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Forgive my ignorance. I understand what she means by "vignettes of furniture" in a showroom--where living spaces are mocked up--but what do you mean by "vignetted furniture" in a home? How is the arrangement shown in the above photo different from what you might see in any home?

My day job is a visual merchandiser for a major furniture retailer/manufacturer. Yes, I want something that looks approachable, but my job is, at the end of the day, to sell product. So no, I doubt I'll ever have 8 silk pillow shams on my bed. But I would probably do a pretty tray, some books and a few candlesticks on a coffee table. What's important to do when you look at styled rooms (either in a photo or showroom, is think about why it looks so good. Lack of clutter always helps, as does smart use of accessories. Generally, when they repeat a theme, color or texture we appreciate it without always knowing why.

Christine

I'm not sure i understand what is meant by "vignetted furnishings"? Does that just mean "arranged in a way we approve of"? And as opposed to what? furniture heaped in the corner?

Am I missing something here? You start off by describing a particular style of display in stores and how it inspires, but then you veer off into talking about this kind of display at home.

Don't stores do vignettes to show how the stuff would look in a house? It's art imitating life, not the other way around.

I'm not sure what the clutter thing is about, either.

Add me to the list of the confused.

Is "vignetted" (did you just coin that, or is it decorator-speak?) maybe like those open-house fake scenes with picturesque tea and scones set out and a magazine "left open" like someone was just reading it (but wasn't)? In that case, no, I don't like it for a real house.

pretty sure "vignetted" is not a word.

I'm confused too - and I worked in the furniture trade.

We arrange furniture in vignettes to show clients how pieces might work together in their homes - its more interesting and makes for an easier sell than lining up sofas on one wall, chairs in another part of the store, occassional tables somewhere else...

...so are you asking if we like this type of arrangement in stores or in our homes? Because if you're asking of we like this arrangement in our homes, the alternative is to put the sofas on one side of the living room, the chairs on the opposite wall, the occassional tables piled up in the corner, the dining chairs lined up like soldiers along the hallway...

Well, "vignetted" may be a word after all:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vignetted

but add me to those who don't understand what "vignetted furniture" arrangements in a home might be.

Totally confused.

me too

Whew...I'm not alone. I don't get this either.

I love the rug!

"Websters New World Dictionary" of the American Language SECOND COLLEGE EDITION defines vignette 1. an ornamental design (orig. one of vine leaves, tendrils, and grapes) or illustration used on a page of a book, magazine ctc., as at the beginning or end of a chapter or section. 2.a picture or photograph with no definite border, shading off gradually at the edges into the background.

It appears to me that by definition the picture is evactly that. Need a less serious look at remodeling? http://lightheartedremodeladvice.blogspot.com/

My take is that furniture stores create vignettes to simulate the way people might use the furniture they sell. In a home, it's just arranged in ways that reflect their use. Thus, aren't all furniture arrangements in a home vignetted? I don't understand question, I guess.

Pretty loft, but when you read the article, Emily Robison didn't say the quote at all. The writer came up with the line about easy focus on domesticity, while Robison's only quote is "I love them."

From the article:
Except maybe design showrooms, which the self-confessed shelter magazine fan slips away to when she’s on the road. “I love them,” Robison readily admits. Their vignettes of stylish furniture and picture-perfect kitchen systems make it easy to focus on domesticity.

So, Sarah Rae Trover, are you going to give us a definitive answer, or not? I'm another who is still unsure of the meaning.

Really? Is it that hard to understand?

She just meant that the furniture is separated into groups.

18thandCali, when is furniture not separated into groups? Once again, dining chairs in a heap, sofa wedged into a staircase...

@18thandCali: Yes, it is.

Add me to the list of the (still) confused.

So, does it mean having separate "areas" in rooms, defined by furniture, rather than treating the entire room as a single "space"? Wouldn't that be determined more by the size and the shape of a room than by furniture style?

Between the blogger's disjointed commentary and her misquoting of the article, this is just one strange post. I was hoping she'd have come back by now to clarify what the heck she was trying to say.