A Vignette Can Be Many Things

Vignettes can be anything we want them to be. The sweet photos above and below are perfect examples of this. The one above is an antique cabinet that has been stuffed to overflow with quaint old boxes, snippets of beautiful old lace, roses fabric, books, antiques, a portfolio of love letters or stationery, spools of antique rick rack and even ivy. I absolutely love this idea. Isn't it just beautiful?

Now what woman hasn't imagined her bedroom looking like this romantic one? I certainly have. Well, there is nothing wrong with "setting" our bedrooms like a stage and having this to feast our eyes upon every single day. It's a "mood" we're looking for here. A teapot, teacup, plate, even a faux pastry and a small silk plant can assure it looks like this every single day. The plethora of soft, cushy pillows add to the ambiance, of course. I plan on getting an old breakfast tray I have and "setting" it up and displaying it in my bedroom just as soon as I can today! A lovely vignette with not much work involved at all, my sweet chicks and bunnies!! Get on it now!

This tiny section of a cottage living room on the Oregon coast looks like it just wraps its arms around you and welcomes you like a nice feather bed. Ahhhhh..... Isn't it adorable? The wicker settee wrapped in a vintage rose fabric or even an old quilt that has been softened with many washings. Put books around your home on the floor. I DO!! Put them under coffee and end tables. I don't have enough book cases so I do it this way too. But you can also put the books on little stools. Hang an old pretty hat somewhere in a room. Put fresh flowers around when your garden is blooming and at other times get the beautiful silk or paper flowers that look so real and are available readily in today's world. Hang things in your window to reflect the light and throw it into your room. Be bold!!

A tiny room can double as a guest room, craft or sewing room or home office and can be beautiful as this one is. It's just a different view of the living room above but can certainly be adapted to something else. Nothing says rooms have to be used as intended. Adapt this to a little used room. Also use different kinds of shelves in a room. It gives a "flair" to a room that says you've collected through the years and not just bought the "suite" off the showroom floor. Mismatched chairs or chairs with pretty fabrics thrown over them show a creativeness. Personally, I love the look!

A small dining room such as this one can be receptive to small vignette displays. A vintage high chair would be glorious if you can find a small one. If you have a curtain that doesn't quite "fit" a window, so what? Put it up anyway. Look at the piece of old lace in each window above. It adds bravado to the room and is still in keeping with the design. Set an old teapot, a basket of napkin rings, a ceramic bunny or cat or a beautiful pot of foliage on the table.

A view such as this one should not be covered up! The sheer lace lets it show through plus they have been hung low on the door, which in itself makes a glorious statement, and then they are drawn back with a flair for drama. The other vignette is on the table. Nothing says that tables have to be kept "clean" all the time. By this I mean "swept of all adornment" but can have place settings that can be swept up for meal time. Nothing too fancy need be on, just something to draw and please the eye.

Vignettes certainly don't have to be in the house; they can be outside also, such as this one. Very simple! Just an old settee, and a few wreaths attached to the wall and voilà you have it! Maybe a pretty thermometer, garden signs, old garden gate, mirror or an old clock out there. It can be anything your imagination comes up with.

Lastly, and I'm almost embarrassed to show you mine after all those beautiful ones above, it can be something as simple as your paint brushes. Since we've moved from a large home to a much smaller one, storage space - actually, just "space" - has been a problem. I'm having to be more creative so here is what I'm doing with some of my things. I just strew them about the house as adornments. This area needs some foliage and it will get it when I get time(!), but I've always been an advocate of "hiding in plain sight." This is an example - my paint brushes and our scripture markers. Placing them in beautiful cups or candleholders and just setting them on an end table (which, btw, is actually an old Marine Corps field desk that opens up to reveal old reel-to-reel tapes and stereo equipment) covered with a scrap of an old damask tablecloth. If you were to look at the back you'd see a cut edge where I used part of it for a pillow!