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Welcome to the latest installment of Giving Me Life, where I celebrate the things currently making my design-loving heart beat a little faster. There are few things I love more than a beautifully styled vignette so right now Home styling is giving me LIFE.
You know what I mean—the console table that looks effortlessly collected, the coffee table that somehow manages to look chic without screaming “I just spent three hours styling this,” the perfectly layered bookshelf, the kitchen countertop that makes you suddenly want to bake something, and the bedside table that looks like someone with excellent taste actually lives there.
I’m talking about those little moments throughout a home that make you stop and look. A collection of objects. A stack of books. Something organic. Something shiny. Something old. Something unexpected. A little bit of color. Maybe a ridiculously fabulous lamp. The magic is in the mix.
Because here’s the thing about styling: a room can be beautifully designed and still feel unfinished without those little layers that make it feel collected and personal.
The Art of the Vignette
Styling is really about creating little stories throughout your home.
A console table isn’t just a place to drop your keys. It is an opportunity. A coffee table shouldn’t just be something you put your feet under. It is prime real estate! A bookshelf isn’t simply storage for books. It is basically a three-dimensional gallery wall.
And don’t even get me started on a kitchen countertop.
There is something about a beautifully styled countertop that makes me believe I should be the kind of person who keeps fresh flowers next to a bowl of lemons and casually makes homemade pasta on Tuesday afternoons.
The same goes for bedside tables. A beautiful lamp, a stack of books, a little dish for jewelry, a piece of art and something unexpected can turn that tiny surface into one of the most personal spots in the room.
Home Styling
The photos in this post are some of my favorite examples of these styling moments. Different surfaces, different combinations, different personalities—but they all have one thing in common: they look collected rather than decorated. And that distinction is everything.
So What Takes a Styling Moment From Good to GREAT?
In my opinion, there are two things that can take an already-good vignette and send it straight into chef’s kiss territory:
ART.
And…
CERAMICS.
Art
I am currently obsessed with artwork that feels a little unexpected and lately, what’s giving me life are pictures of ordinary things and dogs. So sit back and prepare to be delighted.
Ordinary Things
One of the trends giving me life right now is paintings of ordinary things. Think of some seemingly mundane object that suddenly becomes interesting simply because someone decided to paint it.
There is something so charming about taking an ordinary object and elevating it into art, and I especially love this in styling because artwork doesn’t always have to be a giant statement piece hanging over a sofa. A small painting leaning against a wall on a shelf, tucked behind a ceramic object or sitting on a console can completely change the feeling of a vignette.
It adds personality. It adds color. It adds a little bit of history. And sometimes it adds a little bit of weird—which, frankly, I am always here for.
Doggie Style
And Then There Are the DOGS.
And I don’t mean one particular style of dog portrait. I’m talking about the whole glorious spectrum—from traditional paintings of very serious-looking pups to quirky vintage portraits and fabulous photographs.
There is something about a dog portrait that instantly adds personality to a room. Maybe it’s because dogs already have personalities. A lot of them have too much personality. A beautifully painted portrait of a regal-looking hound? Fabulous. A slightly ridiculous little terrier looking like he owes you money? Even better. A vintage photograph of someone’s beloved dog from 1957? YES.
And the beauty of these pieces is that they don’t have to match your decor perfectly. In fact, I prefer when they don’t. The unexpected element is what makes a vignette interesting.
Portraits
Photography
Spiky Ceramics
Bowls. Vases. Sculptural objects. Pitchers. Weird little vessels. Handmade pottery. Vintage pieces. Glazed pieces. Unglazed pieces. Bring. It. On. And what I’m feeling right now is spiked ceramics. I think the Brutalist movement was made for me. I love an imperfect piece and these spikes have been all over the internet lately.
Ceramics bring shape, texture and dimension to a vignette in a way that few other accessories can. And they don’t all need to be the same. Actually, please don’t make them all the same.
Mixing heights, shapes, finishes and colors is what makes a collection feel collected. A chunky ceramic bowl next to a delicate vase next to a sculptural piece can create an arrangement that feels organic instead of overly calculated.
And if you’re anything like me, you will eventually realize that you have accumulated an alarming number of ceramic vessels, but there are worse problems you could have.
Go Find the Good Stuff
Here’s where styling gets really fun: you do not have to buy everything new. In fact, I would argue that some of the best styling accessories are the things you stumble across when you weren’t even looking for them.
Go vintage shopping.
Hit the antique stores.
Stop at the garage sale.
Go to an estate sale. Dig through the shelves. Open the cabinets. Look at the things that everyone else walked right past.
Because those are often the pieces that make a room feel like YOU.
I love finding the little oddities that nobody else will have. A vintage brass object. An old ceramic animal. A tiny landscape painting. A quirky bowl. A beautiful box. An architectural fragment. A strange little figurine that makes absolutely no sense—and therefore makes perfect sense.
Those are the pieces that give a home character. And let’s be honest: when you buy something vintage, you also get to tell people, “Oh, I’ve had that forever.” Even if you found it three days ago for $7 at an estate sale. I’m not saying you should lie. I’m just saying… details matter.
The Secret Is in the Mix
The best styling doesn’t look like you went to one store and bought an entire collection from one display. It looks like you have lived a fabulous life and collected fabulous things along the way.
That’s why I love mixing new pieces with vintage finds. Expensive with inexpensive. Polished with quirky. Art with ceramics. Books with objects. Something sentimental with something completely random.
The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is personality.
So style that console table. Rearrange that bookshelf. Put something weird on your coffee table. Add a little art. Find a ceramic piece you can’t stop thinking about. Raid the vintage shop. Go to the estate sale. Dig through your own cabinets—you might be surprised by what you’ve forgotten you have.
Because sometimes the thing that takes your styling from “That’s nice” to “OH, I LOVE THIS!” is just one unexpected little thing.
And those little things? They’re giving me life.
See ya next time.
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