Creating vignettes is probably the most fun part of my home staging work. If furniture and artwork is the dress for the room, then vignettes is the jewelry. They create visual appeal and draw attention to the most important parts of the room I want to highlight and emphasize their charm. For example, a beautiful countertop, a stained glass window with a great view, a fireplace with vintage tiles, a newly renovated relaxing bathroom. Or take attention away from the elements that are not very desirable to be seen: an unattractive view, a low ceiling area, old fixtures, etc.
Vignettes are one of the most important parts of staging design.
Vignettes are seemingly easy to create by following the rules. Some of the rules are: collect items in odd numbers with various heights and textures; match some parts of the vignette to the colours present in the room and the house; make sure the scale of the vignette works with the scale of the surrounding pieces of furniture and artwork.
However, in real life I found that the best vignettes come out by breaking those rules and just going with intuition, with a gut feeling of what looks right.
Furniture and artwork also can become a part of a vignette, and they are great to fill empty spaces to show the scale and suggest a function of an awkward layout. Outdoor vignettes work well when there is a lack of landscape design.
Using unexpected or quirky items in a vignette creates a memorable experience and makes a lasting impression of a home without overpowering its main features, and especially when a home does not have a lot of features to remember.
Vignettes are a fantastic staging tool, the possibilities are endless, and if you are preparing your house for sale, do not forget to incorporate them in your decor.
When you are just starting, follow the rules I mentioned above. Use 3 items of different heights and create asymmetrical groupings. Even though symmetrical vignettes seem to be easies to create, they are tricky ones to make properly, and you may end up with static compositions. Try a painting or a framed photograph as one of the elements and draw the colour from it.
Inexpensive items work just as good as pricey ones, so do not invest in decor items from Chintz right away, but start with items purchased on a garage sale or an antique store. I included a few photos of my vignettes for you to get the ideas. Perhaps you can make even better ones.
The main thing, have fun with it – good luck! And feel free to contact me if you need help.