This Living Room Staple Actually Belongs in Your Bedroom

Bedroom furniture options are relatively limited, if you think about it — it’s essentially just beds or headboards, dressers, and nightstands. And for some spaces, that may be all you can fit. But if you have a bit of room to spare, there’s one living room staple that arguably deserves a bed-adjacent spot, according to a new social media styling hack.

Anna B. Albury, textile designer and interior stylist, recently shared an Instagram video of her own colorful Brooklyn bedroom. As she pans around the space, you’ll notice a long, narrow coffee table at the foot of her bed, which she’s decorated with books and a pretty floral arrangement. “I’m an advocate for coffee tables in the bedroom and waking up to bouqs at the end of the bed,” she captioned the post. 

Where most people might use this portion of the bedroom for a storage bench or pair of ottomans, Albury thought outside the box with a more unconventional — but still functional — piece. A slim coffee table maximizes unused floor space with a spot to stack extra books, baskets, or even cutely folded blankets and sweaters (clothes chair, who?). You can also find a piece that comes with built-in storage or shelving, if you prefer to keep essentials out of sight.

I recognize the coffee table from Albury’s living room previously, as pictured below from her Apartment Therapy house tour, so she’s also making the case for repurposing furniture you already own. 

Albury’s bedroom does skew fairly large, especially compared to other New York rentals, but I’ve seen content creator Stefanie Taylor implementing this trick in her Brooklyn studio apartment as well. I’d suggest gravitating toward a more minimalist coffee table design to avoid making the space feel overly cluttered, though, regardless of your bedroom size. 

Basically, there’s no need to limit your bedroom to just the bed, dresser, and nightstand furniture trifecta — get creative!