Creative CORNER

This antique stepback cupboard in its original red finish is one of Reneé’s favorite decor playgrounds. Before settling on a design for a room, she often switches out objects until she finds a combination that “appears balanced to the eye.” Composing shelving vignettes can take a lot of experimentation, so Reneé provides insight into how she put together a striking arrangement in this handsome cupboard.

PALETTE: Choose items that feature shades of the same color. Reneé reaches for stoneware, leather books and transferware in browns and blues.

SEASON: Add natural elements like greenery, gourds or fruit to give the shelves a highlight of hue.

FLEXIBILITY: Allow the furniture to work with your concept instead of against it. Since the cupboard arrived in her home with a cutout on the back, Reneé used the opening for a corded electric candlestick.

Reneé’s approach to relaxing surrounds continues into a bedroom that also serves as an office. The shapely four-poster bed with pineapple finials is reimagined in dark paint, which is contrasted by a cream coverlet and linen sackcloth pillowcases to instill calm on a winter’s night. She shares that she likes to evoke tradition by hanging a wreath on the headboard, symbolizing wholeness, life, unity and growth, and promoting peaceful thoughts before sleep.