Good deal for those items! They're very nice!

I'm not real great at this either but...

I'd probably lower the pictures a bit and more them closer together so there's only a small gap between. You'll have room on the sides to use lamps then if you want. The ones you describe sound like it would make the arrangement more formal. Maybe a traditional style dark lamp with a burlap shade? Try adding items that have a natural/organic feel. I think some texture in there would be nice.

What do you like?
Do you collect anything?
Do you have a number of similar items that you use but store away?
You have a good start.

How about adding a plain white soup tureen in the middle of the buffet?

Or perhaps a couple of tall dark wood candlesticks on one side with plain white candles?

Or a large plain white ironstone platter -- with some pinecones for the winter season?

Or a white bowl with pinecones?

Could you place a lamp there? :)

Just some thoughts! :)

Really pretty buffet and artworks!

Well your good shopper & good taste genes seem to be intact.

What great deals. I am getting a Sarah Richardson kind of vibe. Do you have accessories we can choose from?

"I have these great solid white marble urn styled lamps I picked up also,"

Pic please!

Nice finds! For clean and understated I don't think you could go wrong with the previously mentioned ironstone tureen or bowl flanked by pewter candlesticks.

I love this niche and everything about it.
I think a soup tureen would be perfect.
I'm in love with everything Gien France.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Fabulous finds! I love burled wood and think the details on the sideboard are wonderful.

Yes, please post the lamps. They may be too big or too tall, but perhaps a change of harps and/or shades may be all that's required. If they're too imposing, what about a pair of hurricane candleholders with large
pillars on either end and a low white plate with green apples, oranges or Teacat's pinecones. Alternatives might be a pair or bouilotte lamps or a silver tray with decanters on one side and a striking plant on the other or a white pitcher filled with casablanca lilies and a grouping of candlesticks. Lots of possibilities that can be simply elegant. I'd try to keep a low profile on anything placed in the center since the scroll detail is quite nice. I bet you have lots of possibilities on hand from previous scores.

I'm sure the lamps won't work at all, so to save you the trouble of trying shades and harps, you should just send them to me.

That buffet was $25?? Good grief! And I thought I was a bargain shopper! Fabulous score on that, and I adore the framed butterflies! Can I go shopping with you?

Wonderful finds, good for you!!!

Bumblebeez...perfect!

Beautiful finds, Zipdee. I adore the butterflies! Love the cream tureen BB mocked up. Imagine it flanked by a pair of charming, old candlesticks in maybe pewter or silver! Love the nook...what a neat feature, and your new server fits there perfectly!

I think that I just had a When Harry Met Sally 'diner scene' moment when I saw your buffet.

I am breathless.

WOW, can you shop for me please....beautiful pieces!

I agree with shee, about moving the pictures down and closer together to make room at the ends for tall items.

Wow! I love the buffet and the prints. Great finds for amazing prices!

Thank so much for the help everyone! I tried to put together a few pictures below using everyones suggestions.

Auctions are a ton of fun. Not all of my finds are steals, although overall I end up paying way below 'retail' for antiques and vintage pieces this way. My four biggest auction tips for getting great scores are have a buddy to go with you, dress for the weather, bring your own chairs and have patience. I can't tell you how many times I get great stuff toward the end of the auction because 3/4 of the people have left since they were under/over dressed, uncomfortable or bored. I go with my husband and we have an awesome time.

Bumblebeez .. thank you so much for the mock-ups! The tureens look great. The only ironstone tureen I have on hand is on the smallish size. I snapped it in some pics below plus some other things I have here. As far as collections, I have kind of eclectic tastes. I love old pictures and have a lot of them, a lot of are groups. Like a group photo of local textile mill workers, local history photos are my favorites.

Here's some pics of a few things :

Tureen with hurricanes :

Tureen with wood candelsticks, all of my silver are larger three stick holders :

{{!gwi}}

Marble lamps, now these I paid a bit more for .. $125 for the pair.

The shades I either need to redo or find new :

More things I have around the house :

Ironstone platters, faux brass bamboo tray, large hurricane ... I have bags full of beautiful colored sea shells from our trip waiting to be put out :

Just more shopping in different rooms :

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

A few good buys I from a recent auction. When a good deal of the ladies showed up under dressed on a very cold and blustery day .. I knew the house/decorating pickings at the end would be good.

Large framed Print, $15

Hand stitched, perfect condition, vintage quilt $50 ...

I really like the the soup tureen and taller wooden candlesticks shown in picture 2. Have you thought about trying the plate and stand in picture 11 in lieu of the soup tureen, even though the tureen is very lovely. I also recommend if you have several very small pictures they be placed in a horizontal row under the larger butterfly pictures.

The large framed print and quilt are exquisite.

These pieces are wonderful. What a clever shopper you are!

I like the third picture down, your own small tureen and slimmer candles in metal holders on either side. IMO the proportions and materials are just right. Usually my taste is not so matchy-matchy, but here I think it's a must. And three well-chosen items will reference the three pictures nicely. Your lamps are beautiful, but not for this setting, again just my opinion.

That buffet is so stunning, I'd keep everything simple.

Walnut?? I would have thought that was mahogany. It's just beautiful and would look so good in MY house ;))

I lack the same gene so I'll leave the advice to this who don't, but... As much as I love the butterflies, I think you could get buy with a more substantial print. Then keep the accessories simple.

You could put a flora arrangement in the center. Something done out of good quality silk flowers. It would add color and interest.
I think your own soup tureen is too small. You need something with some size to it. Even with the candlesticks you have it looks too unfinished.

Your cream tureen is a beauty...I love it! Such a pretty shape. I like the candlesticks too.

I don't think you are missing a gene, I think you're doing great. I understand how it's easy to think that way after looking at photos of rooms in magazines that are so often over-accessorized! The eye gets trained to see lots of stuff everywhere, so when you gravitate toward a "less is more" approach, you can be left with the feeling that something is wrong or something is missing. Imo, you demonstrate restraint and good taste!

I like the way you haven't over-stuffed your bookshelves too. The bead-board panel is a beautiful feature to leave exposed a bit the way you have.

Your accessories are so fun to look at. Like every one might have an interesting story.

Here is what I would try.

I would hang the butterflies closer together (about 2" apart) and about 3-4" lower. Add one marble lamp one one side and an assortment of like minded candlesticks on the other. Step back and see if the Foo dog needs to sit in the center.

You did say $25 not $250 for that piece right?

I agree with dee and shee about moving the plates closer together and lower down. I would also try mounting the large gold plate above the pictures as well since you would then have an empty space above. Tureen in the center below, a group of candlesticks off to one side or a single lamp (which ever looks better) with perhaps a stack of books or greenery to the other side.

zipdee-

Lovely pieces, especially those lamps, they are stunning. I can see a runner, sort of modern, bold and colorful to stand out against the wood.

As a "layerer", I would, ahem, use a lot of what you posted; the brass tray, which picks up the gold in the butterfly prints, at least one of the lamps, the cool carved dragon, the tureen, all the candlesticks and probably a few more of the other "house shopping" pieces you posted.

You have a lot of symmetry going on with the pics and the buffet, so I don't think you need your accessories to be symmetrical as well, but that's just my personal preference, you have to do what works for you.

Happy arranging-

sandyponder

Here is a link that might be useful: Etsy

What a fabulous find! $25?!?!? What luck!

I am a fan of Gien France (our wedding china is Toscana), too.

I actually picture seasonal flowers in a silver bowl or vase to one side of the smaller soup tureen and an arrangement of your candleholders on the other side. That is such a wonderful piece that I wouldn't put too much on it to take away from the details of the woodwork. jmo

I love the butterfly prints and the marble lamps.

I would put the marble lamps on each side as you have them, centering them over the center of the side doors of the buffet. Not sure about the shape of this shade, but I think the fabric is wonderful for the lamps, and in the gold print there are subtle butterflies. The grey is a rich color and would work with the marble, and add some depth:

grey silk shade

Once the lamps are in place, you can judge how much the prints need to come it toward the center. Right now they are too far apart, imo, plus the addition of the shades will hide too much of the outside pix as they are hung currently.

Then a lovely tureen or cachepot holding a beautiful butterfly orchid, some moss, and a few grey river rocks amid the moss, to sit at the center of the buffet.

Lovely buffet, butterflies, accessories...everything, actually!

I agree with many of the other suggestions: I would move the prints closer together and put the lamps on either side. I would actually leave the center of the buffet bare so that you can see the beautiful detail at the back edge.

I love everything you have picked up and for that price I am sooo jealous! I never have that kind of luck. I would try the two lamps with a barrel/drum type shade and try hanging the butterflies vertically in a row between the two lamps. This may sound weird but I think it would keep the eye level. However, I just looked back and I don't think three will fit vertically keeping along the same line as the lamps with even taller shades. Maybe hang two horizontally and one centered underneath the other two, yet still all centered between the lamps. The void on each side of the lower picture would allow a two taller items on the buffet within the lamps or allow something else to hang on each side of the lower picture. I don't know if any of this is making sense. I would however, definately keep a platter or toureen or bowl there in the center of the buffet though with those wonderful shells in it.

zipdee, I always thought you had the accessorizing gene- from seeing what you have already done. That niche looks suspiciously like the one that you had the 3 jadeite green metal cabs. Please tell me they are still in place.:)

a) For now: A vote for the white tureen (sitting on an angle and on the largest white platter) placed on the right-hand side on the buffet. Open the tureen and fill with pine cones.

Plus the two glass candleholders and white candles sitting together on the left-hand side.

Leaving the center area open.

b) Or simply the tureen (open with pine cones sitting on the large white platter) in the center.

c) LOVE the lamps -- when you find shades (white for the summer or dark ones for now) -- those will look wonderful on the buffet! You could leave the center area open then -- or simply add the large white platter with some seasonal items (white smooth stones? pine cones? some herbs in a white pot?)

Thank you so much everyone for the fantastic ideas! I've saved this post and I'm going to do a lot of rearranging until I find a winner next week. I'll update how I make out. The girls have been out of school for the whole week, so time has been sparse here.

Stinky .. thanks for the vote of confidence that I'm not lacking the gene. The bookcases are a work in progress, as I find stuff it gets added, I need to find a good box of old and interesting books to add to the mix soon.

CB .. that is the same niche, but don't worry the jadeite cabinets will be making a new appearance in a different room. Soon as said room is finished I'll share their new home. :)