney Favini. She once told me to diversify my book collection with titles on music, nature, philosophy, etc. “The point is that they spark conversation,” she said.

 

02. I wouldn’t normally buy ceramics from a big-box brand—I find it’s all the more special to support an independent maker—but this off-kilter one from Crate & Barrel happens to be a spinoff of similar vessels Leanne Ford makes in her home studio. 

 

03. Right now, my coaster catchall (more on that later) holds a set of rattan ones I scored for $1 each at Housing Works in the West Village, but I’m overdue for an upgrade.

 

04. Designer and architect Fabrizio Casiraghi once put an assortment of vintage metal coups on a client’s table so people wouldn’t have to walk away for a drink, and I thought, yes—but make it gelato focused.

 

05. That aforementioned coaster storage? It’s this this hand-carved dish I received from the brand’s founder, Leah Cumming.

 

06. My budget is closer to the $600 range, but if money were no object, I’d add this stone and oak coffee table to my cart faster than my Café coffee maker brews a fresh pot.

 

07. On a recent trip to Dia Beacon, I stepped inside the late Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses and felt completely at peace. With this overview of his steel creations around, I can relive that moment every day. 

 

08. When my boyfriend and I started dating, he jetted off to San Diego for two months. I gave him this candle (named for New York City’s Lower East Side neighborhood) as a reminder to hurry back to Manhattan.

 

09. I’ve wanted to light these abnormally tall (30 inches!) taper candles ever since I saw them in Jenna Lyons’s SoHo home. 

 
What's currently on your coffee table?  Share your favorite find by replying to this email.
What's currently on your coffee table?  Share your favorite find by replying to this email.
 
Design Math
Design Math

I’m not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but in this case, I like to think of myself that way: I need a big blank canvas in order to get creative. That translates to a coffee table like one of these that is at least 34-by-34 inches. I can’t have my collection of crystals and stack of Domino print issues fighting for real estate! As for finishes, natural wood is stealing my heart.

River Heights Square Wood Coffee Table

River Heights Square Wood Coffee Table

PROS

• Ships free if you already pay for a Target Circle 360 membership 

• Studio McGee collaboration

• 50+ 5-star reviews

CONS

• Assembly required 

• 18” high, so it loses that low-profile loveliness I’m after

SHOP NOW
 
Lu Coffee Table

Lu Coffee Table

PROS

• Designed by Eny Lee Parker

• No assembly required

CONS

• Heavy at 120 pounds, so not easy to move

• $249 white-glove delivery charge

SHOP NOW
 
1970s Burl-Wood + Brass Table

1970s Burl-Wood + Brass Table

PROS

• Vintage (read: a touch more sustainable!)

• A hole in the middle = creative styling opportunities

• No assembly required

CONS

• Attributed to designer Willy Rizzo, but is unsigned

• Subtle scratches on the side

• Won’t arrive for 3 to 8 weeks

• $599 in-home delivery charge

SHOP NOW
 
Side Notes
Side Notes

The fun part is the styling. I’m partial to heaps of books, but there’s something quite practical about having an easily accessible place for everyday odds and ends, too. I’m imagining a tray for jewelry, a whiskey decanter, or a bottle of my favorite perfume. Here are the people I’ve been turning to for inspiration. 

 

• Someone commented on this Instagram post of Bunny Mellon’s Antigua living room, asking, “At what point is a coffee table too cluttered?” The answer: The limit does not exist. 

 

• Delaney Lundquist (aka Tremont Home) turned me on to For Your Party custom matchbooks, and I’ve already started designing ones for our new apartment so guests can leave with a memory of us—and have another reason to come back soon.

 

• If I can’t find my dream table within my budget, I might pull a Leanne Ford and chop the legs off a dining table instead. 

 

• Hydrangeas are nice, but a wild bundle of blooming branches that look like they were plucked right from a rosebush? Italian architect Fabrizio Casiraghi schools me again. 

 

• When I spotted this D.C. living room designed by Zoe Feldman, I frantically typed terms like “two-tier coffee table” and “coffee table with shelf” into the 1stDibs search bar on the hunt for something similar.

 
Today’s Topic… To cover or not to cover the coffee table with STUFF?  I prefer a clear surface—no extra dusting for me.
Only my favorite book and a candle make the cut.
The bigger the crowd, the better.
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Today’s Topic… To cover or not to cover the coffee table with STUFF?  I prefer a clear surface—no extra dusting for me.
Only my favorite book and a candle make the cut.
The bigger the crowd, the better.
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Subscribe Now
 
 

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