I kinda cringe when I read advice suggesting that books should be incorporated into little decorating tableaus. That's how one ends up with a self-conscious looking room; this trick should be reserved for the photo-styling & window-dressing crowd-- seems stagey and false in the home.

Which is not to say that you can't have a pile of books artfully placed somewhere (we've all got overflow that won't fit on the regular bookshelves!).

But, once you start using books illogically in little still- lifes, laden with Greek busts and bric-a-brac, arranged just so.... you're a heartbeat away from buying beautiful-looking books just to decorate with. (That's not a stretch-- lots of people do it.)

Agree with shirleytemple.

I think the concept of a vignette is pretty self-serving, decorating for the heck of decorating. You have to to buy a table or set up a shelf that will never be of any use because everything on it has to be so severely orchestrated. I am really not for anything that is so unsustainable and wasteful.

I don't have any vignettes at all. I don't like them in real life.

Have to agree with Drops o' Jupiter. Function over form for me, and a vignette seems to defy the concept of function altogether.

I'm breathing a sigh of relief to see that I am not the only one. I can't imagine setting something like this up in my home. I'd feel uncomfortable every time I walked by it.

I view them as little spots of inspiration. Depending on which objects and pictures you use it can help stir up memories as well. I certainly don't think that's any more useless than hanging photos of friends and family on the wall.

With that said, the second and third photos don't really look too staged, but the first one looks like it was from a catalog. I've seen lots of photos like this and lots of blogs teaching you how to do it in your home. I don't really understand it, actually.

I don't find the examples that illustrate this piece offensive-- hard to fault the useful lamp/ ashtray/ painting combination, or a plant/ photo combo.

It's when people consciously try to "style" little areas into contrived still-lives that bothers me: the nineteenth century gilded book (that you know they've never cracked)... teamed with an antique oil lamp... teamed with a pair of old spectacles*. Casually strewn. 365 days a year.

it can be "decorating for the sake of decorating". it can be a place of honor for a few special items, like a photo of your grandmother and a couple of her belongings. it can be a way to make a functional spot beautiful (like a landing strip!). or it can be something which is functional but also calls for the careful selection and careful placement of beautiful objects, as in an altar.

i appreciate the practical list of things to consider when pulling together a vignette, whether the items included are practical or just beautiful.

It's fun to figure out nice ways to display treasured items, but creating a vignette according to a formula feels so artificial. It would also look like you're trying too hard. I think little pleasing groupings of objects should come together in a more organic manner.

I'm surprised to see that people have such strong feelings about this topic. And, frankly, to see that people can be so judgmental about it. I see nothing wrong with an artful arrangement of objects, simply because they look beautiful. "Ars gratia artis"! Yes, I like a house to look a bit "lived in." But that doesn't mean one can't have vignettes such as this somewhere in the home. Although, of course, one should consider the fact that they'll have to be dusted, which, for someone like me, who hates dust and hates the chore of dusting even more, is a powerful incentive to limit my decorative possessions.

I didn't really mean to come off judgemental, though I might have. I just meant I would not feel comfortable arranging or having such a thing in my own home.

Function should lead form. Vignettes for the sake of vignettes without a function doesn't appeal to me. Lighting provides function; ergo, an interesting lamp. Keys need a place to land; ergo, an interesting piece of pottery. The homeowner needs to check for spinach in their teeth before answering the door; ergo a vintage mirror in the foyer.

With that said, tabletops and bookshelves and night stands can all be overcome by too much practical function: cluttered, messy, disorganized. Balance that with form, which means tabletops and bookshelves and night stands may benefit from some thoughtful but practical vignettes to keep things aesthetically balanced.

Vingettes are great. I buy a few items from thrift stores and want to display them for myself and for the guest that arrive in my home.

I enjoyed this post.

oh dear god! i had no idea!
it seems like i have two "vignettes" at home!
one is a yellow ikea vase with white and pink silk flowers, a picture of kirsten dunst as marie antionette and a reproduction of peronneau's "girl with a kitten" as well as a little long-necked porcelain cat with its eyes closed.

and the other is comprised of 1 white and 1 clear vase, one with dried honesty twigs in it, a taxidermied crow and a red candle in the shape of an apple. add to this a stack of fashion magazines and a kimono calendar on the wall which i got as a present in kyoto.

everytime i look at them, i smile.

So, Lisa(Montreal), you have only bare horizontal surfaces?

And ShellyinMSP, some of us consider beauty (for beauty's sake) to be a function.

And if we applied your rule to Art, we'd have none then, no?

Unless it had glass reflective enough to check the teeth for spinach, I suppose.

Patrick: Are design and art the same thing? Hmmmmmm..... Both can encompass beauty -- and good design usually does -- but are they the same thing? Ergo the need for function with design.

Um, no, art and design aren't the same thing.

What is the "function" of a fine art photograph or oil painting then?

Oh wow am I hosed then. I went to art school for a design degree. Crap.

:)

Wow! Lighten up people! These are just tips on how to create pretty spots in people's homes IF THEY WANT THEM.

No one dies!

wonderful new discovery!!!!!!!! I found this blog. I am so grateful. I am not complaining. I can only financially afford this lovely place, space, and I love it. It will make you, force you to keep it tidy, clean, and beautiful!!! I am very excited and happy. sincerely, mary