Rustic Refined Vignette

Vignettes--if you have been here before you have probably heard (read) me talking about vignettes. Vignettes, displays, groupings, a still life, whatever you want to call them, are a simple and lovely way to bring your and your family's personalities into the home. Vignettes organize the small objects we collect and treasure and love into eye-pleasing displays that are interesting to look at. They help objects to feel connected rather than scattered about your home in a cluttered, willy-nilly fashion.

Here is a vignette I put together with recently sourced objects. While these items will be for sale in my pop-up shop, I am 'teaching" you how to create exciting vignettes. Keep reading to see why this works and how you can use these principals in your home.

Objects in a vignette should be interesting and mean something to you. They should provoke visitors in your home to ask questions and want to look more. Antiques and vintage finds, art that you love, pieces that you can't part with are all perfect for your home displays.

Start by gathering objects with a similar theme or feel. You won't use everything, you must play and edit as you go. Decide where you want to create your vignette. It doesn't have to be on a bookshelf. Vignettes can be on top of cupboards, on small tables, on a chair or bench, on a mantle. I placed this vignette on a small wood table. Because it has a pink formica top, I covered it with a deer wall hanging. You can't really see the deer scene, but it helps to incorporate the colors and texture and covers the ugly tabletop. 

Use different materials--wood, metal, natural objects, fabric with texture. LAYER items. The art propped on the box edge against the wood blanket ladder can't be completely seen, but it incorporates color and invites you to look further.

Repeat colors and materials. There is green in the horse barn painting, in the branches, the candles, the pinecone pottery dish. This painting is a print on canvas. It is old and is by Robert Roche, circa 1960. It is entitled Saratoga Horse Haven and is more of a horse racing style. But the greens and wood horse stalls work with this more rustic style as well.

The dark wood boxes and the lighter wood elements unify the vignette. The top on this small wood box twists and is a spice box. Sitting it on top of an old book makes it feel a little more important and not so "lonely" sitting on the corner of the big wood box.

Brass candlesticks, a metal barrel hoop handle, a brass bell (in the small wood box) repeat the metal aspects. These brass candlesticks are very old and a real find.

Use items in an unusual or interesting way and solve problems creatively. I wanted to show off one of the beautiful pictures in this old 1958 Animals of North America book. There is a full page picture every 3 pages. The book is propped up on a wood box inside the wood box, but it wouldn't stay open on the picture side. An old wood pant hanger with advertising on it was the perfect solution. Not only does it hold the book open, but it adds another wood element.

Create loose symmetry in your vignettes. The candlesticks mimic the the upright sides on the ladder. The rectangle art and the rectangle book fool the eye into thinking that they are symmetrical. Symmetry and repeated elements keeps the eyes moving. 

The hoop handle on the small wood box introduces another shape that contrasts the square lines of most items. The round pottery dish matches the hoop handle

I like stuff--I like things with history, items that evoke a memory or are handed down. I love vintage art and nature and old stuff. But, believe it or not, I do NOT like clutter. I am maybe a maximalist in a minimalist way. Creating vignettes allows me to be both, to have the things but to display them in an organized way that is visually appealing.

And my last tip is take pictures with your phone. When I first took a picture of this vignette, the table was too far to the left. I didn't see it with my eye, but did see it in the picture, oh and don't take it too seriously, have fun, add and subtract.