Your porcelain pieces are just lovely, Ingrid. I think the bowl and birds work very well together. I wouldn't know the difference between eastern and western pieces to save my life, but I like the mix of pretty things such as you have here.

Have you tried using a table runner beneath them to sort of "anchor" them?

I like them as well. I think they look good.

I, too, like them very much. But I love how your chair seats look so lovely with your rug!

Very pretty, Ingrid. I also love the chair seats with your rug!

And ditto Ida's suggestion for a table runner, at least part of the year. I'd play around with something cream or ivory for spring/summer; navy or coral (can't tell what might be a color in your bowl) for winter.

I'd have been drawn to the birds, as well! I think they look great with the bowl, but I think I would turn them 90 degrees. Something about having their backs to the bowl bothers me.

Errant brings up a good point. I think I'd switch their places, so that their heads are closest to the bowl (not their butts -- er, tail feathers!).

Often, if I put something on the table that has a front and a back, I turn one so the front is facing one way and then the other is facing the other way. Seems more rounded rather than a front and back, but if you NEVER really look on the backside of the table it wouldn't matter (I don't do that in our breakfast room as the table is up against a wall -- no one would see the front of the one I turned around! LOL!)

Martha

My first thought too was turning them so they face the bowl.

Rather than a table runner, which I think would cover too much of the beautiful wood, I would have a round fabric "runner" just large enough to corral the three objects.

Thank you for your opinions, I'm glad everyone thought this was a good idea. Thanks also for the chuckle about the "butts toward the bowl" remarks. I had tried it both ways and took pictures of the "beaks toward the bowl" version also so you can compare.

They are pretty pieces but the way they are arranged looks too disjointed to me. I'd put them close to the bowl, one facing the camera, one facing the window, so they are more in the center of the table. They seem a bit large for the size of the table to me, but if you like them there, then that's what matters. As they are now, it looks like they were just set down temporarily.

Actually, I think I prefer them butt-to-bowl.

Cute, IdaClaire. I gave Olychick's idea a whirl. I agree they are a bit large for the table; I've had that idea myself while passing through, but I don't know how to shrink them. Anyway, here is the new arrangement:

I like this final arrangement best :)

While I like the latest arrangement, it seems like they could still use an anchor. I wonder if one of those round woven placemats I've seen everywhere from Pier 1, TJ Maxx, to Big Lots would be big enough to go under the birds and bowl.

They're gorgeous! Nothing under any of it - let lovely wood show.

laughable, I like the idea of a round woven placemat or something along those lines, something very neutral but with some texture. Thanks for the suggestion.

Beautiful pieces, Ingrid! Absolutely lovely.

I like the placement of the last pic, but not the pink flowers..

The flowers are too distracting.

I agree; try the vase with flowers inside the bowl.

You're both right. The flowers in the bowl look much better, and putting them somewhere else might be even better.

I love all the pieces and think they work well together but the arrangement is too large for that size table (IMO).