I just found this large painting in my basement, an auction purchase from a few years ago… Maybe I can do something with this.

Love the sailboat. To add some interest, hang it off center. Just a few inches above the cabinet. Add a bowl to balance it on the side.

A tip I learned from my decorator. Determine where the sunlight strikes the wall(s) adjacent to the window, during the time of day you want it to bounce around the room. Hang the mirror on the brightest part of the wall.

Do you have another wall of cabinets in your dining room on the right? Where that frig is? That’s a lot of cabinets for a dining room. Need the storage? Maybe do something more interesting than more cabinets? Love the painting.

The painting is great. I would center it and add a tall plant or simple vase with twigs on just one side. To see the light/outdoors reflected in a mirror, the mirror needs to be hung on a wall adjacent to a window, not straight across from it.

Lovely painting and lovely room--your rugs are beautiful!

I'd add two tall buffet lamps on either side of the painting.

Pairing with wood table, wood door, maybe with current mirror, if lamp has 3D sculptural to add?

W 7.9" / D 15.75" / H 18.9"
W 19" / D 10" / H 31"

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Overdoing it- place lamp on purpose in front of the mirror, and big bad candlesticks, one on each side.

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Color!?

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Following…

That sailboat painting is not wide enough. It echoes the same feeling that the round mirror has - too much wall space on the sides of it.

I love the sailboat picture and with beautiful lamps on either side it will be stunning. Just my HO.

I’d have the art framed to enhance its look and also to tie in nicely with the cabinet.

Hang art off-side and balance with minimal accessories for a more modern vignette.

On another topic; hope you don’t mind, but I think a lower, more modern chandelier could really enhance the room. I’d go with black to tie in the table‘s base, cabinet/ framed art and your counters.

nope. that art is too large and too vertical. needs to be on a wall by itself.

keep looking for something else above the console.

Here, do this.

or, try something like this set up

also need some items to put on the top. plenty of pics you can copy.

How about a mirror collection it's really dark in room

it's not a dark room! seriously?? I see light everywhere. she has dark furniture, rugs and flooring. mirrors look weird in a collection. bring in lighter rugs and chairs.

I agree with Beth

My first thought was to move the mirror a little to the right (off center) and add a lamp on the left but the cord from a lamp could be an issue since the cabinet appears to be attached directly to the wall. I'm not sure a lamp would work easily.

Consider moving the mirror and adding a fairly large white vase on the left for balance. Place a tall branch/twig/dried material in the vase and if it wants to lean to the right, fine. Or you could add a plant in a light-colored pot (already a lot of dark tones in the room). It has to be a bit substantial to balance the size of the mirrow.

Then add something smaller on the right side of the cabinet - a tray with liquor bottles, or books either stacked or with book ends, a low bowl or basket, even the green apples from the dining table. This vignette is similar to Beth's first photo with the large green plant on the left.

On another note, Maureen's chandelier suggestion would look terrific -- maybe for another update in the future. 😊

OK I’m a little confused, but I did hang the painting just to see what it would look like, and just found some things around the house for the accessories but I would probably need to go on an auction hunt or somewhere else…. Any thoughts now that you see it ?

Truth is, it really is a light room, my entire backside of my house is almost all window…

By the way it’s not really a dining room, the table that you see is counter height, and It looks very similar to a table that you might see in a wine tasting room… It is on casters and can be rolled to any other part of the house or outdoors. I have a semi-flush mount chandelier in there because there may be occasions when I put lounge furniture in that room And the chandelier would be a Headbanger. (clearly I have trouble making commitments).

Could you take a picture from farther away of that composition. I think it could work.

it's ok. if you like it, that's all that matters.

personally I think it's too tall and the colors a bit too muted for that spot.

dark console w/art of a similar color. what do you see that's diff here?

you have very dark, tone on tone colors, a dark console, a muddy gray wall, and now the dreary blues/grays on the painting. (it's a nice piece of art, I just don't like it on that wall in that particular spot. IMHO. hey, you asked!)

I love this look. greenery, even stems/leaves, in a nice vase does wonders.

I'd also love to see a diff, darker color on that wall. I like black or a charcoal gray.

Photoshopped the decor onto yours and tried to show the darker wall.

You could think about topping your Besta w/a piece of butcher block (they have a cool chevron design) or even a remnant piece of marble or granite. Then try the darker wall color.

Ikea carries this chevron butcher block.

The Barkaboda walnut butcher block would be perfect atop your Besta!

this is just another option for you.

even a slightly darker gray than what you have might work. what other colors do you have in there?

Or, try something different on that entire wall? If the darker color is too much for you, what about this vertical tongue/groove accent?

I like this better with a whiter wall.

Or, paint the wall a darker color. If you like the blue/gray, what if you tried this Adagio shade or the Wrought Iron? Gargoyle?

then bring in the lighter rug, lighter accessories, and try some greenery as well.

along w/those suggestions, lose the two reddish/blue rugs and bring in something lighter, maybe w/some texture. I think the above design and a rug like this,

Kendall Charcoal is a warmer, darker gray and might look very nice behind the console.

then bring in the accessories to play it up.

what about doing something like this one w/the stems/leaves, and lighter accessories?

art sized like this might be a little better. notice the lighter rugs on both these pics

add one bold color if you like

or these rugs, would work better and bounce around some light

Look at this room w/almost the same floors and dark console. Look at the art, the accesories and best of all, the lighter rug.

I think if you ditched this rug right in front and replaced w/a runner,

Or, removed it altogether and under the table do a rug like this one under the bed, might look nicer. (love the black wall too

these are all lighter rugs that will reflect some light. do color w/accessories

what is the issue w/the short light over the table? I don't understand how someone is going to bang their head. do you move the table a lot?

perhaps if you take a picture further back we can get an overall sense for this room?

I think the painting is lovely, but just a bit too tall to hang there. The top of the art is higher than the top of the adjacent doorways. Would you consider lowering the console just enough to keep all the tops level? You could consider putting legs on it instead of having it wall hung, too.

I have some other art possibilities… I’m trying not to reinvent the wheel or if it all possible. 😬

I do agree with the commenters that a horizontal painting would be better, or at least a square…

this type of arrangement will look absolutely gorgeous

Something with a bit more life is what you need. It looks like you have a large piece of artwork in the living room that might work.

I think the piece in the living room is about 5 feet tall, but here’s another one from the living room

Yikes it’s getting dark outside, I’m going to have to figure out how to delete those photos and post again tomorrow with daylight.

Better photo, yes I did not put new nail holes in the wall yet while I’m still trying to figure it out

it's hung way too high though. 4-6" above the top should be the max height.

ditch the dark candlesticks and try something else

and I don't think it works. might be the gold

what do you think looks better?

and w/this, you need a runner in a diff color (again, suggested in my previous comment)

don't know why I keep doing these photoshops. not once have you mentioned anything about any of the suggestions.

Did you happen to read/see any of my last comment? I did some photoshops, suggested rugs, colors, etc. Anything?? yay/nay?

if you don't like them, it's perfectly fine to say so.

if you want help you're going to have to give us some feedback other than, "horizontal may be better"

Hi Beth, truly appreciate your thoughts and suggestions… I need to live with the rugs that are there so I will work around them…I do appreciate the Photoshops that you have done, it gives me ideas of the kinds of accessories to get, Crate and barrel has nice accessories that are similar to what you are showing. Hopefully over the next week I will be able to put this together in a vignette that emulates some of your suggestions.

thank you. I didn't know if you saw my earlier comment w/all the pics, rugs and paint colors.

I really like how the top is styled here.

I'd like the chevron butcher block on top too.

and a nice piece of art

this one too

try some greenery in a vase, and I think you need to keep looking for diff art. Neither of those that you have really do much.

black frame, this size, hung this high

I might remove that one rug in front of the console. from the pic it appears too large for that space. why not think about a solid, light color, textured runner?

or try either of these styles for the top

the white vases are nice. maybe one lamp. instead of the mirror, do the art. a plant on the side

I think that with dining table's rustic grain -is it- then maybe you'd like a bit of rough/grain-y wood on the console [so I posted a twiggy lamp]. I'd like to see some bridge/connectors of your various items.

Idk if it's black or espresso.. whether you prefer sleek, but this appeals to me... you?

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Everdebz I like the thin lamps very much. However lamp cords are not easy to hide.

I have received so many really great suggestions and ideas, and now I’m letting them percolate in my head.

Right now I am playing with scale/shape of art. Scrounging around my house for placeholders. I also included a Picture of the opposite wall (basically a large door) of this room.

I love your house, your rugs, and especially the horse painting.

The horse painting is the right size - and lovely.

Can I be annoying and ask you to try the entryway rug under the dining room table? I think it’s the better design for there. Both of the rugs are lovely but the entryway seems like it will perk up the eating area better.

First off, love love love the rugs in your home!

As for accessories, you need large/heavy pieces to counter-balance the visually heavy dark console. Right now the thin spindly candle holders, small scale apple bowl, and tiny vase are not working. Look for a few pieces with girth, whether that's a single thick lamp or an oversized glass vessel. Take a second look at the examples Beth H shared and pay attention to the item's larger scale and overall proportions.

Unfortunately for me, swapping out the rug is complicated. But I just wonder if swapping the doors on that Ikea cabinet for something lighter could help that *heavy* feeling .. that would be super cheap - the Ikea HEDEVIKEN is only $50 a door - provided I can find that door ANYWHERE in the US...

For that matter I could even swap out the dark Besta frame for white, if that helps... that really is an inexpensive alternative... the above photo is the Hedeviken door

I like the idea of those swaps. I think it will help balance and add some of the color of your shelves that are next tot the table. good luck finding them. Lots of things are out of stock from Ikea. Ask me how I know.

I really liked the look when you hung the picture and put some accessories around it. However I think the red rug in front of the console is what is most jarring to the eye. If you don't need that rug, I would get rid of it, or find another room for it and get a lighter one if a rug is needed.

If budget permits, I'd take time shopping around to find things that really appeal to you to add as accessories. Tall wooden candle holders (whitewashed) of various heights might add interest. The artwork is a huge improvement over the mirror.

the horse art is the perfect size. I think that would work. either lean it, or hang it about 4" above. don't go as high as you did the other.

Horse watercolor/sketching look, softens the furniture. And pretty.

The console has a 'fit' with the mix of styles: modern art, barn-type door, etc....

but I don't know if the middle part is dark glass, but's that ok, right? if nothing else is that light i wouldnt

Don't swap out the cabinet. You will need the contrast between it and the horse artwork. The lighter wood would not give you this contrast.

I love your IKEA BESTA and think that this is a wonderfully decorated space! Perhaps swap the mirror for a richly-saturated piece of art either the same width as the cabinet or a large piece of sculpture with a lot of chunk to it, like this: https://store.metmuseum.org/thalia-muse-of-comedy-sculpture-06060289 (or better yet, both)? You need something that can compete with the carpets--and you also need a big vase of flowers on the table rather than fluorescent green apples. :)

Hi Laura-

Please don't tell me where you live, because I'm coming to steal your rugs!

Back to the subject at hand.

The idea of a mirror would work, just not that mirror, it is too simple compared to what else is around.

The original painting is great, but sans mounting and frame, with its pale colors it too gets lost amidst the other furnishings in the area.

Once it gets framed (and you could use a black frame as Maureen shows, it would suit the dramatic colors in the area, I don't know if the size would suit, you would just have to see.

You also don't need that skinny a black frame either.

Go to a really great frame store and see what the options are.

You can also get a mounting in between the art and the frame, too.

The dramatic colors of the horse picture suit, but really, there are just so many horse pictures around, it doesn't seem so special to me. Unless it is really special to you for sentimental reasons, I would not use it.

As far as a mirror, if you are thinking of one, there are so many choices.

Don't be in a rush.

You can visit architectural salvage places and antique stores and resale shops, etc and find marvelous huge ones.

Have you seen that show "Windy City Rehab" on HGTV? She does that a lot in her decorating.

You can also buy a starburst mirror, there are so many styles.

You can get them in wood, or silvery, or gilt.

Here are but a few.

If it is a huge round mirror it may look well right smack in the middle of your buffet with sconces or architectural brackets with interesting objets on them or art on either side.

Otherwise, it may look well hung asymmetrically with art on the other side and or architectural brackets with interesting objets on them.

Great ideas!