Affordable Shelf and Table Accessories

Sometimes, I think that furniture is the easy part of home decor. As long as you find items that fit within your space and budget, you’re basically halfway there. But it’s the small moments that define and elevate a room. Design is almost certainly in the details.

The problem with accessories is that they’re often expensive, and you need a lot of them. I wanted to share a bunch of really interesting and pretty things at a lower price point so that you can accessorize your home within your budget. There are a few things on this list that hover around $100, but most are much more affordable. I’m going to group them in categories to make it easier to navigate.

Vases and Tall Pots:

The key to picking a good vase/planter is to find something that is interesting to look at on its own. That way, you can display it with or without flora. Another great tip for those on a budget is to pick items with smaller mouths, as fewer flowers/branches will be needed to fill it. Here are a few vases and stoneware items that I love.

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Bowls, Trays, and Low Planters:

I love all the items in this section, and, as with the above section, I think these items are interesting enough alone or as a display for additional items. Many of these items work everywhere: on a bedside table, on the vanity counter, in the kitchen, etc.

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Coffee Table Books and Book Sets

These are my favorite coffee table books and, other than Tim Flach’s gorgeous Dogs book, I have them all. That Tom Ford one is slightly above $100, but it’s so good and works EVERYWHERE. Any of these would be lovely on a console table, on a lower shelf, or, yes, on a coffee table. In addition, I included a few decorative book sets that would be beautiful on a shelf alone or with some pretty bookends.

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Bookends and Smaller Decorative Objects

This section of accessories is a group of smaller decorative objects or book accessories. These all go well with other things: those found keys or a magnifying glass on top of a pile of books, a string beads hanging off the neck of a vase or just laying casually in a bowl, etc. I also found some amazing bookends to style a shelf.

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Miscellaneous Decorative Objects:

This category is somewhat vast. It includes basically everything that doesn’t easily fit into the other categories. I love the diversity of items and price points in this section. I also like the versatility of items; the Jenga-esque stacking game can be arranged in a multitude of ways, and I love that hat stand from Urban Outfitters, which could be used to display an interesting vintage hat as an art piece. A few of these breach my $100 limit, but I figured that there were so many affordable options I’d present those more expensive items, too.

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I hope you found something you love and want to incorporate into your own home. To inspire you, here are a few photos of some of these items styled in mine.

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