At first I thought I really liked the clock and then I decided the plates are lovely.

Could you combine the two? Maybe take away the big plate and put the clock in its place?

I'm no expert but, how about.....

A large clear hurricane candle holder with a pillar candle on the left along with one of the compotes.

On the right side, the other compote placed on 3 thick books to raise it up and then the clock placed slightly in front and to the side of the stacked books .

Beautiful chest; I love the wood and the lines of the piece.

The arrangement with the clock is my personal favorite! :)

IF you want a bit of a change -- simply place the clock on a small silver tray .....maybe round or oval ....

Another lover of symmetery here! :)

Jan

Maybe a gold runner like your picture frame would tie any of your choises together? The wood of your cabinet is so beautiful and seascapes are my favorite weakness so I'm delighted to see such a lovely peaceful one! All your items are pretty and that's a great idea, the compote baby tears!

I would not use both compotes. I liked monablair's idea for something larger on the left side. My eye also wanted to see something taller there. I'd use one compote on that side by the tall item, then something shorter--the red box maybe?

I liked the tray idea also--if you use the china items, I think just the coffe pot cream and sugar would look nice on a tray together.

If you use the red tapers, I'd put them next to each other--perhaps raising one up, rather than putting them on opposing sides of the buffet.

I like symmetry alot also, but sometimes asymmetry with balance can be more interesting.

Thank you all for your responses. Playing around with your ideas was easier than rearranging furniture as some must do. Pictures are below.

Aktillery, the clock was too small to take the place of the plate and leave the other items there. But now, after reading the other responses about the clock, I think I might start looking for a more suitable timepiece. The one shown lives elsewhere  if I use it here, then I have to replace it anyway.

Monablair: you've help with my symmetry problem. The candle is a bit Christmas sparkley, but you get the idea. Is this what you meant about placement of the clock and raised compote? I like the upwardness of it.

Teacats, here are two trays. You're right, it does set the clock off and dresses it up a bit.

Bodica, I don't have any runner to show, but I'll be heading in that direction this weekend. The porcelain doesn't look quite right with the clock, and I'd like to try fitting it in.

Vickey: I've just now read your e-mail as I was about to post this. I'm going to try out your suggestions tomorrow.

Now why can't I take a level picture?

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I like the photo with the little baby's tears on top of the books.

I hope I'm not insulting you when I ask this, but are those live plants? I ask because I'm trying to figure out how they live. Do they live long and how do you care for them? What are their lighting requirements? Can you tell I love them? They are so pretty.

Placing the clock on the rectangular tray really sets it all off nicely.

Here are a couple of ideas -
coffeepot and hurricane on the left, with creamer centered in front of them, clock on tray in center, then raised compote and other compote with red box or small china piece centered in front of them. Your green vase might take the place of the hurricane if you make it taller - either sitting on something or adding some greenery. The vase might work better than the coffeepot also.

Now I've forgotten what my other idea was! You've got some nice pieces to work with. I think the most interesting arrangements have varied heights and are asymmetrical but still balanced.

Naturally I vote for the arrangements with the trays!! ((wink wink LOL!)) I really do like the way that either one of the trays really sets off the pretty clock!

JUST a thought -- I wonder if you took the round tray -- put it upright in the plate stand from one of the earlier photos -- and placed it behind the clock ..... not sure about this -- just a thought --- hmmmmmm .....

Jan

While I can appreciate symmetrical arrangements, I almost always do asymmetrical myself. Seem more interesting to me. You have a lot of nice things to play with so just keep having fun with this. I love the seascape.

Some suggestions to try:
~place the coffee pot, cream, and sugar on a tray and put them on one side of center. Use the candles together on an angle on the other side. One of the plants in the center. You have to use your eye to balance the 3 things - consider the 2 candles together as one thing. I'd probably get candles in one of the colors of the seascape for this vignette. I would not use red near this seascape.
~place the clock on 3 books to give it more importance and the plants on either side as you have it in the 2nd pic.
~both plants on one side with one of them elevated on the stack of books placed on an angle, hurricane on the other side with a plate in the center. I think you could use a different plate which is more decorative.

You can move things in or out to create balance in a vignette. If you consider that every item has a "weight" you will get it right. Brighter/darker colors are heavier than clear glass/light colors. Larger items of course are heavier. Playing with vignettes is a lot of fun. Look at as many pics as you can. I was hopeless when I started but am slowly improving, altho still learning. :-)

I meant something like this. The hurricane candle chould be larger (about 14-15" tall) and have a footed base and the compote should be raised to nearly the matching height (about 12" high). Place the clock closer to the raised compote, but not in the center of the flat surface.

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I would first move the art down about half the distance that is there now between it and the buffet.

I like the greenery in the compotes. Use those on either side, and then find a silver tray that is large enough to hold the teapot, creamer and sugar bowl and use those in the center.

I love the suggestions above, you'll have to show us what you come up with
as your favorite. I would use off white candles, not red though.

This is not my forte, but I wanted to say how much I love your beautiful chest and that gorgeous painting. Also, seems like things are placed only toward the back of the chest. I'd like to see some variety in the depth of the arrangement as well as in the height, as Mona showed.

I don't have specific suggestions for items to put on the chest but I here are some tips that might help. These came from notes I took at a Pottery Barn decorating workshop. The topic for the session was arranging objects on a credenza or chest:
1. First consider the function of the table. Include items that need to be there.
2. Repeat objects. (Like your silver compotes)
3. Use an odd number of objects.
4. Variety: vary the height of the objects, use a variety of textures, vary the size and shape of the objects.
5. Add a touch of color.
6. Incorporate organic objects (like the baby tears)

In this seminar they made an arrangement on top of a credenza. The decorator started with the tallest object in the center and added from the center out. The idea was to have the height of the objects form a triangle. Since you don't want to cover up your painting you could make two triangles on each side, like Monablair shows in her drawing.

andee

LOVE THAT CHEST - just my style, love it!

I like how others are rearranging - I'll add:
- Can you post a pic of entire room? that would help
- Have you considered a mirror over the chest?
- If not agree w/Les try moving it down a bit
and agree w/mitch (how could i not? ;) - re: red - to use an off white candle - I think it is because of the blues in the artwork
Can you post a pic of your inspiration photo, that would help a lot
Looking good

You all have been amazingly helpful. I worked on each suggestion each of you made. Some I wasn't able to execute. For example, I will buy the right size hurricane candle holder but nothing I have now simulates it correctly  I know I will use it, if not for this then in the summer when it will all change. I lowered the painting; there must have been five holes behind it, but none in the exact spot that Les suggested. Some of the suggestions didn't work right IRL and so the pictures aren't included here, and some looked good in IRL but the pictures somehow did not do justice. The inspiration picture had no context  it was a tiny picture of the compote and plant only, but I recognized the compote as mine. And thank you for all the general decorating tips  I will try to learn to apply them.

Brutuses: I bought the real baby tears plants a few weeks ago for this project. They are in the original plastic pots with a plastic pot plate underneath, fitting perfectly in the compote. They are moisture and humidity-loving and prefer bright filtered light. They are now next to a south-facing window with sheer curtains and seemingly thriving. I have to water them every couple of days.

Jejvtr: my DR is not ready for viewing yet! IÂm working on it but it's not at the stage where I can ask a coherent question. I have a mirror that is perfect for the dresser, but it is so massive that it projects too much from the wall when hung. So it looks quite ugly from the two main entrances to the DR which are to the left in my pictures. Maybe I should rearrange the DR Â later.

Someone asked for my favorite. I'm not sure yet, but DH weighed in for using the china. I'm definitely in the market for a larger new clock and a collection of different-height candlestick holders, maybe for summer. In the meantime, I put the clock back in its original home with the rectangular silver tray underneath. Looks really nice. Here are some additional pictures if you're curious about the results.
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Can you try something taller? I'd like a candlestick or vase that is as high as 2/3 as tall as the picture.

When I first saw your picture, I believed the seascape was the focal point, but now I don't know where to look. I think I'm having trouble relating the items to each other.