apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think a discussion and resources about how to create vignettes would be interesting, in addition to a post pointing at a designer who happens to be good at it. I for one am not. What are the key elements? contrasting colors? varying heights? groups of odd numbers?

I agree. If you click through to this designer's site you can see that every scene is carefully staged.

My problem with some of what I see on AT that I like is that I don't know whether it's the way the rooms really "read" in real life or whether they've just been carefully staged by the art director or photographer on the shoot. Just in the past few days I have seen several photos on AT in which props--vases, throws on sofas, etc.--have moved from one shot to the next, which suggests a lot of photography-specific styling.

its actually really not hard to stage a room beautifully if you have access to designer items, such as when you work on a magazine. the deer on the plate, for example, is a hella jongerius creation. what i find compelling is when people are able to create great vignettes using only the resources and budget at their disposal. one usually finds that these vignettes evolve naturally over the years, as we acquire more interesting items. i know a woman who has been collecting curious items for over twenty years. i can tell you now her house wasnt as beautiful when she was a poor student as it is now!

I like to stage vignettes, too. It's hard to come up with "rules" for that, a lot of it is based on kind of a gut reaction. But for simplicity, here's a way to get started.

Start with the furniture and the background. For example, a low console table or credenza against a plain colored accent wall (or in front of a curtained window, maybe.) Think of the furniture and the space behind it as one big canvas. Try to keep the "art work" you are making (the still life or vignette) mostly within the "canvas". And like a canvas, try to use the visual space effectively, without too many fussy bits.

I like asymmetry, but you can work symmetrically if you prefer. If I have a credenza about six feet wide, for example, I might hang a painting or mirror behind it, with the inner edge of the frame centered so that most of the piece is to the left or right. The item should be hung just a few inches above the top of the credenza so there is a visual connection between them. Ideally, the item should have about half the visual weight of the furniture, so if the credenza is dark and visually solid, I'd prefer a medium to dark painting about 2 feet wide and three feet high, maybe. Or at least one with a dark frame. (This is more specific than I would actually worry about, but I want to clarify that I'm not talking about something much smaller.) (You could also use a grouping of matched frames that cover a space about the same size on the wall.) (Or, if there is a curtained window, instead of a large art work, you could use a sculpture, a cabinet, or maybe a vase of branches -- something to give some height to the display.)

Then I'd place a small grouping of items on the credenza on the opposide end from the art. I like odd numbers, but it kind of depends on the items used. The inner edge of the grouping could overlap the painting a little. One of my favorite displays is three turned wooden vases made from black wood (very classic in shape, three different heights and shapes) and three gold-leafed Moravian stars, also different sizes. That makes six, but it feels like an odd number because it's kind of three "sets")

In groupings, always put the largest item in the back and arrange the others so they feel slightly random (not a graduated row). Overlap them a little. Put the smallest/most ornate in front. Use some element in common (like color, texture, materials, shapes, themes...) It's good to use fewer larger items rather than a clutter of little bitty ones, but if you cluster tiny things as a visual unit (in a shadow box, for example, where the whole shadow box reads as one item) it can still work.

You are creating a composition. Art books on the subject of composition might be helpful.

Hope that helps a little...

Hmm, I really like that lamp in the last photo. Any idea where it is from?