In my previous post, I showed you the inspiration for my wanting to create a little vignette on top of the two dressers in the master bedroom. Now comes the more difficult part: how to execute (because the devil is always in the details, n’est-ce pas?). For the sake of practical frugality, I first shopped my own linen closet and home office to see what pieces I already owned that could work together—for example, objects with sentimental value in a light blue, gray or white color scheme. Then I set a budget of $100 to fill out the rest.

OK, it’s still a work in progress, especially since I’ve only done half, but here’s how my vignette is unfolding:

Partial vignette.

I think the one hipster element on display might be the wire birdcage, but hey, at least it’s not included in this list of “32 Signs You’re Living in a Hipster Apartment.” [For the record, I’m guilty of Number 11 (skateboards used a decorative art instead of transportation) and Number 15 (a tangle of white Apple charging cords).]

A closer inspection. The gray ($24) and white ($18) “distortion” candlestick holders made of resin and marble are from Areaware. Andrew says they remind him of Dr. Seuss’s Whoville.

I saw the wire birdcage ($50) in the window of a local shop, thought about it for a day, and then went back to buy it. Bonus points: it’s a good tie-in to the snowy owl that’s pictured in the poster above. To add a pop of color and texture, I hung a fuchsia polka-dotted ornament and a glittery snowflake from makeshift hooks.

The “distortion” candlestick holder.

As a backdrop, I used two striped placemats. The porcelain bowl is from Korea and holds sand and shells from the British Virgin Islands. (I know, you’re not supposed to take sand as a souvenir but I couldn’t resist.) I used the bottom of an extra butter dish to display some jewelry.

The Aloha Orchid candle reminds me of Hawaii. The moon-and-stars glass paperweight is from the Serge Lutens boutique at the Palais Royal in Paris. The sparkly-sphere necklace hanging from the candlestick was a gift from my friend Susan.

Since it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, you can bet that I’ll keep tweaking the layout. The overall composition isn’t as offhand and cohesive as I would like. And I’m thinking about adding some decorative coffee table books under the bird cage as a pedestal. Then again, the practical side of me knows that I won’t ever flip through a big, heavy coffee table book in bed.

For the vignette on the second dresser, I’m mulling over some mercury glass globes from Pottery Barn and perhaps a square cake stand (as a counterpoint to all the round objects) to display my bracelets. Brainstorming is the most fun part of this process!

Sources: areaware, le village marche

Update on April 9, 2013: A happy ending—I ended up finding (and buying) the dresser of my dreams!