It is the evening before Diwali. The diyas are lit, the rangoli is drying near the doorway, and the dining table still looks unfinished — plates are out, the good dinner set is down from the shelf, but the table feels flat. This is usually when a table runner gets pulled out and laid down almost as an afterthought. Yet...

For the longest time, I thought my coffee table was the most boring thing in my house. Not ugly. Not outdated. Just… there. Existing. Doing its job. Holding cups of tea, TV remotes, and occasionally my dinner when I was too lazy to sit at the dining table. Every few months I’d try decorating it. A candle one week. A vase the next. A...