Vignettes create a designer-looking space, without the clutter a smattering of accessories can bring. Learn how to create a layered coffee table vignette.

This post sponsored by Michaels. Check out Michaels Make-a-Thon – 14 days of amazing deals, ideas & hands-on making! 

Finally decorate your own home – with confidence!

You’re so much closer to a beautifully-decorated home than you think. You just need a little help to get there!


There are several questions that I get asked repeatedly about decorating. One of those questions is ‘how do I make my space look pretty without it looking cluttered by accessories?’

(It’s one of the most common struggles people seem to have with decorating their own home, after lack of money and not knowing where to start.)

The main answer to the clutter question is vignettes. A vignette is a small grouping of items that tells a story of you and your home, in a visually pleasing way on a table top or other surface.

But that answer often leads to a further question – ‘how do I create stylish vignettes?’

how to create a layered coffee table vignette

And that is where I’ll let you in on a little secret – vignettes (and quite frankly all decorating) are best if they are layered. There’s a bit more to it than that, which I talked about here. But if you get the layering and varying heights right, you can create a beautiful vignette.

How to Create a Layered Coffee Table Vignette

To show you exactly how to create a layered coffee table vignette, I broke down the steps in photos below.

step by step coffee table vignette

You can see that I started with one, two, three major pieces of graduated heights. Then I filled in the spaces with smaller scale items, keeping the number of items UNEVEN. And then I added the greenery, bit by bit.

layered-coffee-table-time-lapse

And since a picture is worth a thousand words (or so they say), here are a few more photos of the coffee table so that you can see how the layers all work together.

farmhouse industrial coffee table decorated for spring

the secret to creating a pretty vignette every time

greenhouse, faux plants, cement bunny, glass cloche

overhead of coffee table for spring blog

Supplies used in this particular vignette (all from Michaels):

  • one Ashland® Décor greenhouse
  • one Ashland® Décor glass cloche (on top of a cakestand that Dean and I made from a Michaels raw wood candle holder and some wood)
  • two Ashland® Décor sphere candle holders
  • two packages Ashland® faux foam and moss rocks
  • one Ashland® small glass and black metal terrarium
  • large bunny (from the Michaels spring collection)
  • three Ashland® faux plants
  • two bundles nests (also from the Michaels spring collection)
  • two square faux moss pieces

spring factory cart coffee table

Are you itching for spring like I am? How’s your vignette styling game – good or needs some improvement?

(As a member of the Micheals Makers team, this post is sponsored by Michaels. Check back during Michaels Make-a-thon for new deals every day.)

shannon photo and sig oct 2022