Mrs S
Thanks for your questions - it’s good to think these things through. I’m trying to go simpler and more rustic in this new house than my present home, so maybe we should put the grandfather clock in a corner of the Great Room instead of the front entry.

The art pieces go very well together, framed similarly and content is very complimentary. They both have a horizontal orientation

The pine deacon’s bench and wide framed mirror go well together. (It’s approx 15” x 25”)
I thought a nice stained board with black coat hooks hung above the bench would be practical and in keeping with the look I want. (Boots are not an issue in this part of the country.) We have a full mudroom and 2 closets in the back hall, so the coat hooks in the foyer would be for guest use only.

I’m just not sure where these two pictures would look best.

My aesthetic has always been traditional/colonial, but I’m going less formal and more rustic in this new house ... as I say, going for a simpler look.

It sounds nice, and once you hang the coat rack in its logical place, it will probably be obvious where the 2 art pieces should go. Show pictures! I'd like to see it all.

If you have mud room, I would preserve entry for your loved art. No coat rack. I need a floor plan or some pictures of art. With that size entry your art might be too small. Are you open to reframing with larger mats to increase size. One on each side might be perfect. Is this single story home? Any photos even under construction would be very helpful.

Here are pictures of the art. I will re-mat and possibly re-frame them. The blue print of the entry shows a half-wall on the stairway side, but we have kept it a full wall to better define the entry.
The Great Room is on this main level, but the house is built on a hill, so there are bedrooms and a rec room downstairs.

Lovely art. With your double front doors we have to keep walls clear of open doors. So the art still works but has to sit down toward hall so that affects size. It looks like your doors are 3’ each. One will be fixed most of the time so depending on which side is fixed might determine art location. Usually, left side is locked so i could see art side by side on left wall and possibly some companion art on other wall. (Stairway wall). Grandfather clock could go in great room or another location. I think I would lighten up mat and possibly frame too. Is home on water? Since you want more casual living perhaps a rough wood frame would work nicely. I will look for ideas for you.

Do you have color palette for home yet?

Thanks, Flo. Yes, I’m open to more rustic frames.
The house overlooks a lake and a snow-capped mountain.
The woodwork will be a creamy white (SW Alabaster) and the walls will be a shade deeper than the woodwork, so we’ll have a neutral backdrop. The kitchen cabinets will be alabaster, with a marble-like countertop and stained island and beams. My accent color will be blue - in dishes, pillows, throws etc, but furniture is neutral too (brown leather, linen).

Here is rough mock up with barn wood frame white mat with black thin inset detail. Sounds like lovely home. How do you like the idea of barn wood or similar look? Seems like it would suit your mountain/lake environment.

Of course it would be sized correctly.

Thanks! That is a cool look! Would you keep the frame size the same (28 x 18)? I’d probably pick a little browner stain, less gray, to go better with the beams etc, but keep that rustic look.

I would need to know exactly how much wall space is usable in entry. And the beauty of barn wood is its weathered wood look. You can mix woods but I wouldn’t stain barn-wood. It might look off. But there are other recycled woods that could work too. Take them to good framer and they can show you options. Dozens of possibilities. I don’t know where you are located but I have a great framer at my local Hobby Lobby store. I get my framing done when they run their 50% off sale!

I’ll watch for sales at my local framing shop.
I think both pictures will fit on one wall, whichever will have the door that’s less likely to be opened.
I know designers say one should do things in odd numbers, but in this case do you think 2 side by side is fine?

If you have other similar content pictures, we could do 3 on one side and two on the other side? Just depends on what you have. For these two, I would do them side by side maybe 4" apart, depending on ultimate outer size of the framed work. You can always increase the size with wider frame, but that look tends to be more contemporary.

With your color palette, when reframing, I think I would do a light linen mat rather than white, since it will be a softer look to go with your neutrals, then some type of semi-rustic frame. The outer size of 28 wide is probably about the right proportions.

Thanks for all your thoughts, Flo! Most of my art is fairly traditional looking, but I do have two numbered Miro prints - very modern! They look great in my present traditional dining room, but the new house doesn’t have enough wall space for me to hang them both in the new dining area (and I think they should be hung together). What do you think about hanging them on the walls of the stairway to the lower level? One is horizontal (38 x 31) and one is vertical (27.5 x 35.5). The stairwell will be visible from an open wall on the main level.