How to Redecorate Your Office During a Pandemic Using Vignettes
Due to Covid-19, working at home has become the new normal. I will share tips about how to make your home office a pleasure to work in. You can make this space efficient. You can make this space stylish too. Learn how to marry these two elements. Plus, if you find the place you work in a pleasure to be in, your productivity is boosted too. Would you agree? My new home office plays a big role in enhancing my productivity and a positive mindset. I enjoy working in my home office after I decluttered and redecorated it. The secret is to use vignettes.
Definition of a Vignette
In this blog, you will learn how to use vignettes to create a stylish home office and one that is efficient too. Vignettes can help you have both. First though, some of you may be thinking, “what is a vignette”. Well, in the realm of interior design a vignette can be described as:
- an arrangement of objects grouped together;
- to tell a story;
- and to create or support a style or theme in the room.
The 3 items in the photo above make up the vignette. The room is a rustic style great room in a cottage. The rustic style candle with the stone base supports the rustic style of the great room. On the other hand, the contemporary vase and abstract bear update the style in the room. These accessories add a contemporary style to the room now. You can use this tip to update your room too.
Decorating with Vignettes Tells the Story About the Owner of the Room
A vignette should reveal something about you when others view it. Another person should pick up something about your personality such as:
- the colours you are drawn to;
- decorating styles you prefer;
- travel locations that you visited;
- favourite sports, hobbies, passions, or interests you enjoy;
- and/or reveal something about your family.
For example, my bookcase pictured above reveals some of the colours I love. The bookcase and books and binders on it reveal that I love black and white. The books and binders reveal an aspect of my personality: namely, some of the colours I prefer.
I bought white and black binders when I was in my interior decorating program because I loved the colours. I also bought them to use them as notebooks and to store my assignments. When I am working on decorating projects for customers, I sometimes refer to my notebooks. As a result, they are on my bookshelf for easy access. I placed them on my bookshelf, to make my home office more efficient. Bookshelves can be functional and reveal some of the colours you love too.
Some of the vignettes reveal other aspects of my personality too. For example, the dance plaques in the above vignette reveal interests I enjoy. They reveal that I like to dance. The engagement photo of my husband and me reveal something about my family. It reveals that I am married. As a result, parts of my personality are revealed in my book vignettes but also in the dance vignette.
You can also build a vignette using books or binders like I did. Stack books vertically and horizontally to make it interesting too. Each grouping of books make one vignette.
As you can see, bookshelves are not just for books or binders though. They are the best place to show off your personal keepsakes and other items that you love too. I suggest you gather keepsake items from around the house that you want to add to your office vignettes. If you have enough accessories that you love and keepsakes that you can use which are lying around your home, you do not even need to go shopping. A bonus during a pandemic!
Before and After Photos of My Home Office Desk
Before I could build my desk vignettes, I needed to declutter my desktop. As you can see, my desk was very cluttered. The two vignettes on my redecorated desk finish off the look of the desk. Rooms look more polished or pulled together when vignettes are incorporated into the room design.
Just wanted to share another home office organization tip. The baskets in the bookcase against the wall store some of my loose papers, gadgets and magazines, etc. Add some baskets to your office shelves. Baskets will keep everything together and decluttered so you can stay focused. It is a lot easier to store and organize everything in your home office if you use baskets.
By the way the baskets create one object vignettes on the bookcase shown above. I pointed this out now because soon I will discuss that vignettes have one, three or five objects in them and why
Now that you have an idea what a vignette is, I will share how to create one.
How to Build a Vignette
Tip #1: Vary the Height of the Items
- Items in the vignette should have different heights and/or widths.
- In the vignette on the left, the disk sculpture is the tallest and widest object. The “L” sculpture is the second tallest, and the cup is the shortest.
- Various sizes are pleasing to the eye.
Tip #2: Include Odd Number of Items
- In a vignette, odd numbers of items are more pleasing to the eye than even.
- As a result, vignettes usually have one, three or five items.
- The brain loves certain groupings.
- 3 is a big pleasure!
Tip #3 Place Items in a Triangle Shape if the Vignette has 3 Items
- The disk sculpture and cup make up the base of the triangle. The “L” sculpture makes up the tip of the triangle.
There is a comment I want to add about this vignette. The cup has an important function. It stores office materials such and pens and pencils that are within easy reach. Vignettes help make your office more efficient and stylish at the same time! This is another example of this.
Bookcases and Vignettes
Vignettes can be used to decorate a office desk like the vignette picture above. They can be used to decorate a bookcase too. Decorating a bookcase is more complicated because a bookcase has many shelves. Follow these three tips. They will help you decorate each shelf of a bookcase.
How to Decorate a Bookcase Shelf – 3 Tips
Tip #1:
- ¼ to ½ of each shelf should include books.
- The shelves in the photo to the left have that amount of books or binders.
Tip #2
- ¼ or more of the shelve should include negative space.
- Leave empty space so objects can breathe.
- The overall display does not look overstuffed too.
- For example, there is empty space above the dance vignette, in front of it, and beside it.
- As a result, the items, vignettes, and shelves do not look cluttered.
Tip #3
- ¼ to 1/2 of the shelf should include décor items.
- These decor items can include personal keepsakes and store-bought items.
Personal keepsake items often have memories attached to them. For example, my daughter’s first ballet shoes (in the dance vignette) bring back memories to me. She likes to dance too so that keepsake item reminds me of her recitals and dance competitions. They bring a smile to my heart. You can add keepsakes items(that bring a smile to your heart too) to your vignettes as well.
The items in a vignette can include store-bought items too. For example, I like the orb that is in this bookcase. I like that it has a contemporary style. As a result, I added it to the bookcase. Store bought items can reflect the styles and colours you prefer and therefore reveal a bit your personality as well. For more vignette ideas go to https://lynteriors.wordpress.com/2021/03/24/how-to-decorate-a-home-office-part-2-bookcase-decorating-tips-included/
In conclusion, bookshelves pull double duty as storage for books or binders and display space for accessories. They can be functional and pleasing to the eye.
Stagger the Books and Decor Across Multiple Shelves
Another tip is to stagger book and decor displays across multiple shelves. This adds flow and interest to your bookshelf. For example, the vertically stacked books and binders are staggered across multiple shelves on my bookcase.
Vignettes can make a room including a home office more pleasing to look at. They also help make the home office more functional as well. They are also an excellent way to showcase your personality too. My home office has become a retreat. It is not a place that I dread to go into because it is cluttered. It inspires me to sit down now and do some work and I enjoy my surroundings while I do it. I hope some of these tips help you create a more pleasant and functional home office too. Contact Lynteriors at 416-721-6217 if you have questions or need help. Lynteriors is here for you.
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