A perfectly-styled shelf or coffee table just isn’t complete without a curated selection of beautiful coffee table books as a base for accessories. As a designer, I love the visual appeal of them and draw a lot of inspiration from them, regardless if they are about interior design, fashion, lifestyle, or cooking. Today I’m sharing my favorite coffee table books— the ones I love to give as gifts, one I have received (or bought for myself!), and then the ones that I just love having in my own home.

How to Style Coffee Table Books

• Stack them in groupings and place a vase or tray on top.
• Judge them by their cover! A beautiful cover adds interest.
• Go for a vintage look and fill your shelves with used books.
• Take off the cover—there could be a pretty pattern hiding underneath!
• Stack books both vertically and horizontally on shelving.

Shop: Coffee Table Books I Love

Fashion

Tom Ford

This 375-page book chronicles Tom Ford’s time as the creative director at book YSL and Gucci and how he helped shape them into the prestigious luxury brands they are today.

Gucci: The Making Of

This is a fascinating look at the Gucci family and fashion house told through essays, rare photos, and the inspirations behind the designs. Total eye-candy!

Louis Vuitton: The Birth of Modern Luxury

You’ll be able to pore through pages and pages of product designs, company history, art, historical images, and the story of the first three founders.

Cookbooks

The Kinfolk Table | Recipes

All of the Kinfolk books are an experience — filled with gorgeous photography and valuable tips for entertaining, business, cooking, creating, and more. The Kinfolk Table highlights favorite beloved recipes from over 45 home cooks that are simple and delicious.

Cook Beautiful by Athena Calderone

Athena Calderone of Eye Swoon is a master at creating beautiful spaces (her kitchen is incredible!) and that talent also transcends to her cooking. In this cookbook meets a food styling book, she gives you a tip with each dish to help you make it look just like the pictures do, something we all want, but is often hard to achieve with other books. If you love beautiful images and food (and who doesn’t?!) this book is for you.

Interior Design Coffee Table Books

Restoration House by Kennesha Buycks

This book has such a beautiful message and is one I’ve often given to clients as a gift. It is all about showing you how to create a refuge that restores your soul, hence the name Restoration House, and is filled with tips on making your house more comfortable, beautiful, and functional.

Victoria Hagan Interior Portraits

Victoria Hagan is an iconic designer, and one of my personal design inspirations. She is all about the less is more approach to design, which totally aligns with my brand and style too. A must if you love interior design.

The Collected Home by Darryl Carter

Darryl Carter’s style is impeccable — I love how he loves a good neutral palette (like yours truly!) and his ability to make a room comfortable, inviting, and timeless. This book is packed with amazing decorating advice too and worth reading every word.

Black & White by Celerie Kemble

This book explores the black and white palette (and the colors in between too) and gives so many great ideas for using them in your home. For someone who needs help defining their interior style and loves looking at beautiful photos of interior spaces, this is a great pick.

The Inspired Room by Melissa Michaels

What sets this book apart from others is that the author helps you explore how you want to utilize and style the rooms in your home, rather than simply telling you how to do it. She offers lots of useful insight and simple ideas for making your home feel more like you.

City Farmhouse Style by Kim Leggett

A beautiful addition to any home decor library, City Farmhouse explores the Farmhouse design style that has become so popular in recent years and shows the reader how to bring it into their urban dwelling.

What are your favorite coffee table books? Leave your recommendations in the comments below.

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting KPD with your purchase!