An Eclectic Curated Vignette

These are a few of my favorite things--sourcing new to the pop-up shop treasures, finding one-of-a-kind, unique, vintage home decor, creating vignettes with the newly curated objects, and sharing styling and design tips with you. 

I put together these latest finds in a colorful, funky, eccentric vignette.

So let's start with the wall. I know I shared this in my previous post, but hanging a piece of fabric on a wall is a great way to add pattern and color and texture without a big commitment. A quilt, a curtain panel, a shower curtain, a piece of fabric all work. This hand-stitched, made in India quilt has different fabric on both sides. The golden mustard color on this side matches the little bench perfectly. A bench makes a great surface to create an interesting display on.

I love this watercolor and ink painting and may be keeping it if I can find a place to hang it. The colors are fantastic. The tile, art piece entitled Amethyst by Alphonse Mucha  is a little out of my normal color palette, but I loved it. The pink in it is repeated in the quilt, on the book cover it is sitting on, and in the upholstery trimmings displayed in the wood plant hanger on the bottom shelf.

A bag of candles became a candle bouquet in the vintage. Italian pitcher. three of the candles are used in the candle holders. Here's a tip, candles don't have to match each other. 

I've said it before and will say it again--repeat colors, elements, materials, textures. Use organic materials--note the wood beaded mirror, wood carved box, the wood candlestick, and the living plant. 

The antique gold candlesticks and antique gold key mimic the yellow gold on the bench and quilt. If I were keeping this display as part of my home, I would use antique gold Rub-n-Buff on the frame of the watercolor. 

Final tips--vary heights, create triangles, keep the observer's eye moving. Use what you love, what speaks to you and use vignettes to tell YOUR home's story rather than the local home decor store's aisle 12 display.

A Curated Vignette Inspired by a Vintage Barkcloth Panel

Is it encouragement or peer pressure when a fellow thrifter tells you to JUST BUY IT when you are thinking about and looking at an item at the thrift store?

Well, whatever it is, I am glad a gal encouraged me to go ahead and buy this lovely, vintage, barkcloth curtain panel even though I had no idea what I might use it for. In talking with the lady, we came up with a few different ways I could use this gorgeous piece. Here is one--as a tapestry or wall backdrop. 

I created a simple vignette with the panel and other recently curated items. Keep reading to learn more.

First of all, did you notice that I did not center the fabric piece in the vignette, but rather chose to hang it to one side? This adds visual interest and help the items in the white wall to stand out a bit rather than being lost against the pattern. 

The vintage art piece pulls colors from the barkcloth. The simple floral does not compete with the bust pattern. The wood beaded mirrors introduces a different shape in the vignette. The small square, antique, leaded glass mirror was a great find. The faded gold on the square mirror frame is repeated in the print frame and on the lamp.

I loved finding the old label on the back.

This sweet lamp is a soft bluish green color and it came with the linen shade. 

On the little green table (also recently sourced) I placed a vintage "wood" tray with a little inlaid ski scene on it. I covered up the skier with the books since it is summer, but you can still see the mountain behind the candlestick and lotus seed pod.

Use natural elements in vignettes--wood, rattan, plants. Real plants are always better, but sometimes not possible. If that is the case, use a GOOD faux plant like this jade one. This is a fake plant that I am sure my hubby may try to water. And, PLEASE, no cheesy fake silk flowers or fake variegated ivy from 2002. You aren't fooling anyone with those and they date your space, and not in a good way.

I placed the plant on a couple books to ground it. Remember--repeat colors, elements, materials and vary heights.

Use the triangle rule to keep the eye moving and to make displays visually appealing. In this vignette I created three triangles.

There is a triangle on the tray with the plant, seed pod, and candlestick.  There is a triangle on the wall with the mirrors and art. And there is an overall triangle with the wall pieces, the lamp, and the tray.

I love using this vintage fabric on a wall. It adds color and pattern to a space without making major changes--I am glad I was told, "YES, you need to buy that." The fabric panel can be used as a runner on a table, as a curtain pulled back on one side of window, or as fabric for pillows and upholstery. Today's tip--remember to look at the curtains section at the thrift store and listen to shoppers when they tell you to buy it!

Styling and Resetting the Pop-Up Shop

Did you know that I spend 15+ hours resetting and styling the pop-up shop between each opening? I try hard to make each shopping experience unique and inspiring. I love doing it, even if does typically take me longer than I anticipate. I have a busy week coming up so I have been trying to get a jump start on restyling the space for the upcoming "Cottage and Cabin" shop, June 13th and 14th. 

I typically don't have a real plan and don't like to reset the shop until I have most of the new furniture moved in. I move and rearrange and take pictures to see what is and isn't working. This time I started with the cabin decor in the middle of the shop. I pulled in a wood and corrugated tin divider to add height, to have a place to hang art, and to define the middle space. This sofa table that I built from reclaimed barnwood is a new addition. 

Stacking and layering items helps to give customers not only decorating ideas, but also allows them to better see items for sale.

The back side of the divider is styled like a cozy cabin sitting nook. 

Yesterday I sourced both a vintage cabin art piece and a cottage painting (I still need to frame it). This cabin piece is an ink and watercolor and was framed locally at a shop that went out of business 25+ years ago. 

This reclaimed wood table has such a fantastic stand and feet. It was definitely handmade and would be great in any cabin or rustic home.

No one ever said loving what you do and doing what you love would be easy, but sure makes "work" more enjoyable!