a couple other random things from around my house

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First rule: avoid Hobby Lobby and its ilk for decor. Anything that has 1000 copies doesn't belong in your house. Let's start with a clean slate, and invite everyone to go shopping and dress your entryway.

Large vase, clock, basket of balls, a little closer.

Grass on bottom shelf.

Or bring the home sweet home sign down and set it under the flower mirror and put just the vase on the table. Maybe add the clock.

Lose all the little stuff on wall (all of it). Replace with large mirror with metallic frame. Add 3 matching baskets to botyom shelf. Add some greenery - either low succulent in pot or floral in a vase. Stop there - elegant and beautiful

Elegant, attractive. Home run grover!

Grover, why do you never post funfair mirrors? I think they are the Next Big Thing.

IMO entry tables need a mirror for going out or coming in. All that stuff on the wall is a bit too kitschy for me. I have replaced it all with a quadrafoil mirror and a lamp. This mirror shape will not conflict with the stair the way a rectangular one will.

ROFL!!

Think groveraxles suggestion is the best! Looks simple and elegant. Also agree with the point that you are buying things from big box stores and want them to seem homey. That's not going to work. But if you like elegant you now have an excellent to plan to follow!

I have heard this many times here and I agree, the entryway into your home can define who you are. Mirrors are fine if they reflect something interesting. But the area can also reflect your personality and can be a window into the rest of your home. The items you have over the console tell me you like the homey, quirky side of life. You are family focused. Try to keep that in changing your décor.

FWIW, I actually did reframe two of the OP's photos in those new tabletop frames on the console.

And chookie, what is a fun fair mirror? Is it something a drop bear would use? You know I'm not up on my mirrors; I rarely use them and when I see them, I advise people to get out the sledgehammer.

Aha! An Aussie term. We call them fun house mirrors.

I think there's just too much going on with the wall decor and the entry table. One big art piece would help... Or a mirror

I don't think there is anything wrong with buying from a big box store. If it's something you love who cares where you bought it. Some of us have limited budgets and still want a cozy home. Shouldn't a good designer be able to help you at your price point?

Love the mix of black, yellow & blue. I like the Home Sweet Home sign, but I think it's out of place with the rest of the elements here, so I'd find another spot for it. On the bottom shelf, find a basket like one you have, only half again as wide, and then center it. Move the tall blue vase to the tabletop, replacing the clock and just skimming the mirror. Keep the basket/balls centered under the mirror, and remove the smaller black bowl (you could put a framed photo in its place, half as high as the blue vase.)

I went shopping now. my aching fingers!

this one is more formal looking - but it is blue, yummm!A nice, tall spanish vaseif you do not wish to do your mirror, turn this sideways.

so vase to the right, this starts in the upper 1/3rd of the vase and goes sideways.

on the mirror side of the table put the small shiny bowl, put the balls underneath in their bowl

Thank you all for your suggestions. I guess I will have to go shopping for some of the pieces you suggested. Where do you all display family photos? I love a lot of pictures in a house. We bought this house (our first) a year ago and I really struggle with the decorating aspect. I particularly struggle with art work. Here are some more pictures of this space. I am in the market for a buffet for thee cut out by the table and a coffee table if you have any suggestions.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-removable-fabric-w-74483

I suggest you wallpaper that cutout niche by the table. You could use the recipe above to apply fabric to it that will be removable if you tire of it.

thanks Deco!

But I think that would be an excellent area to hang your family photos, like they will with you at dinner every night! here are some fun ways to make them feel like a theme when you hang them.

you can do more than one shelf, and change out as you wantcleats and rope or wire, ignore the locationpicket fencemake a shapelike one large of grandparents then smaller of all progenycolor blockmany great tree and other stickers to make a family treeyou could forget the decoration. get all kinds of frames, paint them all one color and put the prints in there running them up the staircase wall.

hope it helps.

Nina, don't go out and buy a bunch more stuff before you have a plan. I think your candlesticks and/or lantern might work on the entry table. We'll work on it some more before you go shopping again.

It's bedtime here, but I will come back tomorrow and mess around in your living room. You have a good start there and in the dining. One thing I notice is that it seems like you buy art and decor without thinking how everything relates to everything else. Your wall art seems pretty haphazard and you have two odd little windows we have to do something about.

This is why you need a plan before you buy a single thing.

I have added a few things to the room. You need floor lighting. A lamp and floor lamp and a coffee table for when seating on sofa. As you mentioned. If you want to do a collage of family photos, I would do them on the wall between the small windows. A large piece of art in dining room and a lower and prettier chandelier.

Didn't have dimensions so did estimate.

Click to enlarge.

Pull chairs out so they are not crushing drapes. And hang rod higher.

Yes, I thought what you had there would work too. Just rearrange and lessen some. I just went shopping because some said for you to empty and then that is what we should do. but you can do the same thing with the turquoise like vase and your black mirror.

I put in roman shades for small windows. I would hang them outside of windows and hang them same height as curtains so if you wanted to open you would have more window showing. (which I didn't do in mockup) I would use 2 smaller barrel tables instead of one big coffee table. Someone may do a better picture grouping, but that works if you have a lot of them and they are smaller.

This is just an idea how to arrange the dining area. grover is much better at doing actual rooms. I put in a buffet a large piece of art over it and a new chandelier.

Much better.

Move the ceiling electrical box over so it is centered over the table. It can easily be done. Also chandelier bottom should be 30-34" above table surface.

BTW, I would do gray roman shades close to color of walls. Not beige.

I like the round bubble mirrors.

Hey, how about something like this?

Grover, AMEN! Hobby lobby for decor should be avoided at all costs! I am not a fan of those "happy home" or "family is love" or whatever signs. They look cheesy, overdone, and look like a compensation for a lack of style. You have a beautiful home and I love your glam furniture! The things in the entry way look DIY and cheap and it doesn't fit with your furniture. Grovers and susan design would look fantastic in your home.

For family photos, I like to have them in the living room area. Usually when we have a neighbor or an old friend pop over, we just stay in the formal living room and it is nice to have pictures of the family there for them to see while they're here. I wouldn't hang too many though. I find too many family photos, can look a little creepy. I like to take a few of the best one and hang them about where people can see them but not so many that that's all they see. I think a nice alternative to hanging a bunch of family photos is artwork by family. I love seeing little ones art hang about the home. It is a nice way to personalize your home. Or have your a member of your family choose a piece of art they like. This will not only be a nice piece of art for your home but because a loved one picked it out, you will be reminded of them when you look at it!

under a stairs i like items that are round or have indeterminate borders.

Owing to their mobile lifestyles, dual purpose has been trending with ninjas and devils from Monkey Magic.. Hence the above throwing weapon /grooming device. It can be pulled easily from a kimono sleeve, which should be pre-slit.

@susan2494 I love the pictures you put together. the round stools look great, I live that idea. I also really like the idea of a round light fixture over the table. My husband moved the electrical outlet for our light fixture over our kitchen table but he said he can't do the one over the formal because it's too high. When we had this room painted the painter had to stand on a ladder on top of scaffolding- I guess I will need to hire someone to do that part. I love the lamp you a added onto the table. The Roman Shades are nice, will they look ok if the rest of my windows in my house have the wood blinds? We bought new blinds for the whole house when we moved in. Also, do I hang the curtains higher even with the ceilings being so tall? I hung my family room curtains higher but we have 12 ft ceilings in that room... Thanks!

I am not the drape expert here, so maybe someone else can chime in. I think the curtains should be at least to the top of door and you have that niche in dining area and maybe they need to be even with the top of that. I will defer to the experts on how high you should hang them. Or maybe they are ok where they are? Add'l comments on the small windows anyone?

A rule about family photos in public spaces: make sure they're worthy. No one but you and Grandma want to see a 3rd grade class photo with the cheesy fake clouds as a backdrop. Everyone wants to see the dog lick the baby's face, and the kids screaming as they careen down the hill on a sled. And they don't want to peer at 3 x 5 snapshots in one of those collage frames. If they're worthy of hanging in the living room, they're worth a proper print on canvas or in a proper frame.

The curtains are already too short. Hanging them higher isn't going to help.

I can let the curtains out more at the bottom if I were to hang them higher . I already did that with the ones by the table but haven't gotten around to doing the ones behind the gray chairs yet (have a 5 month old baby and toddler). I spend a lot of money on photography and want to display several family photos and feel like I'm limited to just one or two with canvases. Thoughts?

I also have a loft upstairs with a couch and tv and big blank wall I could move family pictures up to...

I agree with Grover. I used to be stylist for a photographer . He had stunning portraits blown up huge on his walls. There is no comparison to 6x4 s or 5x7 s.

The canvas next to the front door and the clock overwhelm the spaces they're in. You don't need any decor in small spaces like that. I've placed them both in a grouping between the odd windows which, with very nondescript outside mount roman shades, become somewhat disguised as part of the grouping.

I apologize for not being able to orient your coffee table properly, but it's light enough that you can probably do it yourself.

One of the best uses of family photos I've seen is here:

That is art.

I like the idea of family pictures in the loft. I love the color of your drapes and you're getting lots of good suggestions to mull over. :)

If there is room for a sideboard, put one in the alcove with art above it. I might go with something like this knock off of the Beat Wide pendant light, two of them at 14" each, hung about here:

I don't think you're limited to just one or two! I agree with grover its really nice to see informal ones hanging about and if you have some formal ones, hang those too just not too many. I like to see family photos but just don't let them be the only thing you hang on the wall. Choose the cutest ones. Like maybe the little one sneezed at the exact moment the camera went off...That's so cute! It's not conventional and your guest would love to see something like that. And you'll smile at it every time you see it too!