Decorating Your Table "The Borrowed Abode" Way

If you haven't started following Jane's blog The Borrowed Abode then you are missing out! In her blog, Jane explores living in and decorating a rental space, but I assure you that you do not need to be a renter to enjoy what she presents. A couple of  weeks ago she blogged here about how to "scape the table" and decorate with beautiful trays. I often have difficulty with the "layering" of it all when decorating so this was the perfect blog post for me. So last week, I shot her an email and asked if she would mind if I tried my hand at decorating with a new tray I found at Ikea and then shared her ideas with you. She said to go for it, so Jane, this is for you!

First, grab yourself a tray. I found this gorgeous one at Ikea for $10.00 two weekends ago:

You can find it here.

Then you'll add the following items:

• Magazines
• Plants
• Coasters
• Candles
• (or in our case) The remotes for your really too large television that your hubby insists on. *ahem*

Here's what it looks like on our very vintage mid-century modern tables that I love, and that need some serious TLC.

For the magazines, I grabbed some of our favorite design mags, Arts & Crafts, Style 1900 and American Bungalow. For the record, I am definitely an Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern kind of girl but I also like Arts and Crafts which The Hubs is more fond of. The vintage tables that I scored for FREE will eventually end up in my craft room/office once I have one. ;)

I stacked the mags in the middle and topped it with a candle that a friend gave me because she wasn't fond of it (again, FREE!). I threw our coasters on one end and the remotes on the other. I'm working on a vase project that will cost me literally pennies, but it's not ready yet. I'll definitely share it soon. 

I think it looks great and am so excited that we have something that seems more pulled together on our coffee table. And it's super easy to clean around. I just move it to dust and then move it back when I'm done!

Thanks for the inspiration Jane!