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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

French Fall Vignette

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Creating vignettes is a passion
for home and decor bloggers. 

What sparks a vignette?
How do we create a vignette?
What brings a vignette to life?

How do we create compositions that are different,
that do not look like everyone else's?

How did this  
French Fall Vignette 
come together? 
   

What were the seeds that sparked this vignette?

In my previous series about creating vignettes,
I identified color as one of the key elements of any vignette.

For the past year, rooms decorated in whites and neutrals have captured my attention.
I think it began with all the beautiful white Christmas decorations
in many of the blogger home tours last Christmas.
So, I have been adding more and more white to my house.
White pumpkins, not orange, fit right into what I like now.


The little white pumpkins are inexpensive and
readily available at my local grocery stores.
Who has time or money to search for the rare, exotic, or difficult to find?


Once a seed of inspiration emerges,
my thoughts turn to how to create the vision.
Look around the house...

A box of French violas were sitting on the countertop
awaiting planting in pots on the deck.



Pansies and violas (a kind of pansy) are fall and winter plants in North Texas.
Just as daffodils are spring harbingers, pansies are fall harbingers.
For me, pansies are my fall flower of choice, not mums.
They grow and bloom all winter, even surviving a blanket of snow.
Hmmm...



Won't they look pretty in the house for a few days?
But, not in a brown cardboard box from the garden center!
Hmmm... again....
Maybe a woven basket, as I walk around looking at all the
baskets in my house.  No, too short or too full or too small...

Oh, yes...my new French basket...
A French-wire basket is the perfect height for the
unusually tall bedding pots.



The bright cheery purple and white faces complement the kitchen's soft blues
and the little white pumpkins.


After the spark, after the initial creation, what
brings a vignette to life?

The unexpected and unusual
in vignettes are the reasons 
a vignette breathes life and is memorable.


A little grey bird unexpectedly wearing a crown peeks around the corners. 



The white-washed carved wooden pedestal is reminiscent of
French architecture and adds both texture and height
crucial elements to vignette design. 



French country designs bring an unusual look to an 
American fall vignette, but complement my home's other 
French country elements, such as 
the Chenonceau Chateau print hanging 
on the white limestone wall in my kitchen. 

The spark - white pumpkins 
The creation - add pansies, French basket 
The life - unexpected crowned bird, unusual carved pedestal 
The difference - French designs
~~~~~~~~~~
The unexpected!  
Life is full of unexpected events.  
Some pleasant, some not. 
My mom fell and broke her hip recently, and  
she lives alone in another state.  
My sister and I have spent time with her 
during her recovery that is progressing very well. 
Since Mother does not have internet service, 
there have not been any posts.  
It is nice to be home, to begin catching up, and 
to know my mom is also catching up.  
 ❦
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Please join me at these inspiring sites...
MONDAY

TUESDAY
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