What is a Vignette
You know that perfectly styled mantle or console table with beautifully displayed decorative objects? This is a vignette. Vignette as a French word that in short basically means a piece of the whole. In design, vignettes are all about bringing special decorations & collected items together to form one beautiful, cohesively decorated surface.
The Power of a Vignette
Carefully curated vignettes are perfect for the holidays because they are meant to evoke a particular mood. This is what makes vignettes so fun to swap out for each season; They are able to convey the feeling of the season and can even change the feeling of a whole room. Additionally vignettes are a staple in interior styling because they add a lot of visual interest and character. Vignettes are not just limited to console tables and mantles, accent tables, coffee tables, shelves and even your kitchen counter are all up for grabs to style! Check out this beautiful, wintery kitchen vignette below by @thewestnest. If you look closely, there’s even a wintery vignette in the background on the range cover.
Decide on a Theme
While decorating for the holidays can be interpreted with very literal decor themes like ‘snowflake’ or ‘candy cane’, it doesn’t have to be. Your theme can represent a feeling or capture a mood such as a ‘light & airy’, ‘woodsy elegance’, whimsical’ or even ‘classic vintage Christmas’. Check out the console table vignette below styled by @theryanhaus_, it beautifully conveys a ‘earthy jewel toned’ theme. This is a great time to select a color palette as well!
Materials
After an overall theme is decided, next it’s time to decide which materials you’ll be repeating throughout the vignette & tying into the room as a whole. If your room has a lot of leather, oak, brass, marble or iron for example, consider incorporating elements that are crafted with the same materials. For example, this console table vignette by @christinagracehome likely reflects materials from the rest of the surrounding room. From this vignette, we can deduce that she likely has brass, cane, black metal and jute repeated somewhere else in her home! Repeating materials throughout a room will help create a sense of harmony & flow.
Evaluate What you Already Have
After considering what type of materials you’d like to incorporate in your vignette, dig through those old Christmas boxes and see what decorative elements you already have that utilize these materials. In this step not everything Hass to be specifically holiday geared. This is a great time to even find vases, trays, bowls or baskets that convey the general mood of your theme. In the photo below, @the.rose.home even incorporated her frame TV’s into a couple of her vignettes.
Select New or Newly Thrifted Items to Incorporate
Once you find a few key pieces to decorate around, figure out what might be missing. Do you need more foliage, maybe some winter art or even some ornaments to display in a bowl? Now is the time to fill in the gaps with more pieces that will help convey the feeling you’d like your vignette to represent. Consider scale as well, ensure you have enough variety in decor sizes. Also make sure you’re incorporating all of the textures you’d like to use as well. Some fun additions, are listed below:
- Faux foliage or berries
- Ceramic, bottlebrush, wood, glass or marble trees
- Baubles of various textures
- Sculptural reindeer
- Books
- Candles & match cloches
- Sculptural Objects
- Framed scenic winter art
- Vases & bowl
- Winter garland
- Small basks
Feel free to draw inspiration from beautiful holiday accents we’ve linked below to get you started!
Arranging Your Vignette
Vignettes always look best when arranged in an asymmetrical grouping. The ideal way to arrange your groupings is to begin with the largest/tallest item. Next, fill in gaps with smaller accessories like greenery and candles. When sprinkling in items, shoot an order that is randomized in height, texture and color! Our blog post called ‘Effortless Shelf Styling’ also contains tons of tips for this step! Check out the beautiful kitchen shelf/counter styling by @hartinterior, she successfully varies all of these key elements for a layered, curated look.
Finalize
Last but not least, take a step back and check out the vignette you’ve created. Evaluate the variety in your decor; Do you need more color, texture, heigh variety, is it looking too cluttered? How’s your chance to edit out and swap pieces that don’t quite fit exactly where you initially put them. Pro tip- rearrange a few times, taking photos each time. This way you can easily and quickly compare to see which variation conveys the look you’re going for! I hope these tips help you in achieving beautiful holiday vignettes around your home. Get creative and have fun!
