Style Spotlight: Holiday Vignette
I let the kids (well, teenagers, to be fair) put up the Christmas decorations this year. Scary? Yes. But they loved it and it turned out they did a really nice job. It’s turned into a welcomed update for our home. Not only that, it’s left empty the top of my sideboard in the dining room.
That can only mean one thing—it’s time to go shopping!
Browsing around got me thinking about exactly what I might want for that space, the vibe I wanted to create, the colors I wanted to use. Want I really wanted was to create a little vignette—a coordinated scene with pieces that fit together just right to tell a little story.
My dining room is lovely, but’s not the least bit formal. Despite that, I wanted something a little more upscale for this space. The kids are getting older, I’m worried much less about the breaking things, and my tastes have changed since we acquired the bulk of our holiday decor.
Because the sideboard top is basically the equivalent of a console table, I’ve got a long, narrow space to work with. I found this lovely Snow Branch Table Runner at Crate and Barrel. It’s perfect, modern but not flashy, hints of gold but not over-the-top. It’s a little long for my sideboard, but because it’s in a corner, I can hide the extra length. When you find what you love, you find a way to make it work.
A friend of mine has this amazing Victorian Christmas village that she puts up each year. It’s incredible. I’m not in her league, but I came across these lighted, lantern-inspired houses and thought they’d be a fabulous anchor on one side of my display. I bought three, two and silver and one in gold to complement the runner and clustered them.
On the other side of the table, I wanted to stick with my simple, elegant aesthetic and I adore art glass. In fact, I’ve got two lovely art glass Christmas trees that the kids had placed elsewhere. I went and stole them. Mother’s prerogative and all, I don’t think they even noticed. They look a bit like these I found at Pottery Barn, though with silvery metallic accents and a milkier, more opaque coloration.
If you’re picturing my sideboard at this moment, it’s beautiful, but a little bit bland. There’s no color! Red to the rescue. Michael’s had beautiful abstract trees—simple cones of graduated heights in glittering red. I bought five on Black Friday. At the center of my sideboard, they’re the perfect finishing touch.
The kids think we need more, but I’m perfectly happy with my new holiday decor.