Thanks, Happyleg!

I love that art! The colors & the images and what they suggest - music and life. I haven’t seen it before - new or have you been hiding it?. It looks to me like it’s hung at perfect level. That room has come together so well. I still love the ’horn’ glass tables. Such a cool view looking into them - and a person has to look into them, right? Their shape draws you in.

Hi KW! Yes, the art is new. I asked the artist who painted the foyer and dining room ceiling to make it. I wanted something that looked like aliens making music (you know I love aliens!) and I think he conveyed that really well. I love that it’s also a really joyful scene. And yes, it feels like you are falling into the horn coffee tables when you lean over them. And everyone always does!

The artist nailed it!

Oh, but so sad - look what happened to my beautiful colorful hydrangeas! We had a freak hail storm that pummeled all the flowers that I just planted. The storm damage weakened the plants and allowed cane borers (and I think carpenter bees too) to take over, and now they’re all almost dead. I don’t even know if they will survive the winter, and I might have to start all over again next summer 😭

Oh my goodness! That hail is almost golf ball sized! Heartbreaking. Not much can be done this late in season. I’d just cut off all the broken branches & clean up as much as possibileI. Then, yes, just wait to see what comes up next spring. The good news is that roots are still there & not damaged. Next spring you may see a lot of early growth from strong roots that have grown while being protected by your winter snow. With all the ’new’ weather we each are experiencing each summer, all the old rules & expectations are out the window.

They were bigger than golf balls, but the rain melted them down before I got photos. But you’re right, there’s nothing to be done but wait until next year. I just hope the winter is cold enough to kill off the pests!

A wonderful piece of art! Art lights over the piece is always an option if the shadow from the soffit is too bothersome.

Glschisler, that’s a great idea!

As a fellow gardener, I nearly cried at your photos.

You got the very best idea from @KW PNE Z8 - trim back what you need to and wait till next year.

Oh no. That is disastrous! Clean up and wait til spring. I know you are broken-hearted after all your careful, vigilant work. Sometimes, I have found things come back stronger than ever! Just hard to absorb right now.

RedRyder, I DID cry when I realized it wasn’t just storm damage, but that they were all afflicted with the cane borers and whatever is biting the stems from the outside, causing them to break off. If you happen to know what this is, please let me know!

Flo, thank you for your kind words. I hope you’re right!

Little Bird - I’m not familiar with Cane Borer damage so looked it up. Did you see evidence of damage before the hail storm? Asking because from what I read it sounds like there would be visible damage from leaf yellowing & wilting too as well as canes with holes drilled in all along stems. Your broken flower heads look like golf ball sized hail hit the stems! Just trying to hold out hope that maybe not insect damage

Might want to check with local “extension services” to get their assessment. Take photos and samples to them. They are great resource for this type thing. We have County level services here and of course they specialize in local plant material and critters too.

Thanks for the suggestion, Flo - I didn’t even know there might be a place to get the problem assessed. KW, I think you’re right that the cane borers started eating the stems before the storm. But after the storm, I was too sad to take care of my plants for a couple weeks, and that’s when the damage really became apparent. All these broken branches are just happening now. Something is chewing through and breaking them off; it’s in our entire neighborhood. So it’s multiple things killing my plants! I’ll try to find a local extension service to see if they know what’s going on. Thanks, guys!

If your entire neighborhood is under attack then that’s it! Maybe you have a gardening guru as one of your neighbors - that’s the person to find and talk with. Seems like everyone will have to take the same eradication steps . Flo’s right about the extension services. Often located at area college / university. WA Master Gardener program is an extension course run out of WSU which has a campus here in Vancouver. They also have an answer clinic one can call or email. The MG’s don’t always have the answer off top of their head but they have the research tools & pictures are a must! So, take lots of up close pics just to have in case you find a local extension resource.

@Little Bird I am so glad to have stumbled onto this post. You have such an artistic joyful style. I am especially happy to have found Artful Home and am looking forward to perusing. Where did you find your rugs and sofa in your sun room?

Thanks, K L! The sun room rug is from woolandsilkrugs.com. They have some really cool designs. Or you can take just a section of their design, and change the colors to whatever you like. I took just a bit of this one, and added some orange and blue.

@Little Bird thank you so much! Those are incredibly beautiful!

Chair position… what do you guys think? Should I have the white lounge chairs together, both facing the piano? OR diagonal from each other, so one is in front of the piano? OR…should I leave both white chairs together, and get another (different) chair for in front of the piano? Thanks for humoring me as I shuffle furniture around!

If you use this room for mainly music I like the two chairs together. I would move the floor lamp to centered between windows to balance room a bit better. But really, no wrong answer. Love big art over sofa!!! Stunning.

Thanks, Flo! I’m thinking of how to arrange it for general looking nice when dinner guests come over, because if the kids are playing music, probably all the furniture gets moved and folding chairs go in. So if I leave the white chairs next to each other, do you think I should get another chair for that spot in front of the piano? It just seems kind of like a dead spot without something fun over there. Or…do I get rid of the white chairs, and instead maybe do a settee or small love seat on that side?

If mainly for visitors, do the one chair angled toward sofa and the other chair at right angle to sofa end. I wouldn’t add any more furniture. It will look way too crowded IMO.

To be knit-picky, I don’t like that blanket throw on end of sofa. It distracts from art too much.

The chairs together look better, but I defer to any professional who says the other way is better.

The room is so open and inviting! If you get anything at the piano end, it can’t be too bulky. Do you need a lot of chairs all the time, or only when there is a lot of company? I like the room as is…

Red- you have a great eye and need not defer to anyone. I like your ideas and contributions!! I am thinking of lines of sight between guests to try and sit and chat. So people in 4 basic corners works well. I would pull the second chair a bit closer to the coffee table.

Flo - which windows do you mean for me to center the floor lamp between?

RedRyder - I suppose I don’t need a ton of chairs if I’m just having people over for dinner, because nobody actually sits on them. They all love to hover around uncomfortably around the kitchen island! So I’m putting chairs in to try to “finish” the look in the living room. It was empty for so long, and I feel like I’ve never managed to get it looking quite done. You think I should take some away?

Here’s the view from the corner next to the piano, to show how much space there is. Ignore the colorful pink chairs behind the white lounge chairs - I’m trying to find an armoire for that location, because there are no closets on the first floor.

Yes. I see what you mean. I like the idea of moving one chair to sit on rug facing toward sofa. 18” from coffee table. With an armoire on that wall you will need to move one chair. Good info. As to your floor lamp, I meant the bay window area back of piano.

Kind of like this.

Ran across this closet piece. Not sure what you are looking for but this comes in several colorways. Not too expensive but pretty stylish for basically closet space.

Hard to see floor lamp in my mock up but here what I am thinking. By placing it in front of window it helps balance room since aside from the piano most of the furniture is on the right side.

Ah, good point, Flo, about the furniture all being on one side. I didn’t really even see that until you pointed it out. There are walkways on both sides of the fireplace, which is why I didn’t put anything there, but I think you’re right about putting something more substantial on the left side to balance out.

Ok, I know you said “no more furniture”…but I found this fun olive wood chair today for only $50! No, I don’t know where I’ll put it. But maybe re-upholster it in this crazy purple fabric?

KW…miss you!

You have a beautiful place.

There is no way that I can read through all the comments. But i just wanted to say that I love the poppy art in your entry.

True story: I happen to have a picture of a poppy on my wall. Not a beautiful painting, such as yours appears to be on my screen. It’s actually a photocopy of a poppy image that i found in a gardening magazine. I went down to a copy shop in Greenwich Village in NYC and had an enlarged copy made . The gentleman who did the work was so nice and it was a lot of fun. And it’s in a frame on my wall to this day, it‘s been there over a decade.

Art is a very personal thing. And it doesn’t have to match a space, except maybe if one is decorating a hotel room. Don’t let anyone dictate your art choices.

Hi freedomplace! Thanks for your words of encouragement. My daughter made the poppy art with oil pastels. A lot of the paintings around my house are from my kids, and they love it when people think it’s by a “real artist”!

Little Bird - that is amazing. It’s a stunning piece of art! ’Any’ actual art made by a child is ”real art”. But in this case, your daughter sure is a ”real artist.” Without question, she is. That is incredible. Well... there you have it. It’s a stunning piece done by your brilliant child. It would stay on my entry wall, forever.

Love that chair! Something open and with legs could definitely work if that helps you. I would grab that chair.

I’m glad you think it will work, Flo! I’m going to get it. Is that fabric on top too crazy for you? I know you thought the zigzag throw on the living room sofa was a little too much. I tend to have very little impulse control when it comes to patterns…

I liked that fabric too but I thought the art you were putting over the sofa had more bright pinks but this art looks more whites with some pattern. More abstract. But I think that fabric is interesting and it’s not like this chair is going to get a lot of wear right! That is a amazing chair. Looks like bookmatched burl wood curved! I would love to know if it has a label or provenance of its origins.

Look at this chair. Very similar. Wonder if there is sone damage we can’t see.

That’s the chair! There is damage on the edges and glued parts, but for $50, I’ll take it!

So, the floor lamp doesn’t fit behind the piano in the center of the windows, but do you like it in this corner? Also not sure if the olive chair should go in the corner, or where the blue chair is (I moved the two white chairs back together). Or some other combo?

Here it is with the olivewood and blue chair, swapped

I like the olive wood in the seating area best. I like the floor lamp there. But could it be to side of bench hanging over piano a bit? If not angle blue chair toward room. Might be crazy idea but how about for every day swap piano bench and blue chair. Less eye confusion in that corner.

Of course, the olive wood chair depends on where damage is. If it is on arms then probably don’t want guests sitting on it. Might be able to get it fixed though. Just depends.

Angle either chair with floor lamp fracking away from corner not flat to wall.

Not sure how “fracking” got in that statement.

Haha, Flo, sometimes I feel like I’m fracking away!