Creating a Vignette

To me, a vignette is a grouping of items that create a beautiful composition together. A single room could have several vignettes: on the walls, in corners, on tables, on mantles, on trays…really anywhere. It usually comprises of an odd number of items — I like to create vignettes in threes. You could also do fives, sevens, etc. I also try to make each of the items at different heights so as to create a visual triangle.

A common thread between the items can make a vignette look unified and composed. For example, in this large vignette in the corner of my living room, the color of the wood on the chair matches nicely with the bark of my manzanita tree. The color of the leaves on the manzanita tree match nicely to the leaves in the oil painting. And sometimes, you get nice surprises you didn’t intend. I think the structure of the branches in the tree is very similar to the structure of leaves in the painting. Not everything has to match in a vignette, but a common thread can often make a vignette work.