Thoughts on decorating the top of an armoire

So you have an armoire and you are eying that space between the top of it and the ceiling.  Do you or don't you put anything on top of it?   You might want to consider the following:

How much space do you have to work with?
If you have less than 24 inches  I suggest forgetting about adding something above it. Here's why:

This is a lovely  armoire, but the flowers are squished in, and they would be so much 

prettier in a different spot. The arrangement looks awkward.  The scale of the flowers and pan are perfect if only the armoire were a little shorter. If you choose to put something smaller in scale on top it would be difficult to see and you would have to stand back quite a bit to see it. 

BUT sometimes you can make it work.  There's always an exception to every  rule.

 Bosworth Hoedemaker

Even though these baskets touch the ceiling in places, their colour, scale and random/exciting arrangement  make them appear as if they are an extension of the armoire. The armoire is also at the end of a hall and will always be viewed from a distance allowing  you to see what's on top of it.

source

And you can usually get away with one large low object with a tall armoire

Hingham Kitchen & Bath Designers 

especially when the object is the same colour as the armoire. 

Do you want your eye to go to the top of the armoire?
If your armoire is a centre of interest in your space you may want to add other elements to enhance that position and make it even more commanding.   You might also want to add something if you have other tall elements in the space or you want to create some height variations among the various verticals in the space.

If you have enough space and you want to draw attention to the armoire here are some tips to consider:

Think in odd numbers. 

source 

If the armoire has glass doors, consider using the same type of objects stored within it on the top.

source 

This arrangement of bottles and bedding is a natural addition to what is already stored inside the armoire.  The light colours make the whole unit look very cohesive.

source

  In this child's room the top of the armoire seems to be the perfect place to store these large toys.  Because they are the same colour as the room and the armoire, they don't seem too big.  That leads me to the next tip:



If you don't want to draw too much attention to the objects, but you want to fill in the space consider using objects that are the same or similar colour of the armoire or the wall or use clear glass. 

source

source 

source

If you are going to add a piece of art that high make sure it is a bold image that it can be read from a distance and lean it against the wall , if you are considering using a photograph the same guidelines apply.

Think about groupings of the same object in different sizes. e.g., vases, glass bottles, boxes, baskets, birdcages, wire sculptures, spheres,  ginger jars, etc.

If you scroll back through the photos in this post you will see this tip used in a number of ways.

How about you?  Do you have any thoughts on decorating the top of an armoire? 

Arranging vignettes: Do you know your design letters?

 Are you challenged when it comes to arranging  accessories? Do you look at details in  decorating magazines and marvel at how everything  looks just right? Many people think the final touches are the most difficult part of home decor, but they don't have to be.  There are all kinds of tips and tricks of the trade. 

One of the simplest design tips I can offer is the use  of  letter formations to organize interesting accessory vignettes. I'm calling on my background in visual art and floral arrangement to offer you this advice.  Other decorators may have different ways of describing their approach. 

The most useful letters for designing vignettes are ....  A, V,  O, C, L, and M.  

Here goes...

A

Niche Interiors

This is a very tight A line of design.  The visual height is always through the middle and the base is wider, but the bottom width can vary.  My eye wants to see something slightly taller than the dish - a sphere  would be lovely here. Perhaps the owner is like me,  always looking for just the right object to finish a room.

source

Another A with a tall vertical.  Because this is a monochromatic scheme the overall A shape is more evident.  Are you noticing how the height is usually a piece of art?  It  could also be a sculpture, a mirror,  a  tall vase of twigs or flowers or photos hung on the wall.  The base can also  be much wider and the height much less than these examples. 

V 

source 

 

The reverse of A is V. In a V the lowest point is usually in the middle of the arrangement.  Sometimes thinking about it as a check mark is helpful because one side is usually taller and one is shorter.  A V line of design doesn't  have the height through the middle that an A line of design does. Sometimes only these two shapes are presented in vignette discussions, but there are so many more ways to think about it.  

C

 Lucid Interior Design Inc.

source 

 You don't often find C lines of design and they are the most obvious when there's only one object banked by something that is circular as with the mirror and twigs.  Your eye just wants to make that sweep.  But sometimes it is the placement of objects that creates a C sweep with the largest object placed at the beginning of the C as in the photo above. 


 o

 Joni Spear Interior Design

 Some designers may argue this is a classic V formation but I would disagree because the mirror causes the eye to move in a circular fashion around the display.  The lamps are taken in with that sweep.

 

 Rachel Reider Interiors

 Another  symmetrical O line of design.  The base is set so broadly that your eye just wants to do the circular movement around the objects. The three rounded shapes  add to the circular movement.  

Another very strong O line of design.  It is even more obvious when you have a narrow base. 


L 

  CNW PRODUCTION

Urrutia Design


The requirement for an L line of design is a very tall object placed on the edge of the design with a broad base.  Of course you can also reverse the L.  If the hurricanes were taller I would call the  vignette above a V. 

M

source 

You don't often see the M line of design used, but it works well when you are displaying collections where you have several heights with dips in the middle and you start with shorter objects on the ends.  

W 

source 

If the shorter objects are on either end it is an M, but when you start with taller objects on the ends and it is also high in the middle  it moves into a W.  

What line of design do these vignettes follow? 

1.

2.

3.

Source 

1.This is  an A because of the wide base and the tall height through the middle. 

2.  Whenever you see a  lot of objects of similar heights spread out and starting and ending with a shorter object it is an M.  The more objects there are it can turn into a long zig zag of Ms. 

3.  Oh so tricky.  Without the curved object to the right it would be an O line of design, but your eye stops on it making it  a C. 

 

And there you have it.   Keep your eyes open when you see arrangements and observe the  lines of design  used. Then start arranging! 

5 Ways to add interest to a dining room

When someone says dining room, what picture appears in your mind?  Try  it.  List the elements.

For many of us these words conjure up a dining room set with everything matching, a chandelier and some sort of hutch or maybe buffet.  Probably a picture of some sort will be included.  I bet matching is the most obvious characteristic.

It doesn't have to be that way unless that's what you like.

 Here are 5 ways you can  make your dining space stand out a little.

Mix and match your chairs and table

The days of dining sets have moved behind us.  In many magazines you will see all sorts of mixing of styles, materials and colours. I love the look of upholstered chairs with a wood table. They soften the hard edges and provide some relief in the "wood" department. Some adventurous types will go for two different styles of chairs.

 Adore magazine

 Another option if you aren't too adventurous is to upholster each of your wooden chairs with a different, but co-ordinated fabric.  Note how this room sports more traditional chairs with a very simple table.

In the case of my own dining space, I painted my matching chairs charcoal  and upholstered them with a much lighter fabric to make them the centre of interest in  my sea of golden tones. I am trying to get up enough nerve to paint the solid ash buffets the same colour.   I'm not there yet.  It's difficult when your furniture is all hand made with love.

Look for a harmonious  buffet 

Forget about having a matching buffet (I wish I could!).  Look for one with the same undertone as your table  or chairs and similar lines if you like, or go for something painted or a different style entirely.  Some element of it should relate it to the room as a whole: wood tone, style, or colour of other objects in room.

Here are two I would choose for my space to work with my chairs.

They certainly harmonize with the darkness of the chairs, the style is mid centuryish like the table and I like the fact they are both raised off the floor.  This openness will give the illusion of space, always an added plus in a small room. 

Have at least one hand made/original item

 We live in a mass produced economy where the answer  to everything is in a big box store.  Not so.  Save your pennies, visit an antique shop, a fine craft store or gallery.  Look for something you love, made by the hand of an artist, and place it with pride knowing it's unique.  It doesn't have to be large.

This month I have a lovely pot on my buffet created by an artist friend, Anita Singh.  I love her work 

because it always relates to the natural world.  Barnacle is always a conversation piece.  It is also the perfect example of my next point.

Use a variety of textures

Textures make the most interesting addition to spaces, and it is the element that I see under-utilized  in homes. In my space I have silk drapes, lots of wood grain, a highly textured plant container made from ceramic, a white wavy vase, metal candlesticks with mother of pearl, and two plants.  I love texture!

Choose one unexpected element

Right now the pot my ferns are in is my an unexpected item.  It is so rough and worn looking and I have it paired with silk drapes. Other options could be your light fixture, a painting, something on your tabletop or a small piece of furniture in a corner.  Some would say it should have bling, but I'll leave that up to you.

What's your "interesting " score?

 This is a very arbitrary checklist, based on what is "current"  in my  decor reading and viewing.   Hardly scientific!

No my dining room isn't perfect but hopefully it is interesting.
Just because I write about design doesn't mean my space is perfect (whatever that means) or that it even lives up to what I know about the elements and principles of design.  There's the small matter of competing priorities including: budget, interest and energy, connections to objects and furniture, beliefs about your role consuming and junking, and the desire for good old predictability in your environment etc.

Go green for spring

And continuing with thoughts of spring decorating....

When you enter my house the dining table is in full view from the entry.   In a desperation move while babysitting my 3 granddaughters, I  stuck some fake lavender in a glass jar and thought that I could get away with it.

 I was called out on that move by a family member who was a little horrified I had fake flowers.  I admit they were not good fakes.  I defensively pointed out I had beautiful fresh, pink tulips on my kitchen table, but I was caught.  Time to make amends.

Something green 

Nothing denotes spring like new growth, green and/or plants.

Lately I've been seeing live plants in lanterns.  I like the look and feel, but my place is not a lantern kind of home.  I already tried the plainest one I could find, and moved it all over the downstairs rooms to no avail.  It went back to Pier 1.

I love repetition as a design statement so it's little wonder I'm attracted to these ferns. Lanterns just won't do, but repetition is possible. 

Keeping it simple

So I decided to keep my dining table decor simple  by choosing three green things massed together in a small trough planter.  I'm talking ferns, real ones.

I'

Three small  Boston ferns, and one trough planter that is very wabi sabi (lots of cracks and rough textures to play with the ferns).  I tried them in the planter before coming home with the lot.  The candles and silver leaf bird were leftovers from Christmas.  

 Tried the green candles, a no go for me.  I wish the bird was a little smaller, but that's what I have!

Still playing with the arrangement.  This will go on for weeks every time I pass the table.  Some day soon I'm sure the lot will end up  corralled in a gray or white tray. Things always do on this table.

Remember this pic from a my friend Gail's house I featured in this post?   I envy her the copper bird planter.  A planter and a bird all in one - my idea of perfect.

Lots of options 

Now I just have to keep these greedy, moisture seeking things alive with constant watering and misting.  I can see me carting them off to my summer house  for babysitting.  I'm  sure they will see lots of moves in the coming year- ledge in bathroom, kitchen table, window ledge in kitchen, laundry room counter or shelf.  The possibilities are endless.  That's a lot of decorating punch for less than $40. 00 and they improve my air quality! 

Are plants part of your decor plan? 

Is it spring yet?

I don't know about you, but around this time of year my decor starts to look a little like I feel after a long, cold winter.  Tired and worse for wear.  I had the urge to bring some spring to my house; I tried, I really did, but mother nature had other ideas.


  I had visions  of something  like this  for my front containers with a bit of fake thrown in until the real thing is possible - that means late June here.

Source 

 I bought pussy willows and some  short, purple flowers to  add to the greenery that is there.  Unfortunately the current items from Christmas are still frozen solid.   I have  what survived the raging winds and snow of winter ....

I guess it will be red dogwood, Spanish Broom and pine for a little longer! The berries are long gone.


Then I thought what about a new wreath to hang over the containers.  I wracked my brains.  Do you know a spring motif that would look great with Christmas planters?  I  couldn't come up with one thing apart from twigs.  That wouldn't help my craving for colour.

 My only recourse was to take in my Christmas wreath in an effort to remove a little more evidence that I am not with it.

cc960 french violet Benjamin Moore

 Then I tried to convince myself that my Benjamin Moore cc960 french violet door was my spring statement!  Feeble. But hold on a moment.

Would this convince you?  "... evoking thoughts of strolling along the Seine with an armful of violet bouquets"  according to the Benjamin Moore site.  That's close, I chose it because of my memories of the lavender fields in France. My granddaughters have noticed that I love purple, at times it is a little too obvious!

 As in my latest pillow thanks to a scrap of lavender velvet left from 

this little beauty my sister made for a bench in my front porch.  Don't you just love the decorative tucks that make a pattern?  My sister is a class act when it comes to sewing and decorating.  When I got rid of the nasty red accent pillows  I thought I wanted last spring, I knew my accent would return to purple and I would have to elevate this pillow to sofa status. Bye, bye porch bench.

 If you look up you can see where the idea for purple came from.  So spring has hit my house in the form of pillows.  I admit that isn't too overwhelming.

Where does that leave me?

Still thinking about the  dining room table.  Still thinking..... Hum....

Design lesson: Giving a large look to a small dining space

Large can have a lot of meanings, but in Newfoundland large often  mean great or good or the best as in " it's a large day".   Given that understanding here's  a "large" dining room and a closer look at why it merits that rating.

Liz Levin Interiors 

This room has a lot packed into a very small space.    Just imagine this space with a matched dining set.  It would blend into the floor and be totally blah.  How did the designer achieve this look? Perhaps there's something in her kit of tricks that you could use.

 

Upholstered chairs

  If you have a dining table you love, and hate the chairs, consider changing them  to coloured leather or fully upholstered ones.  It helps break up all the wood that you tend to get in dining rooms.  This approach usually means you can get away without the area rug that many people have to resort to so their set doesn't disappear into a similar wood floor.

Mixing styles

I know this isn't for everyone, but if you like a more curated rather than matched look, it's the way to go.  The days of sets are long gone.

Contrast

Nothing attracts the eye better than contrast.  It is a design fact.  If you want a more neutral space without it being boring use contrast widely.   The dark table, cream chairs, and white and brown draperies work so well together.  Reusing the cream in the centrepiece adds another contrast point.

Pattern

I'm a big believer in using pattern to add interest to a space.  The geometric pattern in these drapes
 mimics other shapes in the room, both circles and rectangles. The colour scheme is replicated in the drapes. The drapes also provide  what I like to think about as destination viewing- a spot for your eye to seek in a room and rest before moving on.  Pattern is often the bow that ties up a space.

Mirrors

A mirror goes a long way to enlarge and add interest to small places. Personally, I like a framed mirror where this one appears to be  adhered to the wall.  Don't be afraid to go large when you hang a mirror in  a dining space.  A word of caution.  Check what is reflected in it.  Perhaps it might be something you would rather not draw attention to.

 Living things

And most importantly this space has living things in it.  There is nothing like plants and flowers to add a dynamic touch to any space.

Texture

While this is a small space it is packed with subtle textures and sheens: wood, glass, pottery, weave in drapes, and plants.  Texture is the most overlooked design element in many spaces.   If your own space looks blah maybe adding some texture will help.


Fine craft

 I like the form and texture of the vases on the table.  While I don't know for sure they look like fine craft. Nothing is more boring than a room full of "accessories"  from big box stores.  There's so many unique, hand built objects in every city and town.  I contend it is more interesting to have one or two interesting objects than a house full of mass produced stuff.  You may disagree.

All of these elements work equally well  in a small space or a large space.


And here's a space to check out to see if any of the points I mentioned above are present.  It's isn't a small space, but you will see a lot of the same elements and principles applied.

Blackband Design 

Lots of points to consider and possible some you might like to play around with.  What are your strategies to create a "large" room?