I love making vignettes. I take any flat surface and place different décor items to either tell a story or create a beautiful collection. I move things around, get items from different rooms and create something beautiful. The key is to be open to try something you might not have thought of before. The picture above holds a base with collected corks, a plate filled with pennies, a piece of art and a vase with greenery.  

Coffee Tables

These are my top tips to create a beautiful styled coffee table:

1. Coffee Table Books
2. Candles
3. Greenery
4. Tray
5. Coasters
6. Something offbeat and unique

Pillar candles should be on a really beautiful plate or pedestal. Optional items are a bowl, a container or a box in which you could put a collection of matches, remotes or anything you want to hide away or put in one spot. Something offbeat and unique is what makes it really pop.

I love how the brass bowl holds the matches below and the texture in the cream box.

The brass figure is a bit unexpected as well as the teal color of the trinkets.

This is a classic that has every item on my must have list.

This is a home I staged to sell, so you could really get away with less decor, but it does have all of the must have items.

Dining Tables

Dining tables are a really fun surface to decorate because you can get as elaborate or minimal as you like. My personal aesthetic is simple, especially for everyday. I don’t believe you should have the table set on a day to day basis.

The Dining Room below is a home I staged and even though it was a small table, I wanted to give it some impact. So, I draped a beautiful piece of fabric over the top, added a marble tray, two vases and a wooden bead garland. Simple but impactful.

I love this mid-century table and chairs and the top is simple with only candles and a vessel to hold fruit, greenery or whatever you’d like.

This table is very minimal with just two urns of the same finish with just one having greenery in it. Simple but effective.

Another good idea is to put a large tray in the middle of the table and place items inside like the picture below.

Shelves

Shelves are so much fun to decorate. I usually do it by what feels good in terms of scale, height and a mixture of materials and textures. But I would always include some greenery, some books and some art depending on what kind of shelves you are styling.

The next two pictures are of my kitchen shelves which I made out of an old waterbed. Maybe one day I will go through a DIY on how that even happened.  

This picture is where I keep my everyday plates, glasses, mugs and bowls. I’ve played with different items like pictures, a wooden rooster, a wooden bowl and a colorful strainer. Play around with different items and see what you can come up with.

This side of the window is a little bit more eclectic. It also has art, but also has a mixture of a bamboo bicycle planter, a red fondue pot, a cookie jar, a green small vessel and two wooden antique boxes.

The shelves in this office are so cute with the flowered wallpaper. Don’t be afraid to use color and pattern even if you have a busy and colorful wallpaper. Think outside the box and do what feels good.

These bookshelves have books that are upright and also ones that are on its sides. When you flip the books to its side, it creates another place to put décor. Also, art and different vessels are must haves.

A well thought out vignette can make your tabletops and shelves really feel special. Get creative, get personal and don’t be afraid to use what you have around the house.