Our family room coffee table is functional and at any given time could have books, mail, newspapers, coffee cups, laptop, kindle, etc. But for company, we put all that stuff away and display over-sized books and a decorative bowl filled with something seasonal.

Always fresh flowers and a scented candle :)

Here's what's on mine for today...I change it up every few weeks; but candles are always in the mix.

Our house is tiny and the LR doubles as the "guest room". A small trunk by the side of the sofa holds bedding and is mostly bare on top. My desk ( a craftsman table) at the other side serves as the place for photos, flowers, etc.. .. No table in front of the sofa..

Mine isn't for show...I have my laptop...remotes...change & receipts from cleaning out my purse...my truck keys & unfortunately, the keys for my desk that I forgot to bring to work with me today.

If I'm expecting company, I'll certainly clean this up, but for everyday...I use it for a collection of things to take with me to work.

I change my display every so often. At the moment I have a white orchid in a white bowl. Two crystal candlesticks an ornamental oval clock, some magazines and a hurricane glass candle holder.

Bungalowmo, either get a console table with a drawer for all those things, or a coffee table with shelf or drawer underneath. We have lovely hooks for keys

On my delicate glass oval coffee table sits an orchid and a couple pieces of amber glass.

I have a large hand carved swan. We also have the real deal out back in the pond 8-).

Solar panel to recharge the batteries for the LED lights.

You really, really don't want to know. And I don't want to embarrass myself. (It's a mess!)

Can't put much because of Sheba's tail. Just a dragonware tea box, a bowl and a hurricane candle holder.

I lack imagination so right now there are 3 quilted coasters and 2 books that were given to my husband back in August. :-(

Defever, put something nice for yourself

A large art glass piece held in place with museum wax and dozens of cat paw prints.

@chookchook2: I keep looking but nothing has grabbed me...yet!

Hahaha...my coffee table is the "dining table" for the family most nights so nothing goes on it, well, except for the TV remote and paper in the morning. Horizontal surfaces in our house tend to end up with stuff on them, unless company is coming as evidenced by the end table!

cljakl...haha...me too! It's just me, so I don't sit in my dining room, I sit in the living room & watch tv! :0) Eating justifies sitting on my behind & catching up on all my DVR recordings!

chookchook...I had the whole shelf & drawer table. I have to admit, it was just one more place for stuff to collect. I had it for years & it had some issues so I put it to the curb. 10 minutes later it was gone!

Bought a smaller wooden vintage table with leaves that drop & slide below for a smaller profile.

Yarn and extra knitting needles for my current projects, some papers and bills, my DD's Halloween candy, work pants that need to be hemmed, and some other stuff I can't recall at the moment.

Yup. It's a mess.

I guess I am just like everyone else and my coffee table is usually filled with newspapers, books, a kindle, maybe my grandsons toys or games. Yes it is usually a mess. It just so happens that earlier today I was doing some deep cleaning and I just happened to put some new things on my coffee table. I am always changing things up. Then I happened to see your post on coffee tables. Couldn't resist sending in mine.

I love Kimdee24's coffee table--leave as is.

I have just finished decorating my living room and my wrought iron and glass coffee table didn't go with the theme, so I bought two bags of pond rocks to cover the glass between the decorative centre piece and two mismatching planters. I love it and problem solved for under two pounds until I find a coffee table I love.

I have an antique ,handmade checkerboard with glass top and wood frame that my great-grandfather made, in the center. I change out what I sit on top with the seasonal flowers and I always have seasonal scented candles on either side. And like others, there is usually a mess of papers,notes, mail,etc.

Interesting coffee table. Is the tray-like feature already part of the table itself? And my favorite coffee table that we have available is the spider coffee table!

Magazines always!

This coffee tablescape inlcude books, a bowl and "Blue" the Betta. I also created a how-to video on coffee table accessorizing.

@Interior Design Solutions: Thanks for the link -- good video for those of us who don't know where to start!

Magazines, Legos, remote, Legos, wii controllers, Legos, books, Legos :)

A box holding cocktail napkins, magazines, a small stack of decorative coasters, something seasonal.

Books, fruit, little things I like.

These are just some of my favorite things......

Refinished the top and painted the bottom of this coffee table and I just love it and those items are constant. Haven't found anything I like better. :-)

my friend Sara got rid of her old extension cords and put this Conway Electric Extō cord next to some candles and a glass plate on a modern coffee table of steel, wood and glass. I like the way it looks together and love how the cord is stylized

Christmas nic nacs for the holidays ... ♫

Picked up this coffee table at a local thrift store for 30 bucks love the solid ends and the one of a kind look right now it's dressed for the season

I made arrangement this myself using real touch artificial flowers. More at http://www.houzz.com/photos/users/flovery

The cat

That looks like our cat Emma.

Christmas candle

Usually a stack of books and candles or a vase of flowers.. I found these candle holders at our local thrift store. and i like to keep remotes all organized in the little cubby space below. otherwise I love a serving tray with books and flowers and or snack dish. during summer i always cut fresh blooms from right outside our home and keep alternating on the coffee table. I'm always changing things in the house so things done stay the same to long. I get Bred if looking at the same things in the same places

How do I add a photo?

I figured it out!!!!

Sorry... new at this.

The pic I posted is an artistic impression and layout of our guest house at our retreat. We are in the process of completing this.
Whenever my friends or relatives arrive at my home, they Look forward to my super-soft jujubes, so, I will keep a bowl of
fresh jujubes on the coffee table. Not only does this elicit a warm response, the vibrant colours produce a cheery atmosphere.

I may switch up and put the arrangement of bold red sunflowers heads on the coffee table and the "jubes" on the black chest of drawers. I like to keep the coffee table quiet and let the vibrant colours in the room, shout out. Besides, once it is in use...it will need a generous serving tray for food and beverages.

right now..........my stocking feet are on the coffee table...... along with one of the cats who thinks he's going to get a bite of skewered grilled chicken.......

Just two hurricane lamps, a magazine I love and my favorite thing of all - coral. This is now in a home we just staged - we stage homes so my coffee table is a constantly changing "staging" area for ideas for clients. I'll put some things out and see how they look, change it over a couple of weeks, and then that becomes an idea for a project. This is one of my favorite groupings and is a duplicate of what I have at home now (but the house is too messy so I'm using the photo from the job) - how I wish it was possible to live & be this neat!

Q

An orchid and a couple of books, that's all!

I change with the seasons.

Right now, a ship's compass, a Japanese porcelain vase with orchids in it, and a candle.

Beautiful, clean & fresh!