The Steen Style

Vignettes are the simplest and easiest way to show a little you in your home. A grouping of figurines, a stack of books with a piece of coral on top of it, a buffet with pictures and candles – all are “moments” that happen in your home and reflect who you are. Christmas is a fun time to experiment with these little moments and really shouldn’t take a lot of time. Lets face it – putting up a tree and decorating it is a time killer so these vignettes should be quick and easy!

Our entryway has the standard – a buffet with some books, a lamp and a mirror. I like to play with the seasons in this vignette so at Christmas, I add a metal reindeer (found maybe at Target several years ago?), a wonderful smelling Christmas candle and my coffee filter wreath that is now surviving its third Christmas! The plaid ribbon holding the wreath on the mirror and my monogram moss letter on the front door help tie in my plaid theme I have going this year. (check out this tutorial on how I made a smaller version of the monogram moss wreath last year)

This large vase usually holds sand and my favorite candle – the Blue Volcano. This year, I’m using it to hold fake snow and all of our lovely Christmas cards! I’ve made clothespins wreaths to hold cards, I’ve let them sit in a stack on the kitchen counter, I’ve even tried to spread them out on our mantel – this is by far my most favorite way to display them though because you can see the pictures, easily grab one to view and it brings more Christmas cheer to the front door!

These two lanterns sit on the floor, next to our entryway buffet. During the year, the candles sit on grassy moss but I like to change it for the winter. Fake snow and jingle bells make me feel more festive and it continues the look from the top of the buffet, right on down to the floor.

A simple strand of lighted garland helps make this vignette more festive. I kept the stack of cookbooks, lamp and mirror all the same – just added some festive greenery and lights!

This little moment is special in our living room. I usually have a piece of coral sitting on top of these dropcloth covered books but swapped it out for a small glass nativity scene. I can’t remember who gave me this set but I love how the glass reflects off of the lights from our tree and shines in the small round mirror.

This vignette is on the sofa table in our living room. You also see it when you first walk in to our house, thanks to knocking down the dining room wall! This nativity scene is supposed to be a Christmas present for me but I wanted to use it as early as possible. My mom and I got this while shopping the day-after Christmas sales last year and I was really hoping she would forget she was saving it to use as a gift – sometimes that works and sometimes? Not so much. I love it though and it looks great on this table, sitting on top of a “table runner” I made. Nothing fancy about this runner – it is simply wrapping paper that I’m using for this year’s gifts, cut to the lenght of the table and folded in half to break up the white table and white Nativity. Sometimes, you do what you can and for as cheap as possible!

Sharing this over at Southern Hospitality’s Holiday Home party today!