One of the things we said when we married thirty one years ago was that we would never live in a split-level house in the suburbs. Well, guess what? We were wrong. When the time came to buy our empty nester house, a split level offered us the most bedrooms and baths, along with flexible living spaces that would suit our musical lifestyle. The problem is that although we have lots of spaces, every space in the house is a little small — and that includes our entry hall.

The entry hall holds both the guest coat closet and our bar area when we have parties. The good thing about having a split level is that we also have a side entrance off the driveway and guests spill into our kitchen. In the long range of things, that’s a little problematic, but the reality is that it keeps the entry hall open for people hanging about at the bar. 🙂

You may remember that I posted about being vignette-challenged, but I was determined to break out of that mold. When I saw this mirror from India at Cost Plus World Market on sale, I knew that I was going to buy it. It’s a good thing I did, because they are all sold out now. In my old decor, the mirror I had was too small and needed to be hung too high above the sideboard for anyone to see themselves in it. The new mirror was the perfect size and would make a statement when paired with the geometric Turkish rug that a friend brought back for us and the Asian-inspired sideboard that I bought at a resale shop.

I have also been struggling with the lamp that I use for the sideboard. It needs to be tall enough to not get in the way when the sideboard is being used as a bar, but it also needed a smaller lampshade than the one I had. I found an oval shade at Target that works perfectly. A good score, but I wish it had been on sale. It’s hard to tell in this photo that it’s actually pretty flat and doesn’t take up much room.

I decided to create a vignette using the global theme already established by the three pieces. In the middle of the night, I remembered that I had a globe cookie jar in my stash that also had bright colors, and the next morning I pulled it out. Perfect! I had forgotten that it was vintage McCoy, but it has a broken wing and the paint is quite worn.

 

 

What else goes with travel? Travel books, of course. I took the tour of The Nester’s Pinterest board of inspirational table vignettes, and realized that I had the makings of an interesting stack of books to help with the levels of my vignette. I use post-it notes to mark interesting pages, and they are all still there.

Then I discovered that my very tall amaryllis stalk had broken overnight because it was laden with four heavy blossoms. What’s a girl to do? Put it in a vase. I pulled out the cranberry glass decanter that everyone loves, put the amaryllis blooms in it and boom! — I had a balanced vignette.

 

Since I’m pretty much addicted to keeping it real, I also included the reality of our hall entry table. It ALWAYS has mail on it, unless I’ve cleared it off to set up the bar. The basket is perfect for holding the mail at bay, and for this photo shoot, I just left the mail in it. I’m sure you have a similar place in your house for mail. 🙂

This successful remix of my hall is why I love blogging and I love the Internet. With a little bit of research, some careful shopping, and a scramble through one’s cupboards, even a vignette-challenged home decorator can come up with something striking. I am a very happy camper.

If only it would stop snowing.

I’m linking up today with the creative bloggers at The Scoop at Confessions of a Plate Addict, History and Home Link Party at We Call It Junkin’, Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life, Centerpiece Wednesday at The Style Sisters, and Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. Be sure to stop by and say, “Hello!”

Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford.
Like a child in wild anticipation,
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”

Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)