Curating a Beautiful Space With Coffee Table Books

There’s a question I get asked a lot when people walk into one of my listings: “Where did you find all these gorgeous coffee table books?”

The answer came from a dear friend, Rita of Rita Chan Interiors.

Learning from a Design Pro

Rita always has beautiful coffee table books in her own home, and the ones she designs. They feel thoughtful and perfect for the space.

I figured she’d have the inside scoop on where I could buy books in bulk, or some online shop that had everything I was looking for. But when I asked her where she orders them, her answer was simple: she shops for them in person at her neighborhood bookstore.

That conversation stuck with me. I’ve always believed that the people you surround yourself with teach you something—and Rita reminded me that the small, intentional choices we make in how we shop and live say a lot about who we are and what we value.

Some of My Favorite Titles for Staging

So now, when I’m staging a listing or decorating my own home, I head straight to da Shop: books + curiosities not far from my office, in Kaimukī. It’s a community bookstore that’s full of titles you’d have to dig for anywhere else. Not to mention, I feel good knowing I’m supporting local.

Some titles I’ve used in staging and in my own home:

• Duke: A Great Hawaiian by Sandra K. Hall
• Eddie Aikau: A Hawaiian Hero by Stuart Coleman
• Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawai’i by Patricia Jennings, Jennifer Saville, Maria Ausherman
• Paddling North by Audrey Sutherland
• Surveying the Mahele by ​​Riley Moore Moffat and Gary L. Fitzpatrick
• The Early Mapping of Hawai‘i by Gary L. Fitzpatrick

Books That Educate and Inspire Buyers

There’s something special about a well-chosen stack of coffee table books. Unlike decorative objects that simply occupy space, they carry weight—both literal and emotional. They can tell a story before a single word is spoken.

The titles I select often educate buyers about the history of the land on which they are buying a home.

How to Style Books With Intention

And beyond their narrative quality, coffee table books add a layered warmth. They introduce color, texture, and scale in a way that feels organic rather than staged. Stack them with intention—mixing heights and spine widths, tucking in a small object or a sprig of dried botanicals—and suddenly a bare surface becomes a moment.

In an era of increasingly digital everything, choosing physical books as décor signals that the space is for slowing down, for curiosity, for conversation.