10 Vignette Ideas

Fresh out of décor ideas? Here are 10 of our favorite vignette ideas, picked out just for you. We hope that these photos will inspire you grab whatever’s on your back shelf and turn it into something beautiful.

Photograph by Jaimee Itagaki

Add a dash of panache to your craft table by adapting antique tableware to serve your creative purposes. A silver condiment caddy makes an excellent ribbon wrangler and salt-and-pepper shakers made wonderful glitter dispensers. –Jacqueline deMontravel

Photograph by Jickie Torres

Outfit a work space that is just as lovely as an afternoon lunch. A hobnail tumbler and a matching milk-glass compote make for a special table setting with flowers and punch. Brighten up your desk and use the vessels as the perfect organizational tools for the home office. Keeping your pens and tools in them makes a dull space prettier—and infinitely more inspiring.  –Jickie Torres

Photograph by Mark Tanner

To get Lizabeth K. McGraw’s cheery look, keep the area uncluttered; with more space between things your room will “breathe” easier—and so will you. Cover a wood table with a cozy tablecloth, and soften a sofa or chair with a slipcover made of an oatmeal-colored natural fabric, such as cotton or grainsack. Toss comfy throw pillows into corners and on floors for an easy, casual feel. Bring elements of nature—like the hydrangea centerpiece and red fruit on the table—into your décor. Make white the primary color in the room; use other colors sparingly for pops of color. Red and blue accessories always look right with white for a traditional summer palette –Meryl Schoenbaum

Photograph by Jickie Torres

Backyard barbecues are one of the best parts of summer entertaining. Pesky insects finding their way into your refreshments? Not so fun. For your next cookout, repurpose an oversized cookie jar as a drink dispenser. A large ladle makes it easy to refill glasses and the lid keeps unwanted bugs out. –Jickie Torres

Photograph by Jaimee Itagaki

Looking for a new way to put antique tins on display? Vintage cookies and cracker canisters, tea tins and a variety of other metal jars make wonderful vases. Just check for water tightness, and if you detect a leak, simply line the canister with a plastic sandwich baggie. –Jacqueline deMontravel

Photograph by Mark Tanner

When the warmer weather beckons us outside, dinner gatherings are more likely to happen in the garden than in the dining room. Sometimes, however, cool breezes can wreak havoc on the tabletop, blowing up tablecloths and away napkins. A cute solution for the latter? Use an old clear glass candy jar with a lid and stack alternating patterns of fun, colorful paper napkins. It looks attractive and keeps napkins in their place. –Jacqueline deMontravel

Photograph by Mark Tanner

Got a vintage milk crate, egg basket or bread bowl? These small, colorful receptacles make perfect kitchen herb gardens. Line the bottom, if needed, to make it water safe, then plant a variety of common edibles such as parsley, cilantro or thyme. A delicious dish is just a snip away. –Jacqueline deMontravel 

Photograph by Jickie Torres

 This miniature wire dress form is a statuesque beauty on its own. However, why not put her to work the fashionable way? On a vanity it’s the perfect accessory to hang earrings, brooches and other fancy baubles. –Jickie Torres

Photograph by Jickie Torres

For your next dinner party, skip the fancy vases and rescue something that  would likely be destined for for the trash. Small marmalade, tapenade and baby-food jars make excellent bud vases. Use a set of three or four along the length of a table for a sweet centerpiece. –Jickie Torres

Photograph by Jickie Torres

Have a stash of Christmas cards saved from holidays past? Turn them into place cards for this year’s dinner festivities. Also try using vintage Christmas cards to add a sweet nostalgic touch to your holiday decorating. –Jickie Torres

Color and Pattern Basics

Q: How can I mix and match colors and patterns without overwhelming the eye?

Photograph courtesy of Thinkstock.com

A: San Francisco interior designer Tineke Triggs of Artistic Designs for Living offers her expert tips, emphasizing balance to keep from weighing down a your bedroom decor: “A typical design mistake is to employ multiple solid colors into a design without any patterns; however, you also have to be careful not to have too many different things competing with each other. You don’t want too much of any one pattern overtaking a space. For example, you don’t want to have all stripes, all florals or all damask patterns. Choose one floral, one stripe, one solid and one trellis or damask in complementary colors, and then distribute them evenly throughout the space. Additionally, use big prints to make bold statements in just one or two smaller pieces, such as a throw pillow or a chair, which can be easily replaced if you decide that you don’t like them.”

By Rebecca J. Razo

Napkin Blings

How to enlist brooches and strands of colorful beads to brighten your place settings.

Photography by Hillary Black

Around the holidays we reach into our closets and jewelry boxes to find those familiar seasonal favorites we will wear again, from sweaters to pins to socks and scarves. For your next party, gather a selection of brooches from your collection, or visit a favorite thrift shop or antique mall. Combine the pins with strands of beads or ribbons and fashion simple napkin rings that will add sparkle and fun to your dining table.

Out of Control

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock.com

The other evening my husband stumbled onto a household dilemma. He aimed the remote to the television but there was no movement, just the same talking head on CNN complaining about this or that. What followed next amused me: lots of slapping the energy bar-sized remote against his palm, some fidgeting with the controls, and even a dissection of its back panel to test the batteries. Allan is not the type who can land on one station and be content for the evening, thus it was an early night for him.

The quandary did not end there. He contacted the company that makes our television, spoke to techie friends for advice and even budgeted time the following day to go to the hardware store to fetch new batteries. Nothing worked.

I could not help but recall the days of my youth, when there were only 13 channels that were changed by the interaction of human touch to the television dial. Yes, you had to get up out of your seat! In the later hours, programs would be replaced by a block of colored strips that aired to a sound that could deafen an animal. Ignorance is bliss, as this system worked.

We haven’t yet left the warmer months in which watching television while summer activities beckon should be an anathema. While the warm weather lasts, test it out—see what would happen if you went without a television and what would be missed.

By Jacqueline deMontravel

Top Ten: Tricks to Keeping Your Home Bright in Autumn

As the days get shorter, your home craves natural light. Here are some easy ways to trick Mother Nature.

1. Remove the clutter. Bundles of unnecessary odds and ends absorb light.

2. Select brighter linens for the bedroom and bath.

3. Replace worn rugs or give your hardwood floors a spiffy clean and show off their natural splendor.

4. Keep bushy green house plants to a minimum.

5. Employ candles and votives to cast soft, romantic rays.

6. Lighten up your window treatments and select ones    that can be easily drawn open.

7. Swap dark lampshades for warm, creamy varieties in soft tones.

8. Freshen walls with a new coat of paint or refresh trimmings with white paint.

9. Add lamps or candelabras to the corners of a room.

10. Bring in sun-catching accessories, such as mirrors and clear glass.

Photography by Jaimee Itagaki

Styled by Jacqueline deMontravel

Kitchen Decor Ideas – A Place to Nourish Body and Soul

It is where a dinner party eventually settles; guests slip into a relaxed ease and speak freely. This is the ideal place for the first, innocent kiss as the guise of dining chairs is less pressured than a sofa. Secrets are revealed here. There is something about a kitchen that breaks down formality and makes you feel comfortable.

I’ve often thought about my kitchen design. There would be large windows, perhaps in the vintage casement style, with a row of cachepots blooming with herbs. A white tile backsplash punctuated with blue etchings of Dutch farmers carrying bales of wheat. Copper pots would dangle above the deep farmer’s sink. This vision was quite similar to the kitchen that belonged to my husband, Allan, when we first met. My family even remarked on how uncannily similar his style was to my own.

Though I did not marry him because he came with the right kitchen, I did envision all the events that were to take place in this magnificent space. The accent color is bottle green, featured in the cabinets and vintage accessories such as a tin breadbox and blender. Allan’s seltzer-bottle collection, the remaining survivors of a few earthquakes, hold guard above the cabinets. We’ve meddled with recipes. He’s watched me go through a container of my favorite ice cream. I’ve helped my stepdaughter with school reports at the tall vintage table. The classic setting fits the events that occur here.     

By Jacqueline deMontravel
Photograph by JaimeeItagaki