How I used the stacks of magazines I've been collecting for 30 years to create the coffee table of my dreams
I nearly threw them away – now they’re the best thing in my living room
Strategist and content creator Francesca Swan is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on the concept of 'Everything' and what makes a home special to you. See the rest of her articles here.
Do you believe in fate?
No, I'm not talking about finding my soulmate – although the other half might not appreciate that. I'm actually talking about creating my magazine coffee table of dreams.
Making thirty years of magazines worthwhile
The coffee table that has been 30 years in the making.
I've collected British Vogue since August 1996. They have been well cared for, despite being unceremoniously wrapped in cling film, stacked and lugged between various homes, much to the annoyance (and occasional physical pain) of my nearest and dearest.
There have been multiple attempts to send them to the tip. At one point, I was genuinely concerned I’d come home one day to find them all gone.
But I held firm. Because I knew – somehow – that they would eventually find their rightful place in our home.
More than just a coffee table
I first saw the inspiration for this piece five years ago and immediately knew I wanted to recreate it.
My coffee table of dreams is a huge, beautiful, living piece of art, created of three components. Firstly, and most importantly, stacks of my long-cherished magazines forming the base.
These magazines are both gorgeous and historic. When I look at them, it’s like unpacking a time capsule of culture.
From the front covers to the advertising and people featured, each issue is a snapshot that instantly takes me back to what was happening in that moment, bringing floods of memories with it.
That’s why I would never, ever, EVER throw them away, despite the multitude of noisy protests and arguments over the years.
The demise of print media is a source of real sadness to me. I grew up in advertising and PR and have always loved magazines. Online obviously has huge benefits, but nothing beats picking up a weighty, glossy title and sinking back into the sofa.
So my collection is not just my Vogues – it's The Face, The Gentlewomen, Ideal Home, Livingetc, Architectural Digest, World of Interiors, Vanity Fair…not to mention my much-treasured first editions of Pop and Love magazine.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say they are a historical archive of fashion, interiors, art and culture.
To me, every single issue is beautiful and significant.
They do not deserve to be in the bin, they deserve to be celebrated.
This coffee table design displays them in the rightful way.
Even better, it’s not only a living, breathing piece of art and history, it’s a super versatile piece of furniture.
I can style and switch it up whenever I like, cherry picking the best ones. I can change the colour, the theme – currently Kate Moss.
Another huge pro? From a practical perspective, I also now have somewhere to store them all. Threats of the tip have finally stopped.
A double win.
When fate lends a helping hand
Magazines in hand, the table needed two more components: a small solid base to properly support the magazine stacks and a glass top.
With time on my side, I was able to stalk eBay, wish list in hand and eventually source an iconic design – an incredible, slim Jasper Morrison for Vitra Carrara marble coffee table with a white metal base.
It has two cracks in the marble, which I genuinely don't think matter. You can barely see them, and I think they actually add to the character.
And, it was £80, so, I kind of don't care.
Even better, in a slightly uncanny twist of fate, it turned out to be the exact same Carrara marble as the fireplace it now sits in front of. Meant to be!
Which just left the glass.
As the moment of actually bringing the table to life got closer, I looked into having a piece cut – knowing it would need to be very big, very thick and, inevitably, very expensive.
Then yet another serendipitous twist of fate occurred.
For reasons I won’t bore you with, we got stuck with a huge £800 shower screen that didn’t work in our bathroom.
We tried to sell it without success, so we shoved it in the living room, endlessly moving it as the renovation took place around us – each time under a heavy cloud of silent terror that this would be the moment we finally smashed it.
Each time also sustaining a minor injury. Which was fun.
We thought we would end up binning it, until one day, sitting on the sofa, I was (again) talking about the glass for the coffee table. The shower screen was directly behind me, leaning perilously against the bookcases, padded with scraps of cardboard.
The ever-thrifty other half pointed at it and said, “could we not just use that?" I measured it. It was exactly the right width. Perfect. Meant to be!
It does have two small notches where it was meant to attach to the wall – but again, I don’t think that matters. To be honest, I quite like them. It’s the same as the cracks in the marble. It’s part of the character. There’s a story behind them.
That’s the other beauty of this table – this is not an off-the-peg piece. It’s something that’s unique I’ve created over time. It’s also a reflection of us, and the journey we’ve been on.
In a weird way, the cracked marble and notches in the glass also feel like small symbols of our resilience.
Finding solutions. Making things work. Bringing something to life in a way that is creative, cost effective and, ultimately, more meaningful.
The result is a beautiful, yet practical coffee table – amazing storage, fully sustainable, perfectly sized to the room proportions, and solving multiple problems for us. It’s the design holy grail of both form and function.
For me, it’s even more. It’s the realisation of a long-held dream, finally showcasing my precious and inspirational Everything magazine archive.
Beyond the coffee table
As is so often the way, the joy and satisfaction of this experience led me onto a new train of thought.
Having solved the years-old conundrum of the magazines, I began to reconsider my books. I have a big library. I can’t walk past a shop without buying a book.
I also have a particular weakness for big coffee tables books. But in the past, all my beautiful art, fashion and interiors books had been stacked spine-facing, with only a few properly displayed.
Practical, yes – but it always felt like a waste. Beyond the contents, the covers are also incredible. Such brilliant and myriad colour, design, imagery, typography – so much inspiration, hidden in plain sight.
For me, they are true pieces of art packed with history, knowledge and meaning. Along with the magazines, they are my Everything. Yet, until that moment, hidden away.
Then, thinking about the Vogue table, something clicked.
Front-facing books like art on shallow ledge shelves is not a new idea. I’d seen and loved it before – Taschen, Maison Assouline, various galleries – so from there the concept took hold.
We installed shallow shelving above our cabinetry and I created my own picture wall of books. It’s worked an absolute charm.
Again, somewhat serendipitously, they perfectly fit the best of my collection to the last book, leaving not a single one without it’s coveted and well-earned spot on the shelf.
The other half maintains that the universe intends this as a sign that I’m not destined to buy any more books.
I strongly disagree.
I think the universe is giving me permission – and room – to keep collecting and playing with them to my heart’s content.
Because that’s the other point – I can change it all around whenever I want.
The coffee table, the shelves, the whole mood of the room. Colour-blocking, themes, styling things in and out. A blue and red moment on the table, something different on the shelves.
It allows my Everything treasures to be versatile, fluid and alive. And most importantly, provides the opportunity for many happy hours of faffing.
Facing these on the opposite wall are two sets of floor-to-ceiling, wall to wall shelves. Smaller books spine-facing out, so it’s more practical and easier to navigate.
My ADHD is itching to haul them all on to the floor and index by author, one by one. However, I strongly suspect (and hope!) I will leave that particular itch unscratched.
Of course I could also colour block them, but I like the random contrast. Not everything needs to be styled within an inch of its life. Some things just need to be lived with.
Creating a home which shuts out the chaos
Finally, my Everything collection of books and magazines is free. I can see, find and touch them all whenever I want.
Walking into the living room, I am always greeted by old friends; thirty years of Vogue Magazine, stored like jewels under glass. My icons embrace me, sitting proudly on colourful, packed bookshelves framing the walls.
Every single time without fail, I am immediately swept away by that wonderous feeling of Everything – immersing and transporting me, even if only for a few seconds.
I feel inspired. I feel energised. I feel like my true self.
I also get massively distracted, forget what I was doing and start reading. Which, although a bit inconvenient from a productivity perspective, is sort of the point.
I want to be constantly pulled back to who I am and feel connected, grounded and present in my home. I want to be able to leave the world behind me.
Set your 'Everything' free
The coffee table allowed me to store, showcase and take joy from the things that matter most to me, making my home feel personal and unique at the same time.
Ultimately, that’s what Everything is about.
Celebrating and making the most of the things you love to create a space that is individual and meaningful, belonging just to you.
So, my question is this: what have you tucked, hidden or shoved away, that deserves to be seen?
Because if you love something enough to keep it, however inconvenient, there’s a reason. It’s meant to be.
Don’t hide it away. Give it the moment in the spotlight it has waited patiently for. Let your Everything shine and truly belong to you.
