Spring Mantel Garden Vignette

MAKE THIS SPRING MANTEL GARDEN VIGNETTE BY SIMPLY GATHERING THE EVERYDAY DECOR PIECES YOU LOVE AND MIXING IN FRESH SPRING ACCENTS.

Today’s post is part of a Spring Blog Hop with my friends!

I’m so glad you joined me here today! This post is part of a spring blog hop with 5 great gals! We’ve got some great spring posts with crafts with your children, and ideas for decorating and cleaning your home. All the links are down at the end of this post so be sure to stop there and check them out after you are done reading this post! Some even have free printables!

Spring mantel vignette

One of my favorite decorating techniques is to design farmhouse style vignettes for each season. I love to pull in vintage pieces from my home and use lots of texture to make things beautiful.

From nature I know that God loves beauty as well and He is pleased when we make our homes beautiful and welcoming for our families and guests. To create simple beauty in the every day.

Already this spring I have put together several vignettes for the coffee table, entry hall, buffet and kitchen island. One place that remains to be refreshed for spring is the mantel. (I note as I write this there is still snow on the ground outside. Three days ago it was snowing still, so I just put away the last of my winter greens and it is still seems strange to decorate for spring!)

So, here I will give you a sneak peak into how I build a seasonal vignette. I did a similar post back in October when I first started the blog. See my post ‘Fall Coffee Table Centerpiece‘ for details on that. Today I will follow a similar process to build my mantel.

spring mantel garden vignette farmhouse garden decor vintage seed packets

Choosing pieces for my Spring Mantel Garden Vignette

I am not a minimalist by any means but I do carefully curate and keep my decor pieces to a minimum. Storing off season pieces is not something I like to do. And my budget for new decor is pretty much a thrift store budget. Besides, I like vintage items better than new.

So as usual, that means I am choosing to shop my home! I’ll pull together vintage pieces, rustic salvage, dishes, and garden ephemera from other rooms in the house. I’ll add a few faux veggies and small seasonal items to finish it off.

spring mantel garden vignette farmhouse decor vintage watering can vintage leaded window pane

FOUNDATION PIECE for the Spring Mantel Garden Vignette

If you have been following my blog for long, by now you know I like to use a foundation piece for all my table vignettes.

This can be a tray, basket, bowl, box or something similar. The purpose is to contain the pieces in the display as well as to make the display portable.

When you pull together several items into a display it can quickly look messy and cluttered. By confining them to a tray or other foundation piece it becomes more organized and limited in scope.

As for it being portable, all too often I have built a detailed display on a table only to need to move it. With a large immediate and extended family it is nice to be able to move decor quickly for the table to take on a new use.

Today since my display is confined to the space on the mantel I won’t be using a foundation piece. The mantel itself confines the display. And the length of the vintage window above it gives it boundaries as well. Much like a fence in the garden.

spring mantel garden vignette farmhouse decor for spring vintage and antiques

PRIMARY DECOR PIECES for the Spring Mantel Garden Vignette

Next I gather up some key decor pieces. These serve as the base from which you will fill out your vignette. These pieces set the scene and the tone for the entire display.

For my spring farmhouse mantel vignette I am going for a gardening theme. So my key piece will be a galvanized watering can. This reproduction piece sets the mood for this whole display. It instantly says ‘garden’ and ‘rustic’.

spring mantel garden vignette vintage watering can with flowers farmhouse style

SECONDARY DECOR PIECES for the Spring Mantel Garden Vignette

This piece (or sometimes pieces) is often something that brings color into your vignette. It is smaller than your primary piece, but plays a supporting role by keeping with the theme. In my case the vintage garden tools, terra cotta pots, and white ironstone pitcher are secondary decor pieces.

spring mantel garden vignette green vintage garden tools

SMALLER ACCENT PIECES to spice up the Spring Mantel Garden Vignette

The accent pieces are what gives your vignette details. It is what keeps your eye searching and lingering on the display. These are usually small pieces that give the display zip. In my case the seed packets, faux radishes and wool felt carrots are my accent pieces.

You can grab my quick wool felt carrot pattern at the end of this post for FREE!

FILLER for the Spring Mantel Garden Vignette

This is just as it sounds. Something to fill out the display. This is usually items with a softer texture. Things like greens, neutral floral, or soft textured things like a yarn pom pom garland, etc.

In my case the faux white flowers in the watering can and the crocus and greens in the ironstone pitcher are filler pieces. The green leafy parts of the bright red radishes also acts as a filler.

spring mantel garden vignette ironstone pitcher with faux crocus and vintage seed packets

WEIGHTY SEASONAL PIECE to strongly accent the current season

This is the piece that says SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, CHRISTMAS, WINTER, or whatever season you are in. It is of a size and weight to be a key player. It draws your eye quickly when you look at the display.

In this case my ceramic white rabbit fills this role nicely. He has a good enough size to draw your eye and yet it is still second in size to the watering can. He is also a good contrast color from the wood mantel so he stands out well.

spring mantel garden vignette ceramic rabbit and wool felt carrots farmhouse style

SUPPORTING PIECES to hold the scene together

These are the pieces that support and prop up the key players above. They sort of disappear into the background but the scene wouldn’t be possible without them.

In my spring farmhouse mantel vignette the green books, clothes pins, and jute string act in this background role. They are all neutral and do not grab the eye. But they have a subtle texture all their own that adds dimension to the scene.