Who doesn’t love a coffee table book. They are beautiful, thought-provoking, and often full of pictures (which definitely brings us back to our days of reading pictures books). Coffee table books make you sit a little deeper on the couch, kick back, and really relax. They have the power to start conversations and dive into topics that make us laugh together, contemplate the hard subjects, and remember the past.
There are whole stores dedicated to selling coffee table books such as the Book Store located in the Saint George Hotel in Marfa, Texas.
https://www.archpaper.com/2016/10/hotel-saint-george-marfa/
I actually did some research of my own, when did coffee table capture our fascination because it seems like its been a fixture of homes for as long as we can remember. Well it turns out, much of the history of coffee table books, has been documented, in coffee table books.
We can say for sure, as defined by Merriam-Webster, a coffee table book is “a large expensive book with many pictures that is typically placed on a table for people to look at in a causal way.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-best-travel-coffee-table-books
Interesting and something we can get on board with, is how many people would rather coffee table books be called art books or illustrative books! Being that these books are designed by a team of artists with visual display as a primary focus, calling them art books seems to be very accurate. Bridget Watson Payne, who is a senior editor of art publishing at Chronicle Book said just that, believing that calling them coffee table books diminishes the creative depth of the books themselves.
What we can all agree on is that coffee table books can and do serve a variety of purposes, some simply to make us laugh and some that enlighten us in deep ways. No matter what you call them, getting a nice beautiful book to put on display is the mark of someone who appreciates and cares for art and visual literacy.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-best-travel-coffee-table-books
What do our coffee tables and books look like? Check out some our favorite books!
Miss Jody's Coffee Table
The New York Times: 36 Hours USA & Canada by Barbara Ireland
The Seasonal Home: Decorating Ideas Inspired by the Seasons by Kristen Perers
Life Smiles Back by Philip B. Kunhardt
Miss Maddey's Coffee Table
Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton
The Bucket List: 1000 Adventures Big & Small by Kath Stathers
Colorstrology: What Your Birthday Color Says About You by Michele Bernhardt
It feels like right when November hits, we have gift giving on the brain, if you are interested in one of the books we have above, we have the list for you below.
So break out your best coffee table art books and let’s see you collection! Post on Instagram, Facebook, or in your Instagram story so we can see your own collections.
What coffee table books do you recommend? We are looking for some new books to add to our collection and to give to others this season.
Coffee Table Books we love:
1. The Seasonal Home: Decorating Ideas Inspired by the Seasons by Kristen Perers
2. Life Smiles Back by Philip B. Kunhardt
3. "Dance First, Think Later": 618 Rules to Live By by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras
4. The Experts Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do by Samantha Ettus
5. Cabins: Hutten/Cabanes by Philip Jodidio
6. The New York Times: 36 Hours USA & Canada by Barbara Ireland
7. Architecture + Process: Gehry Talks by Mildred Friedman and Michael Sorkin
8. The Bucket List: 1000 Adventures Big & Small by Kath Stathers
9. Colorstrology: What Your Birthday Color Says About You by Michele Bernhardt
10. Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton
References:
Chin., T. "When did we all become obsessed with Coffee Table Books?" Gear Patrol. Published 4 August 2020. Accessed 16 November 2020. https://www.gearpatrol.com/home/a33438579/what-is-a-coffee-table-book/
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