You’re Styling: How to Style a Vignette

In this post:  I’m breaking down the steps showing how to style a vignette one piece at a time.

Spring has totally sprung and summer is knocking at the door.  It seems like this spring is flying by and I can hardly catch my breath and summer will be here.  Yikes!  I’ve been so busy with the One Room Challenge I’ve honestly let so much of the house “go”.  As I was setting the table for dinner I looked up and realized I haven’t even taken the Easter items down.  Time to style a vignette.

Plus, if you notice, there are a few additions.  A stack of tiles I’m considering for the kitchen backsplash.  A few coupons for pizza tucked into a bunny wheel, a horse’s head from a pre-school craft project, and some random papers.  Yes, bloggers houses look just like yours.  We all fight that uphill battle.

I decided to change things up and started by clearing everything away except for the shutters. I like to start with a clean palette and build from there whenever I style a vignette.  I like having something tall as a backdrop.  It doesn’t have to be shutters.  Anything that gives the height and adds a layer of texture would work.

Luke and I walked in the yard and cut some branches.  At least, I think these are all branches and aren’t weeds (our side yard is so lush sometimes it is hard to tell). Honestly, I kept thinking about that episode of Little House On The Prairie where they all went camping and were out collecting leaves and Nelly kept rubbing the poison ivy on her face because it was so soft and no one told her what it was.  I’m so allergic to Poison Ivy.

I was brave though.

I grabbed a jar I bought at T.J. Maxx a while back to store tea bags in because I loved the vintage look of it and dropped the branches in it.  If you are looking for some great over-sized jars, check out the food storage section of T.J.Maxx for some interesting jars you can use as a makeshift vase (this one was $4.99 and has a cork lid).

 

 

After adding the branches I felt like they were lost among the green of the shutters.  I knew I needed something to serve as a backdrop for the branches and something that would add another layer of interest.  I found this wicker tray in my stash and tucked it behind the branches vertically.  I could have also put a light colored plate behind it on a plate holder.  That would have been pretty too.

It was still looking quite sparse so I went to find something to anchor the other side.  I found these candlesticks to provide some height.  I felt, because they are so light and airy, they would let the texture of the shutters come through and add another element of height.

I thought this was it.  But it wasn’t.  I stood back and felt there was still not enough depth.  I really like having layers to a vignette making your eye keep traveling backward to the final backdrop.  I didn’t want to introduce a print or even another color.  I’ve had this magnolia wreath for a while and hadn’t really used it so I just experimented by putting it on the shutters to see if that would be the final touch.

By keeping most of the elements in the green color palette it doesn’t feel too fussy even though there are several items on a small piece of furniture.  It reads as neutral, textural, and interesting.  I’m really loving the idea of using branches to decorate…it is so much cheaper than flowers and there is an ease about it that feels natural.  Let’s look at one more graphic that shows why this vignette works.

Let me know in the comments if this is the type of post you would like to see a little more often here at Slightly Coastal.  I loved putting this one together and am happy to share the process.  🙂

By the way, the other day I was a guest on my friend Ron’s blog, The Uptown Acorn.  I was one of the bloggers he asked to have share “What Makes Me Happy”.  Hop on over to Ron’s blog to see What Makes Nancy Happy.

You guys make me happy too!  Thanks for all your wonderful comments.   🙂

 

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