Take my advice with a grain of salt as I'm not a big fan of Rembrandt *gasp* and prefer the Impressionists. I find a lot of his work to impart a foreboding feeling and I'll jump all the way to Edvard Munch if that's what I'm looking for. :)

That being said, I love the Renoir and think you could find another along those lines or even an Impressionist's landscape. The colors don't have to match, in fact, IMO, art looks better with some variation.

Do you have another place for the Rembrandt? I think it would look better paired with some darker wood, rather than the lighter look you have going on in your dining room.

The DR with the BC floor is the darkest room in the house as well as the most traditional/formal. The Rembrandt repro was done by my DB who is an art teacher at U of Greensboro, given to me as a wedding present and packed away for the last 16 years. I never hung *any* artwork in my old house, so really have to hang it in the new house.

Given the subject matter (The Jewish Bride), would it be appropriate in the MBR? We have Shaker natural cherry (12 years old so darkened a little) and ORB in there. I was just concerned that the painting was too "formal" esp. with the gold frame for the clean lines of the BR.

If I am going to find another painting/print to hang next to the Renoir, should it be in similar frame and be another vertically-oriented portrait?

I could also keep the Rembrandt in the DR and hang the Renoir somewhere else, in which case same question - I have a thicker bronze-look frame, horizontal mounting, should I look for still life or portrait (another Rembrandt) to put in it? Does it matter that one is a painting and the other a print behind glass? (I would love to get a print of Girl with a Pearl Earring, even though that's a vertical portrait.)

I'm out the door but will check back later.

When I clicked on a the link to your paintings, your photobucket popped up. Thought I saw a large piece of dark furniture.

"If I am going to find another painting/print to hang next to the Renoir, should it be in similar frame and be another vertically-oriented portrait?" I think it would be *easier* if you did a similar frame/size. The subject matter wouldn't have to be the same. You could do a still life or a landscape, if you'd prefer. The change would be nice unless you carry symmetry to the extreme, which it doesn't sound like you do.

Not trying to be too much of a smartarse, but is the guy in the Rembrandt painting, uh, "copping a feel?" ;-) To me, that painting would be more at home in the MBR than the dining room. I'm not so sure about the other in the DR either. It's not so much that the two pieces are so disparate that they won't work together -- I just don't quite envision them working in your DR and think you can do much better.

The Rembrandt looks like it needs a bigger frame. I like it but I don't think it looks like the right picture for next to the Renoir.

Copping a feel LOL Jen I originally thought he was just touching her heart...but that was probably the line in the old days :oP

Personally...I don't hang people pictures in a dining room. That's a room better reserved for landscapes or other representations. People belong in the other people rooms :) It's an old tradition (no people in the dining room pics) but still one you see many adhear to today.

I'd like to see something with much more soft color in it, ie a landscape with florals soft pastels etc., since I think it will flow so much better with what you have going in the dining room.

Hey, he's allowed, he's the groom (I assume)!

I don't know about portraits in DR either, but I need something in there to hide the misplaced electrical, and I need to hang the wedding present. i just bought the print at Goodwill, I could sell it on CL but then I'm back to reinstalling the sconces and either centering the table b/t them (and having the chandy off-center) or leaving the table where it is and hoping people don't notice the one sconce that's 6" closer to the center of the room than it's supposed to be?

I do have an old (20 yr) cheap print no glass in a thin oak frame with wide mat, some pink tones. I bought it b/c it reminded me of Italy. Was going to hang it in DD's room. I'll post pics later. Right now going to MotoPhoto to get my great-grandma's photo copied - guess I can't hang her pic in DR even if I shadowbox her wedding dress and hang it (least light in that room)?

How about hanging a large mirror in the dining room?

Is there still an electrical box in there? Or is it now just a hole in the wall? Do you want to move the box (or put one in) where the blue tape is? I ask because if there is no electrical box where you don't want it, then you can flawlessly repair the wall and don't have to worry about forcing pictures in places that might not be right for them.

Hanging TWO pictures is always a problem, unless they are a pair of something.

Two dissimilar pictures produces a visual ping-pong effect -- your eye bounces back and forth between them and doesn't know where to land.

IMO, this would be a great place for a threesome --

Maybe something like these:

igloo, I hadn't heard that before (the no people pictures in the dining room rule), but now that I think of it, I guess I haven't seen many people pictures in dining rooms ...not to hijack the thread, but I'm wondering if this "rule" carries over to portrait plates? I have a fairly extensive collection of antique plates all illustrated with ladies' faces/busts that I planned to hang in our dining room...I figured they would be appropriate because they were plates, but are they a no-no because of the people aspect?

Don't make it harder for me! I was originally planning on hanging the Rembrandt b/t the sconces, went looking for another pic to cover both boxes (yes they are still there) and now you want me to get 3 similar pictures? :0

Wel, this leads to the root of the problem - I think I've posted this before, but don't remember seeing answers. I planned the DR and had the builder put in the chandy allowing for off-center placement of table and china cabinet along one wall. This gives plenty of space for chairs to be pulled out. Only problem is, when I decided to add sconces and emailed the builder "one on stair wall 4.5ft from corner, another on garage wall 4.5ft from corner, so across from the first, and another one on the garage wall 4.5ft from the other." it turned into all 3 4.5ft from the closest corner, which means that the pair are only 4ft apart, and the chandy is not centered b/t them. I didn't notice (forgot that I had placed chandy offcenter, it had been about a year and a half from the time of the email until the floor was laid) until the floor was laid - in a concentric "picture frame" pattern centered in the room. I had wanted herringbone but installer said that was too hard with prefinished and suggested this instead. So, do I move the one sconce to where I wanted it, and have the floor (which may not always be covered by the rug) be offcenter, or do I move the chandy and table to the center of the room (and maybe the buffet server to b/t the windows to balance the china), even though that cuts down the space by 18 inches? Can't do anything right away since we just had the ceilings repainted last year and DH would kill me if we have to patch and paint the DR/foyer ceiling yet again anytime soon.

Oh, here's what I was going to post - one is that landscape I was talking about but don't think it's right for DR (even though the colors look pretty with the green walls)

The other is a photo of my great-grandma I just got digital image of (hi-res photo cost me $25 for photographer and $5 for CD). I could print this out in any size I want once I find a frame I like. I was thinking of shadowboxing her wedding dress and hanging it in the DR b/t the windows so it wouldn't be exposed to light, thought it might be nice to have big portrait of her on another wall but that violates the "rule"?

Wait, wait -- There's definitely not a rule that says you "can't" hang portraits in the dining room. Heck, I've got (let's see - trying to count without being there) -- at least six paintings or photos that depict people's faces in my DR. It's entirely personal preference.

It wasn't because they're portraits (or otherwise depict people) that I'm not feelin' the two original pieces. I just thought you could do better. How lovely it would be to showcase the beautiful portrait of your great-grandma! That would do wonders to really give your DR a personality that's warm and meaningful, much more so than any Rembrandt or Renoir could ever impart. :-)

Thanks auntjen - I would love to have her in there (will definitely have a print made and hang her somewhere in my house once i find a frame I like). I was originally thinking LR for her since it's a copy, not an antique photo. But it would be nice to have her in DR if I put her dress there (just b/c it's the darkest room and would be better off there). I wish I had a photo of great-grandpa, but since I don't, I still have the problem of trying to hide the misplaced electrical boxes - I was thinking of hanging the dress b/t the windows, not at the head of the table.

Oh yes - I forgot to add that I think hanging her dress in a shadowbox frame in the DR would be wonderful! It would really bring home the whole feeling of family and history that I think most folks strive for around the dining table! A large antique-style mirror with a somewhat ornate frame might be nice on the wall where you're trying to hide the box. Some people don't like "watching themselves eat", but mirrors are fairly traditional in dining rooms.

To hide both boxes I'd need a mirror that was 5ft long! Could I hang the shadowbox and the photo next to each other, one over each box, if I found coordinating frames (would need at largest 16x20 to go original size of photo, so dress would have to be folded in half)? That wall does get some sun if I open the blinds, but if I put the dress over the electrical box closer to the china cabinet, it really wouldn't too much sun from either kitchen window or the DR windows, even if I had the shades up in the afternoon - those windows face west and we have a 7 ft deep porch.

Maybe I could put a somewhat ornate antique mirror over the buffet where I hung the pictures to take these photos? I have an old oak mirror but it's very plain and darker than the furniture, I was going to put it in the PR over the washstand. Should I put a picture light over any of them (not the dress) just so I have some light besides chandy (my original plan was to put chandy on dimmer and use sconces for ambient light)?

Don't discount tall rectangular mirrors that are made to be hung vertically. You could hang it horizontally. Most of them are taller than 5 feet!

Ajsmama, could you post a picture of the wall with the outlets? I do remember you previous post about this. It might be really easy to move one or both of the sconce boxes so you can put up a mirror and sconces like you had originally planned. This is a pretty easy DIY project as long as you are not moving it very far.

I love the idea of putting the photo of your grandmother and the framed wedding dress in the dining room. If you still needed more on the wall you could also use the print of the little girl. Timewise that little girl could be your grandmother as a child.

Can you have the outlets moved to where they were supposed to ghave been, and then have the sconces centered on the table and chandelier?

Then hange the lovely photo of your Great-Grandmother between the sconces. She is a very beautiful woman.

The last picture in the first post is probably the best picture I can get of the wall with the misplaced sconces - the one that has to move is open hole, with blue tape to the left of it where it was supposed to be. The other is behind one of the chandy lights at this angle. Unfortunately, once I saw the room with furniture in it, I realized that a picture hanging b/t the sconces would also be obscured by the chandy (unless maybe you're sitting at the table).

I'll try to stand at the foot of the table tomorrow and take another picture so you can see both sconce locations. I can't believe I never caught this on the plans!

Question is not could I move the sconce, but should I? Since I compounded the builder's error by laying the floor in a pattern centered on the room, should I leave the sconces centered and move the chandy (whenever we repaint the ceilings - maybe a medallion would hide the current hole and we could move it now?), which would mean moving the table closer to the windows than it is to the china cabinet, and maybe even moving the small buffet server to b/t the windows since it is the same depth as the china cabinet? That would just make it harder to move around the table and pull out chairs, since the room is only 13 ft wide.

Thank you for the compliments on my great-grandmother. Now we know where we all got our blue eyes from (except DD - she got some hazel combo from my blue and DH's green)!

Oh, found this pic of floor - so you can see the pattern. The other sconce location is what looks like a shadow behind the right-most glass shade. The floor is centered b/t them, the chandy is off-center.

Here's view from kitchen showing both sconce locations on the back wall. They're 4ft apart, center to center, 6" diameter. They're centered in the 13' 1/2" wide room, but the chandy is 6'11.5" from the china cabinet wall, so is offcenter by 5.5". The left sconce should have been 6" to left where blue tape is to have the chandy more or less (off by fraction of an inch) centered b/t them.

Of course, I complicated things by the floor pattern (forgot about chandy being off) so what do I do now?

Sorry, just worked out the numbers again (I did place the blue tape correctly in Sept after the floor was laid and we moved the furniture in), the sconce needs to move about 10-10.5" since the distance b/t the chandy and the one sconce is 29" and the other is only about 18.5" (I have to check if the room is really 13' 1/2" as they said on plans or if it's 13ft exactly, and I specified 6'11" from one wall but think I measured 6' 11.5" as actual back in Sept. Anyway, the chandy didn't look *too* offcenter from the floor when we laid it, but once the rug and table were cented under it the one sconce looked really off.)

I think 10" is too much to move the sconce without ripping up the wall b/t them and running new wire - usually only have 6" of slack in wiring, and I do need a couple of inches to connect any fixture. Not sure if I could pull existing wire through studs (might be stapled) and at any rate it's probably not long enough. Would have to fish new wire between the sconces if I moved one (down to basement and up again might be easier than straight across).

Moving the chandy 5" or so might be easier.

How about these to cover the sconce locations? Then maybe my great-grandma's photo over server where the Renoir is right now?

Here is a link that might be useful: giclees