1. NOT a Virgo thing. I am a Virgo and I’m particular but not fast!

2. Love the new Chippendale, non-tub chairs.

3. Pillows in white chairs….,maybe a fabric with more blue and /or a lighter brown?

4. Three fireplaces in our old house….two converted to gas from FB and one gas fp we put in during lower level remodel. There is something magical about pointing a remote and hearing that whoosh. Plus, no ashes and no camp smell when the weather is damp.

Yes, pillows, banquette material, and throws and such not yet selected.

I'm in awe of people who can get these things done so quickly after making decisions rather quickly but mostly I am in awe of how you even FIND the things to consider.

Bascially I'm in awe.

Also I love that orange (hahaha) guestroom. It is so crisp and perfect .

Why doesn't the guest room rug get layered in the apartment and an inexpensive rug get bought for the guest bedroom?

Oooohhhh, Pal. 👍🏻

That'a a good idea but prob not.

A few reasons. One, I like it where it is and that was its home. A few weeks ago the children of the PO were in town and they dropped by the nearby church. We were there for the blessing of the animals that day. We got introduced and they came over for a tour and a drink on the verandah. We had a lovely visit with them. They were so touched by the things of their Mom's we used, and the way we had redone it without stripping its character.

The second reason is I don't actually like it very much. I love the bedding, I like the whole room, but not really the rug. I would not put in my BR, or in my new place. It feels vaguely Southwest to me and I don't care for that genre.

I know I am all alone on this, but I think the layering rug should be less of a contrast, and that is why I keep showing the pale one. I may not end up using that particular one but I want one that has some of the jute colors in it and is not new. I know it has to provide *some* contrast though.

I remember my mom talking about my sister-in-law and saying she sold more coffee and end tables in her 10 years of marriage than my mom had ever owned. There are different kinds of people. Some buy and replace often and it doesn't matter if they are over the moon in love with the item. I only buy something if I am absolutely sure that it is going to work for me for decades. My taste has changed since I was in my 20s, and I do periodically buy something new to replace something that is no longer giving me joy, but it is maybe one or two items a year.

It took me decades to collect all of my art and furniture. Bought a new home and the only thing I replaced was the sofa. Still loved my old sofa, but it was too low and my elderly friends and family members couldn't get up once they were seated. The only new furniture I bought was a bed for my spare room.

One of my friends tells me they know when I am going to buy something. I see it, my eyes light up, I walk away, I come back and look at it again, I call them over to look at it. I walk away, do some more shopping, think on it, go back again. At this point they tell me to just pull the trigger and buy it. Stop thinking about it because they know I will end up buying whatever it is even if it is more money than I want to spend. I don't. I keep circling my pray, sometimes thinking about it for a week or more, but my friend is right. I am completely smitten with the object and must own it.

See, I do like the 'new' chairs so much better than the barrel chairs! Great choice.

Plus, you all now have me wanting to go ahead with a gas fireplace insert! Planned on it about five years ago, but never followed through. Will head to the one nearby store (for those in NOVA, Bromwell's-reviews welcome) tomorrow. I am supposed to be picking out tile and such for another bath re-do. Sigh.

You will really enjoy having a gas fpl. Ours was newly built so I dont know if an insert is different, but i just love it.

I have not yet ordered the 2 swivel chairs and sofa. Meantime I have come across these 2 sets of swivel chairs. I would check them out in person for comfort and condition.

Whacky, or Fab?

Love the button details (see the skirt on thr right one)

I am going to speculate that the first two are not comfortable enough as lounge chairs because there is no place to rest your arms. I feel like armless hard chairs are a little different: one sits more upright, and your arms easily end up in your lap. When you are sitting lower and at a different back angle, not so much. Plus, with hard chairs you are often at a table, which gives you something to do with your arms.

They are also for a different room, not really the sort of room you would have in your house.

Good points. Also, my husband wants to thank you. He thought they looked like something Uday and Qusay would pick.

The second look small. We are not small people.

My mother has a small curved back chair in her living room and it’s always the first chair visitors choose, no matter their height which is just to say that I wouldn’t rule out the second chairs without trying them first. You might be pleasantly surprised at their level of comfort.

Thanks, Fun, since they are not too far from me, I think I will.

Meanwhile, a few tweaks and a question. Tweak one - I want more brown. I moved the hide to the LR area and left the floor in the DR bare for now. I switched out the graphite chinoiserie pillows (but hope to use that fabric elsewhere) for brown pillows.

Question. I really dislike selecting art. I need something large over the sofa wall. Is two mirrors in one open LR/DR room too much? This one will reflect the windows so that is always a good thing.

Am I creating an interesting mix or a mess?

How does the mirror look with the sconces?

I love, love these recent changes. I think the hide rug is perfect, and will add some nice texture under the lucite table. And the brown pillows are beautiful. I really like the new chairs--I think the scale is better than the curved chairs. I would not hesitate to put that mirror over the couch--especially considering the reflection of the view. Fun raises a good point about the sconces though.

Do you have a photograph or two from your travels that you especially like? Would you consider having them enlarged and framed to fit over the sofa? You could use a warm wood frame to pick up the other warm browns you are adding.

I would only do one mirror and a large art piece. I saw this last Friday and thought of you but did not post.

gallery_services_birmingham

Artist Feature | Jeff Koehn

Jeff Koehn’s style has evolved from photo-realism with pastels in portraits to oil and acrylics, focusing on the excitement of color and texture.

Influenced by Vermeer’s use of light scattered across his paintings and John Singer Sargent’s lush portraits, Koehn achieves his soft yet bold, versatile and distinctive painting style. He has enjoyed an immediate and enthusiastic reception in the gallery community!

I was going to say the only thing I dread more than selecting art is buying rugs. Both can make or break a room, both tend to be very expensive (at least everything I end up liking(, and both I tire of easily.

But actually rugs are better because you can always cop out with sisal (which I do all the time).

Allison, sweet of you to think of me. I'm just not sure what I want here at all.

Fun, the issue with that is I don't think any of our photos are of the quality that you could blow up, so then you are talking gallery wall. I don't want to do a gallery wall, I think it will feel too busy given the Wall of Orange.

Thanks, Teeda. I think it was Allison who mentioned that the organic shape of hide would provide a little interest/relief since otherwise my LR area is all squares and rectangles pretty much. I forgot about the sconces, duh. They match the chandy. Think Rococo modern.

What I might do is a single, large, b/w photo. Something from the (historic) neighborhood, No too pretty, maybe from the 60s/70s. In a modern frame. In a prefect world, maybe white matting and then a thick lucite frame in chocolatey brown --- does that exist?

I guess even a wood frame could be modern if it is very simple. Something like this (tho not this particular b/w photo)

Didn’t you have some professional photographs taken of the landscape at one of your houses? Why not use one of those in a simple frame? Another option would be a print of some sort like this one that is referential.

@ mtnrdredux_gw What are your hobbies and interests? Do you love horses or dogs or big cats or cactus or flowers or bicycles or motorcycles, antique cars or insects or fishing? Have you traveled anywhere interesting? What could make your art personal? It doesn't have to be a picture you took, but something that means something to you.

“He thought they looked like something Uday and Qusay would pick.”

I was going to say Early Bordello but U and Q works too (practically the same thing).

I really like the way the hide works in the room -- hope it works as well in reality!

What are your hobbies and interests? Do you love horses or dogs or big cats or cactus or flowers or bicycles or motorcycles, antique cars or insects or fishing?

Hmm, hobbies.

Have you traveled anywhere interesting? Yes. 86 countries now I think.🙂But we don't use a serious camera and so won't have images that can really be blown up. The space between the sconces is 6' wide and the ceiling is 10' high so I need something fairly big. Also, I don't want a gallery wall because the room is already busy, and I have a gallery wall going up elsewhere.

What could make your art personal? It doesn't have to be a picture you took, but something that means something to you. All of my personal art is in one of my other homes or will be used for the gallery wall.

I think I will go with B/W images or prints of some kind, I have a few ideas. But I was looking at a set of pagodas and I thought "they'd look better in torotise shell." So now I have decided on that. Leave it to me to select the frames first.

Love:

Mtn, instead of B&W prints would you consider sepia toned prints of the city in which it’s located? They could be historic or current views. The historical society may have / sell prints or you could find them online. And maybe do several framed alike, a group of four, for example, which to my thinking is not at alll the same as a gallery wall. I would love to see brown and white in that room and it would def be a fresh take on modern views of whatever city it is if you did’nt want historic ones.

Yes, exactly what ive already done. GMTA. i just need to decide how/if i want to tweak the coloring on them and which four i like, There are also line drawings avail, both old and modern.

I guess I should have read your last post before I made my suggestion (smacks forehead). Love the tortoiseshell frames!

Teruhide Kato: contemporary ukiyo-e

Congrats, Mtn! Wishing you and the fam happy times at the new place. Looks like you have landed the perfect balance of city and seaside.

Love the orange wall and loving the process—fun to watch and very inspiring!

Pal, wayyyyy to adventuresome for me. : )

Have you collected anything in your travels you could frame? https://thecollectivedallas.com/collections/the-love-shop/products/custom-framed-vintage-saucers?

I don't actually collect anything, alas. And as far as art related to travel, I have done that in Maine and I am really happy with how it looks. I bought two 1920's atlases and framed a page for all of the places we have visited. It covers a wall and then some. So I am not really interested in travel-related art.

As mentioned, the historical society has plentiful examples, both photos and illustrations, that I like. I might also look at contemporary photos, not sure. I am only sure I want tortoise!

Linda Yoshizawa

Like I said, art is hard. It is either hotel generic, or very taste specific. Worse yet, DH and I want to choose something we both like.

I've pretty much decided, as described above.

Thanks everyone for trying though!

The good news is, everyone has been very helpful and I have nailed down a lot of things since I started this thread!

If your city has an online photo archive, you may find something as specific as your own building.

We have photos of our last place because the house next door was featured in an architectural journal in the 1880s, and a picture of it in the early 1960s when it was possibly threatened with demolition. We have photos of our current house when it was an empty lot surrounded by decaying early 19th c. houses, and soon after it was built.

Yes, I have found several shots of our street, our building, parks, etc, over the years, avail digitally, both thru the HS and the library.

I love this idea and really love the frames!

A thought -- take it or leave it -- but more modern photography/art will leverage different crops or vantage points of a building, etc. Since you will have images to work with, you can do unexpected closeups of an architectural detail or a a tree or landmark, whatever .... or tilt it slightly.

I find these kinds of touches to quickly make a good photo or image more interesting/striking and more modern-- ymmv -- and as with all things, it takes the right touch.

Tortoise Frames - perfection in bringing the wood tones together and adding some depth. Such a finishing touch. Absolutely love these!

Yes - love those frames!

I think you need cows. This one is 3’ x 3’.

Nice - that bovine artwork would really enhance the wood tones in the room.

Cows and ginger jars. Bull in a china shop?lol

Such a blatant Audubon "ripoff"

Cow art doesn’t do it for me… DH grew up on a cattle farm and when we met in college he had one thing on his wall—a poster of an enormous Angus bull. It was an advertisement for Angus beef. I could see right away that I had my work cut out for me 😎

Ignore the monkeys. id put donethin simple in the frames.

showing horizontal with somethjng simpler over top

“ id put donethin simple” - I love this.

edited to remove my comment about current affairs so this thread stays around.

Ks, I was kidding. I have a giant cow painting in my kitchen.

I am absolutely no help whatsoever but this website may have something that would interest you...

I love those frames WITH the monkeys. Don't yell at me.