How to Style Your Home with Vignettes

Remember when I mentioned in my page about me that I love shopping and swapping around my own home? Well, building a vignette is the perfect time to do that when things are feeling stale and drab in your decor. Styling your space with items already existing around your own home doesn’t get any more affordable (not to mention, it gives you the chance to give your surfaces a good dusting and polishing).

Vignettes. Perhaps the most simple way to add designer style to your home.

Kitchen table vignettes can be functional.

Every dining table deserves a vignette.

A vignette is a small grouping of accessories that when put together, creates an attractive focal point.

I love vignettes because I think they reveal your personality and can tell a story about you, your family, and your home. They make a room look more polished and when done right, you instantly add charm and character to the space.

Add charm to a room with a vignette.

Think about the accessories in your home. Special family heirlooms or a collection you love can be grouped with photos, vases, candles, books, plants, mirrors, artwork, and other small objects. Now think of a flat space in a room, like a shelf, coffee table, windowsill, mantle, foyer table, dresser, nightstand, dining table, countertop, or even the floor.

Create functional and attractive vignettes on your kitchen counters.

Create vignettes in corners using your floor space by adding baskets or tall branches (and hopefully no puppy toys).

Ready to create a new vignette? Here are my tips for building the perfect little grouping…

1. Start with a large anchor object, like this lantern. This anchor object “grounds” the vignette, gives the area a focal point, and serves as the star of the group. Place this object at the rear of the vignette and build from there.

Pick a large object to be the star of the group.

2. Aim for various sizes and shapes of objects. Once you have your anchor piece, choose a second piece that is about half the height of the anchor object. If you have a narrow piece, try adding a wider object to the group to balance it.

Picture frames are an easy place to start with vignettes.

Pair family heirloom pieces with new pieces, even when they don’t share similar shapes.

3. In the decorating world, odd numbers are magical! Keep your vignettes to 3 or 5 items to achieve the greatest visual impact. Adding too many items to a vignette will just look like clutter.

Odd numbers are key to having balanced vignettes.

4. Add interest to the display by using different textures. Consider using something with fabric, like this monogram burlap sack, against a glass bottle. Pair metallic objects with rough natural objects. Try using woods with glass, metal, and greenery. This draws your eye around and makes the space more intriguing.

Combining different textures adds interest to a grouping.

5. Add dimension and create depth in the vignette by layering, stacking and leaning your pieces. Elevate smaller objects by creating platforms with stacked books or cake stands. Dimensionality will add personality.

Leaning large framed pictures or artwork is a perfect way to add dimension.

Layer, stack, and lean objects.

6. Every vignette deserves something from nature. Fresh is ideal, but stores like TJ Maxx and Homegoods have lovely artificial topiaries that add a perfect pop of color and texture to a vignette.

Artificial topiaries and flowers are affordable ways to add personality.

A few magnolia leaves in this glass jar makes the space more interesting than if the jar was empty.

Add natural elements.

Bring in natural elements with each season. Add pinecones or fresh gourds in the fall. Try using branches or sprigs of pine during the winter holidays.

Fresh pine sprigs warm up a holiday display.

7. Use color that is found in another part of the room to add cohesiveness. This bright green artichoke plays off the other green hues in the room. You can pull color around the room using the spines of books, bright picture frames, or colorful candles.

Pops of the same color connect the areas in a room.

8. Don’t forget about the negative space. Your decor needs breathing room so don’t put vignettes so close to other vignettes or decor. Don’t overdue it or you’ll give the space a sense of chaos.

Don’t overcrowd and cause clutter.

9. Consider simply putting away items that are part of a big collection. Just because you have a large assortment of objects, like these vintage decanters, doesn’t mean you have to put them all on display. Select your favorites and make them the highlight of your collection.

Display your favorite pieces from a collection.

10. Don’t hesitate removing and storing something that has been on display for too long and swapping it with something else. Try tucking it away for awhile and bringing it out for another season. This will keep the vignettes fresh and new.