Hi Lizzie:) Happy New Year!

they look great just push them altogether..not spread out....

Yes..... can understand waiting until this bitter cold breaks to start looking for a new home..it is 21 here in Dallas Texas!! Stay in and enjoy your beautiful home for now:)

Hi Julie. So good to hear from you. Thank you for your suggestion. Much better :))

Perfect! You can move your lamps in a bit more and forward too.

Like this? I'm trying to stay out of the photo so it may look off center.

Looks so nice!

Thank you so much Julie!

Look at my big girl Cali under the tree...she laid under it every night and seemed to enjoy it as much as we did! Finished packing all the Christmas away yesterday:( looking forward to 2018 wishing you a happy and healthy year!

A happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to you Lizzie! I was just in Syracuse for the Christmas holiday so I can understand wanting to stay out of the cold as much as possible. The buffet looks fantastic and I love the reflection of the chandelier and centerpiece in the mirror.

Oh Julie, thank you for sharing. Love, love, love your big puppy. So sweet. Your tree is gorgeous. I'm sure you enjoyed your holidays with your children. Happy 2018! All the best to you & your family. :))

Hello Kat. Happy to see you! I wish you also a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year!! Woke up to 9degrees this morning. It must have been even colder in Syracuse. I'm sure you're nice and warm now. Thank you for your lovely comments on the buffet. Besides cleaning, it's a great time to read a book, or follow along on Houzz to watch transformations. :))

Good Afternoon! I am posting a photo here of my Pottery Barn Prescott Upholstered Recliner. I think it may have been discontinued, but no matter. I would like to partially cover the arms of this recliner. As you can see this is a light colored fabric and I'd like to keep it looking good for a long time. I do not know if PB sells only the material, in which case I would have to make the arm cover. I called today and was told that I cannot purchase a ready-made arm cover. Does anyone have any ideas how I may solve this dilemma? I have purchased Bayes furniture protector, but have not used it yet. I would like to hear comments and suggestions please.

Treat it with the Bayes! Even if something gets on it so easy to clean off...I had a client that bought two hand towels in the color of her chair and made a set of small arm covers...they would stay put and had texture like the fabric on her sofa arms the color was so close you could hardly see them and when she had guests she would remove them...and could just clean them in the washing machine and put them in the dryer...

Thank you Julie. The similar fabric towels sounds like a good idea. When spraying with Bayes, should the furniture be moved outside, or could I spray it inside?

You can spray inside but still need good ventilation ...window open for sure..I have always done it in the evening before heading to bed...that way it is untouched all night and will be all set in the morning,..be sure to lay a sheet or towels to cover the area of floor around it before spraying it!:)

Hi Lizzie-

In your dining area- how high are the ceilings, what is the diameter of your chandelier, and how high is the chandelier from your table?

Good Morning loobab. My ceilings are 8', the chandelier is about 26" from the table and measures 19.5" in diameter.

Good morning Lizzie....wow that is really low for your chandelier..it should be up another 5-6”..I think you will like it up a bit higher more open space and your centerpiece will work much better...Gosh wish you would have went with the larger chandelier:( but I understand a lot of changes where being made at that time and it is hard to visualize...no matter what it all looks so pretty.

Hello Julie. Hope you are feeling a little better everyday.

I spent a bit of time searching my posts for comments on hanging the chandelier. (Has Houzz changed things? I cannot find them). I know that you suggested the larger chandelier, and it may have looked better, but we were afraid it might be too big. We are happy with the size; and in contrast to what we had, it looks so much better. We love the way everything looks now, and you were a big part of how these rooms came together. I cannot thank you enough! As for the height, I really think the height that we hung it was suggested in the comments, but I cannot find most of the comments. I could be wrong, but I don't think I would have come up with that on my own. Anyway, we could easily raise it as you suggested.:))

We are still preparing the house before we call the realtor. I understand that the less clutter the better, and we are working on that. We also don't want to take it all with us :)). I am not sure if I should post a few rooms to ask for suggestions on adding or removing anything from them to help it sell quickly? Thoughts?

I'm glad we are still in touch because I am sure I will need your decorating flair for our new home.

Feel better soon!

No worries Lizzie it all looks so pretty...but if you ca...... raise that fixture up a bit..I think 32” is perfect...seems to work best for most.

Will do Julie. Thank you :))

Here for whenever you need me:)

yes go ahead and post all the Houzzers will be happy to help...but I think you know what needs to be done for selling.....simple.....neutral walls....no clutter..remove family photos or anything religious.....remove any really large pieces of furniture that are not needed....you want your home to look open and as large as possible.......I am sure your home will show beautifully.....

Thanks again Julie.

Hi Lizzie-

The rule of thumb is that the dining room chandelier should be hung 30 - 34 inches over the dining room table in a room with an 8 foot ceiling. If the room is taller than 8 feet, than raise the chandelier ad additional 3 inches for every foot of ceiling height.

In addition, the diameter should be 12" narrower than the diameter of the table (2/3 - 3/4 of the table's width) and 48" from the room's walls so people don't bump their heads on it when they get up from the table or have unflattering light cast on them.

If it's not over a table, the diameter would be the sum of the room's length plus width and the chandelier's height would be the arithmetic product of your ceiling height x 2.5 x 3.

In your case, it is an easy fix, just remove some of the links of the chain with a plier while supporting the weight of the chandelier with the light off.

The other thing you should know is that when selling your home, the buyer will expect the home to come with the already installed light fixtures. So if you are in love with that chandelier and want to take it with you when you move, take it down before you show your house! Replace it with another, less expensive one that you wouldn't mind parting with.

And speaking of lights and things, I am wondering about your buffet table in the dining area, the one with the mirror over it. It look a little shorter than the average sideboard/buffet, although it does fit perfectly in that space. I am wondering if it really needs the buffet lamps and the three blue and white jars on it, it seems crowded to me. The buffet is close to the dining area chandelier which is close to the side table lamp in the living room, so you don't really need the buffet table lamps for illumination. (The buffet should be 3 feet from the chair so no one hits the buffet.) Why not remove the lamps and see what you think?

Okay, here's some tough love-If you will be moving and downsizing, please do yourself a favor and don't buy any more furniture or accessories right now. You don't know where or how you will be living yet, and the dimensions and configurations of your new place. Furthermore, when you sell, your current place has to appeal to every buyer's taste, not yours and the other readers on this thread.

lizbeth gardener said it very well above.

That being said, for when you move, here are some suggestions for your new place. I am not good at assessing measurements in photographs, so I can't tell the relative proportions of your coffee table to your sofa. It should be 2/3 the length of your sofa. If yours is, that's great. Blue is my favorite color too! But I do think you need to add in an accent color or it gets monotonous.

Take your cue from nature, look at birds that are blue and see what other colors are in them, or the great artists you referenced above like the impressionists, Monet, for example. Yellow or green are great choices. It is expensive to have fresh flowers all the time, but a bowl of lemons (and if you can find them with stems attached all the better!)in a clear wide glass bowl or plain blue glass bowl on your table or sideboard would look great. A wonderful thing would be to stud a couple with cloves, I just love that smell! I would add throw pillows with interesting texture that incorporate the accent colors you want to use, maybe yellow or green or even a bit of lavender or purple. Think of Monet's Water Lilies, or whatever painting you love. You might look for an area rug in front of the sofa that is mostly shades of blue with touches of your accent colors. I would turn the living room chair perpendicular to the sofa, although I realize it may be positioned this way to see the television.

Please start making appointments to interview licensed realtors (several of them) and make part of the interview how they would stage your home. If they say to de-clutter and de-accessorize, do it, and ask them to be specific and promise them you won't be insulted. Take notes when they speak. If the realtor says you need to put things in your empty rooms, ask them what things specifically, then seriously think whether or not you should be buying furniture, or just paying a couple thousand to a home staging company who will do your whole house perfectly just before showing and then you will be done with it and you won't be stuck paying to move furniture cross-country that you very possibly won't even be able to use in your new place and you won't be able to sell for even a quarter of what you paid for it.

Yes, yes, retail therapy is fun, but find another hobby right now. Get pedicures and massages until you move. Join a book club. Advise the rest of us on our decorating dilemnas, it's always easier to give advice to others! :)

Hi Lizzie. I hope you're doing well and can see a light at the end of the tunnel in regard to wintry weather. Have you looked at any prospects for a new place to live yet? In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying your lovely home!

@loobob. That was a book. But sound advice. It is so hard removing things you love when staging for sale. But it isn’t your home when you list and the goal is to appeal to widest group of buyers. If you plan on taking chandelier don’t cut chain and wire. Might need in next location. Good luck.

Flo- You don't need to cut the chain, you just open one link with a pair of pliers, remove as many as you need to, then close the link with the pliers around the link at the correct length. Save the links you removed in a ziploc bag in which you put an index card on which you have written with a Sharpie marker: "dining room chandelier" and put it right in the dining room buffet so it follows the rule of putting things where they are used. You could could cover the jaws of the plier with a strip of paper toweling secured with a rubber band so you don't scratch the chain. You just pull up on the electrical wire so it is a bit bunched. No one is going to look at that.

No need if you are taking fixture with you. Visit nearby model homes to see what new buyers are seeing. That is some of your competition.

Hi Kat. I'm happy to see you. I am enjoying my home. Every time I walk in the front door, I'm happy to be here. The weather here has been just so, so cold. The older I get, the worse the winter seems to be. We just might rent a place in Florida next year :)). We are going to look this Saturday at a beautiful 55 and over community in NJ.

Hi loobab. Changing the length of the chandelier is an easy fix. I won't be purchasing any furniture or big ticket items because I am not sure of exactly how many rooms we will be in if the move goes through, or what size each room will be. What I was looking for was how to (not professionally stage) make my home look as inviting as possible. Maybe add a pillow here or a lamp there, or remove something. No big changes at this point. I am sure that the best thing to do right now is purge, clean, unpersonalize (I know that's not a word) and neutralize everything here. Once I get the house ready, I plan on calling a couple of realtors that were recently used by friends. As you suggested, I will take their advice on any further changes that may need to be made. I thank you for taking the time to send me your advice and I have saved it to use both now and in the future. Hope to see you again!

Hi Flo, So nice to see you.You are right when you said it is no longer my home once it is up for sale. I do want to appeal to as many buyers as possible. I don't want to drag this out, I may change my mind :)). Thank you, I will need your good luck wishes.

Flo, I will most probably be taking the dining room fixture with me.

Over 55 - but not that old - heard of Ann's Choice near New Hope, Pa...? right over from NJ...

Hi everdebz, no, never heard of Ann's Choice.

Thankfully, there are more, and probably better options than used to be...

Warminster, Pa.... and one near Belmar [where 195 ends] -

https://www.ericksonliving.com/new-jersey-retirement-communities

Florida has been great this winter. Even though we have had some colder than normal days, it's hard to complain about 39 degrees when it's -8 up there! I know you said you had friends down here. It sounds as though you have everything organized and planned out. Good luck with your community visit!

Thank you Kat. I'll let you know how it goes

Hi. I'm looking for opinions in general of the furniture pictured here.

Hi Lizzie. It's not to my taste-a bit too ornate for me-but looks like beautifully made furniture.

Hi Kat. I agree with you on the armoire and end table. Is that your feeling about the dining table too?

To me, depends on how it 'fits with' what's needed around it - I wouldn't have all of them... one might have chalk paint for a delicate look, etc....

For instance, I could see the stout and leggy one with an unusual lamp...?

Thank you Kat and everdebz. I was just curious to read opinions of what houzzers might say. Not my furniture. My husband and I have to clean out his parents home.

Someone that will paint the pieces and use them in a very shabby chic setting would love these pieces of furniture! Painted out a soft white would be so beautiful!

You're welcome Lizzie. I think the dining room table is classic and would look wonderful in the right home. I agree with HIWE that someone would probably want to paint out the other two pieces but I would hope that someone would also see them for the quality pieces that they are in their current condition.

Cleaning out my in-law's house was a chore I wouldn't wish on anyone. I'm sorry you're in that position.

https://www.anniesloan.com/inspiration

Thank you Julie for your input. I was curious about these particular pieces. I like your suggestion.
Thank you Kat. Yes, it is a huge undertaking mixed with much sentiment.

Hi....hope you are doing well....saw this image and thought if you...If you celebrate the Easter Holiday thought it would be so beautiful to add flowers and branches like this to your ginger jars on the buffet!:)

You're so sweet to think of me Julie. I love it!

thanks Kevin, but I don't think it would match my decor.

How are you Lizzie? Any decision made on a move?

Hi Kat,
So nice to hear from you. Check your messages.