Covet my coffee table: with interior designer Kim Pearson

It took interior designer and stylist Kim Pearson almost 20 years to find the perfect coffee table and when she did, she bought two!

“We’re floor dwellers so we invested in rugs and vast floor cushions instead, with children and dogs crawling/sprawled around and over us! I stumbled (actually kind of really did fall over) upon these tables in a sale a few years ago, reduced from literally thousands to hundreds. Worth a 20 year wait! American, made of polished nickel, solid walnut and glass, they are heavy and polished and refined and robust all at the same time in a classic tray table style. Timber shelf below and nickel framed heavy, clear glass above. Low too, which I like. One wasn’t enough though as I like a coffee table to be generous so I bought two rectangles, pushed them together and voila, one big square one!”

It’s nestled in front of the fire and surrounded by squishy velvet, feather-filled sofas and old Victorian armchairs. (Yes, I want to live there too!) “It’s covered in piles and piles of books and mags — British Vogue, World of Interiors, Vogue Living, Vanity Fair,” says WA-based Kim. “There are masses of coffee table books; a delicious vice of mine. I’m a sucker for a great cover and I sometimes buy them just for that and enjoy swapping them around according to size, colour and topic.”

The roses are from her garden. “I keep the flowers low using old silver, glass and ceramic bowls. Candles too, Ciré Trudon — Ernesto and Roi Soleil — being my all time favourites. And what’s missing is the Smarties. Because I ate them !”