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Interiors expert Jen Bishop reveals her styling secrets

How to create a beautiful vignette at home.

Few people know their way around a gorgeous vignette more than Interiors Addict’s Jen Bishop. The blogger founded the #7vignettes challenge on Instagram, which has attracted over 66,800 posts since its inception.

So how do you create your own beautiful tableau at home? What’s the secret to making your stuff look stylish? We talked to Jen and got the low-down on all things vignette.

What’s a vignette?

The best way I like to describe a vignette is a 3D still life! It’s a little grouping of decorative objects that give personality to a tabletop, “shelfie” or anywhere you like really! 

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Do you need to spend lots of money on designer items to make a good vignette? 

Not at all, but it’s always nice to have one really special statement piece. That said, even that doesn’t need to be expensive.

What are your secrets to making a stylish vignette? 

  1. Stick to the rule of odd numbers, try to ensure the vignettes have something in common like colour or shape, and then size and shape etc can be different.
  2. It’s always nice to add something from nature, whether that’s a houseplant, a crystal or some driftwood.
  3. Stacks of books are great for giving your vignette height and you can pick the spines strategically to add the right colours! 
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Where do you like to create vignettes in your own home?

My coffee table vignettes change by the week but there’s usually always some interiors books, a candle, a favourite chunk of amethyst and maybe a handmade ceramic like a little dish. With a baby trying to learn to walk, my days of coffee table vignettes are numbered so I’m enjoying them while I can! Then I’ll probably stick to just books!

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Is there anywhere you can go to learn how to style a vignette?

My #7vignettes hashtag on Instagram is a wonderful place to go for inspiration and see how other people do it. Styling courses often pop up where you can learn more about these decorating tricks. Follow your favourite stylists on Instagram to find out more.

Who do you think makes the best vignettes on Instagram?

Hard to pick just one but follow @stevecordony @katherinedorrington @mozsas for some great and varied examples!

Tell us about your vignettes challenge on Instagram?

It’s a fun amateur styling challenge running for the first seven days of each month. We give our followers seven themes and they try to create an image for at least five of them to be in with a chance of winning a prize. All the pictures are posted with the hashtag #7vignettes so even if you don’t take part, it’s a great hashtag to follow. Our community are seriously talented, it often blows me away seeing what they come up with!

Do the winners have anything in common?

Not really! If you look at the winners, they’re all very different, and that’s the beauty of it, but we look for consistently strong images across the week and it’s always a bonus when there’s some consistency in each person’s group of images, so they look nice together as well as on their own. 

After some more secrets to styling? Watch this video below:

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