wow beautiful room. I like the portrait of the child over the buffet better than the landscape. Keep the two lamps where they were and remove the plates overhead. I love the colors of the painting, buffet and lamps together. The plates are overkill and detract from the composition. I'd put the landscape painting over the bed and find another place for the pair of sepia prints. But I'm not a decorator so this is just my novice opinion!

Wow! Beautiful home! I love the rooms and your furniture (DROOL!!)
I agree with flyingflower. I like that landscape pic over your bed too. I'm not crazy about the white plates arcing over the portrait either---it takes away.

That little shadow box to the left of the bed hangs low compared to the metal platter on the right side of the bed. I know the baby outfit is special to you but I don't think it works where you've placed it. I wonder how things would look if you put the landscape over the bed and then flanked it on either side of the bed posts with each of the sepia prints, hung lower than the height of the landscape frame. These sepia prints can also hang vertically somewhere in the room.

Not sure where to move the plates too, be careful you don't clutter the walls with too much stuff. With ornate decor you don't need a lot of wall decor to add interest to the room. Remember, less is more.

I think the oil painting would look fine above the bed, but I am not crazy about the brassy finish. I would repaint the frame more of a bronze/brown color. Maybe paint the base brown or black and rub some bronze paint in the crevises to give it a warmer look. The existing prints above the bed are too far apart, should you decide to keep them there, they need to be closer together. I would move them and stack them a few inches above each other on another smaller wall. I do prefer the portrait above the credenza. The lamps look slightly crowded on top. Candlestick or single shade lamps would be a better choice, and I would raise the portrait a few inches higher (which would mean the plates would have to move). Can you move the plates to another place?

I think the landscape would look great above the bed.. and you can send the sepia prints to me!!

I am sure you will find the perfect spot for them somewhere.. they are beautiful. The blue and green colors of the landscape seem to go well with your accent color (at least on my monitor!) in your bedroom. It is such a pretty room.

I love your sitting area!! Would you mind sharing what paint color you used in there? Thanks

I would keep the sepia prints above the bed, they are very nice and restful there.

Would you consider using the landscape over the chaise in the BR, and taking the art that is there now and put it over the buffet? Hard to say, but it seems like that might be a better size for the buffet. I am not crazy about the plates up there, they seem too pale and lightweight for the heavier art and lamps and cabinet.

I love the child's portrait, but not over the buffet. The portrait feels kind of personal, and hanging over the buffet almost makes it feel like a public shrine or altar. I think in the BR I see a shadowbox on the wall by the bed with a baby outfit - is it from this child? If so, I would try to find a place to hang the two items, perhaps on a side wall in the LR or in a hallway.

Take the medallion items on either side of the LR mirror and try those staggered in heights (one about halfway up the wall to the side of the other) by the bed where the shadowbox was.

I must chime in to add that I agree with everything that Les wrote. My first thought when looking at those two sepias was that they are perfect where they are. Everything in your bedroom is perfectly balanced. Nothing overpowers anything else - one reason your BR works so serenely. The landscape painting over the bed will change that. And personally, I would feel uneasy sleeping under something ao large - but then we live in earthquake country.

Your home is so beautiful. Your taste and delicate sense of color are wonderful!

I also think the sepia prints should stay over the bed. Lovely bedroom. :)

I like the landscape in the bedroom more than I like the sepia prints and I LOVE the child portrait over the buffet.

Laurie

I like the existing prints over the bed, and I like the landscape over the buffet. For some reason, children's portraits have never seemed the right subject matter for dining rooms---rather, they belong in living rooms, up staircases, over mantels, etc. I would not make any of the proposed changes.

I like the idea of a larger pic over the bed and think it would be more restful. Not sure that is the one, though (overall color too similar to the spread) and the size looks maybe a bit too large from here.

Neither of the pics over the buffet sit quite right yet, imo. Both are beautiful pieces and colors for the room, but the landscape looks too wide and horizontal and the child pic too small, for over the buffet, I think. Raising them higher would help, though.

Love, love your house! You do such a beautiful job : ) We got to see your outdoor area not too long ago here, and it is just as beautiful as everything else. Just a lovely, lovely warm home.

I prefer sepia prints over the bed. The landscape is too "expected" if you know what I mean. You probably have some wonderful spot for it elsewhere in your home...

I also really like the child print over your buffet. And that mirror with the unusual from over the settee? Very cool.

Red

I do love the child pic and its coloring in there. Here is it hung higher, w/o the plates.

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A bit higher yet:

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And with the plates, raised pic and more spread out:

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Well, I prefer the landscape over the bed. I think that, with the pieces you have hung over the nightstands and what you have on the nightstands, the two sepia prints make that area look too busy. Have you noticed how, with the two sepia prints, your eye first notices each of the (2) frames, because they're dark against the wide light matting; and then it moves to each of the prints? And then it moves to the two tall bedposts and then back and forth to to each nightstand and what's on and above each of them. Don't get me wrong, the sepia prints are matted and framed wonderfully. I just think you need to simplify the area a bit more.
As for the buffet area, the portrait is lovely there. I'm in agreement with those here who think the plates above it are overkill, though. Each are wonderful, but they take away from the beautiful portrait and busy the area up.

Do yall know how AWESOME you are??!!

Thanks so much:) Customdecorator - the color in both rooms is BM Wilmington Tan.

I did try the landscape over the bed = way too big & busy to me, anyways. The bed has those humps on the headboard so I had to raise it up fairly high on the wall.

Here are a new pics....I like the idea of putting the sepia landscapes closer together.
I took Les' idea of putting the landscape over the chaise - maybe I could get one of those cord covers & paint it the wall color to disguise the cord?
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Moved the shadow box with related pics
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Propped other pic from MB above buffet...(another garage sale find) I really want new lamps - those are too ornate for me. I would love to find some of those old crusty French altar candlesticks...??
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Childs pic on opposite wall
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I think I am most torn about the portrait of son....I do not want it to be like a shrine!! I try to carefully edit alot of his photos around my house....my MB - well, it's just for me & DH. I know lots of people that think they have to put out every pic of their children thru highschool - can't stand that!!

Squirrel, thank you so much for the PS. I like that bowl with the fern in it. This pics for you - this is what the outside area looked like the 1st winter we moved in!!

Thank you all so much for your responses, it really means alot to me.
I did have a designer come to the house....but, I thought with Gardenweb I can get this all done. I hope I don't bug you all too much.
Smiles:)

Johnatemp, as always everything looks beautiful! I like the new print over the buffet. The colors are more muted and seem to fit the buffet well. Have you thought of putting the child portrait where the shadowbox and related pics are now? I see the sepia tones of the portrait and frame working with the sepia prints over yoor bed.

Oh that landscape looks beautiful over your buffet. The colors, size, and shape work very well with it. Much better fit.

Not crazy about the large landscape over the chaise. The size doesn't look right and the frame too bright. It overwhelms, I think. The bed is your focal point.

You've done such a beautiful job with your patio area : )

Great job, Johnatemp! I love the changes you have made. The larger framed piece is great over the buffet, because it has the more subtle tones that are also in the cabinet, plus it brings the height to the area that you needed.

The baby shadowbox is super on that side wall with the two pix in the BR. I think moving your child's portrait to that small wall in the LR makes it special, but still subtle.

I love the landscape over the chaise - the colors and the gilt frame bring some light to that area which I am guessing is often in shadow, since the windows are on that same wall.

I was thinking that perhaps you needed larger lamps on the night tables to balance the height of the posts and large headboard on the bed. Just for grins, try the lamps from the buffet in the LR with the multi shades. Not sure how they would look, but I would love to see them for height if nothing else.

Can I ask which shot of the Wilmington Tan is the most true? Please tell me it's the shots in the living room with the child picture and the buffet!! It looks golden tan in there.

Red

Just have to chime in to say I love the changes you made. You have some beautiful things and looks like you found some better places for them. I do like the baby pic of your son. Between the pose and the frame, it really is a work of art.

Red,
I would say the sitting room is more accurate..it is a golden tan but doesn't read yellow to me, anyways. The pic of the bedroom is kinda dark - it also made the blue comforter look neony.

Les, I have moved those dang lamps about 4x into my bedroom to see if they would work. They just seem too tall to me. I am cheap& would love to make them work. I am thinking about those trendy crystal ball lamps from Target. Or maybe adding a more contemporary lamp in there - but on the cheap.

Thanks, Val. I feel the same way about my sons portrait. I had the same person do pics when he was 5.5 (before he lost those darling baby teeth) & they turned out awesome, too. I just don't have anywhere to put another portrait - and , again, the shrine thing!!

I really appreciate everyones help & advice:)
I am sorry to bump this thread up again but did want to say "thank you!"
Smiles:)

Can you unscrew the center vertical arm with the tallest shade and remove that whole piece? Get a cool lamp finial of some kind to screw into the center spot once you remove that arm. I am betting they won't feel too tall then.

Honestly, Johnatemp, enjoy the beautiful pics of your child! It's loving. So, when he's young, maybe it's a time when you will have more pics than you think others would like to see. Enjoy how precious and special he is to you : )

The shrine thing would never have occurred to me. I think it's a beautiful gesture of what's most important to you and your family. I think it's a wonderful thing to include pics of those you love and good times had around the house. In whatever room you are able to enjoy them in, to reflect and remember. And it makes them and the family feel special : ) and know what's important in life.

This is funny since I've been thinking about the shrine thing and just didn't have time to post earlier in the week. I do think that Les is on to something, as there is a difference in how one might want to display photos/portraits of loved ones. These things are such an important part of our homes, yet they are virtually absent from such things as magazine spreads, show houses, and other places where many of us get our ideas and inspiration. So what is the "rule of thumb"? I've been in some homes where i've felt a little creepy in a room where a portait was given the "shrine" treatment, yet I'm sure the person who lived there felt it was very natural. In Johnatemp's case, I think the portrait is beautiful and should have a prominent place. What may have contributed to the shrine look is the height of the buffet table and the style of the lamps flanking it. Maybe that is to be avoided, as it mimics the altars in churches. I've got to say I've never thought about it before but it does make sense. With all that being said, Johnatemp, it is a gorgeous portrait and love it on the opposite wall in your sitting room. I do like the new picture above the buffet. I like the landscape above the chaise but don't like the cord coming down, even with a cord cover. Try and find a way to uplight it if you could, or possibly place a floor lamp nearby which could direct light on the painting. Your bedroom is gorgeous!!

I think it was the two lamps close together, around a sole portrait, creating a formal altar look, too. I think that would bother me if the person had passed or if, in this case, I were to start seeing an altar as I passed through instead of a decorative vignette including my child. I think, say, a single table lamp would have a different effect.

I wonder who started the idea of portraits being like shrines.

Playing with the chaise area. I think with the shape and size of the landscape, it looks better to connect it more to the chaise, in a restful pose, and lower than the bed pics. I also think something more like the altered size in the last two pics fits the space nicely, creating more of a secondary focal point to the bed. Last pic the same pic but with a fern/plant creating more overlap and variety; even a bit more softness.

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Got a quick minute....acid staining my patio - not going as expected:(

Squirrel & Jjam, I agree with the lamps making it more of an altar look. I can always switch when the mood hits me. I like the idea of one lamp with a tureen of ferns like Squirrelly showed.

My mom has a designer who thinks family portraits should be in the bedroom. Maybe a few frames of family around on shelves/tables - but just a few!! My mom disagreed...putting a big wonderful antique tapestry on the main wall - this thing is gorgeous (I hope it is mine someday:) Then she put mine & my sisters wedding portrait - we both wore simple dresses & not the type of photo that screams we got married in the 90's. Then on another wall she put 8x10 portraits done in the same style as my sons of her 3 grandsons. It makes her smile & she enjoys showing off her kids to her senior friends. That is what it is all about. The designer grudging hung all the photos for her BUT it is her house!!

OTOH, I have a friend with young child & they have soooooo many portraits of their chlid on every wall. They also have a very big house - she is everywhere!! My DH calls it a shrine.

I thought I had already posted my thoughts on shrines - maybe I did & missed it...Sorry so long!!

Les, I DID have that thought about removing the center shade!! Thought I would take them into the lamp shop when I take my chandelier. Spending $10 to keep something I have is worth it to me. I'll probably find a gorgeous expensive lamp for the sitting room, thou - kinda defeats the purpose:)

Anyways, one day I'll have to post the pic of DS peeing off the dock at the lake!! He was young & told not to pee in pools....so he would & still does get out & pee off the dock in to the lake!! It is a back shot showing his little cute bottom!! Kinda Hawaiian tropic baby style with the tanned body & white butt:) It is kinda tucked away - not prominent at all - but people that do notice it- get a kick out of it:)

Okay, I have babbled enough - must be stalling to go & hit the acid stain!! Dh is probably wondering where in the world I am - I just ran in to put on old shoes:)

Smiles:)

uppps, just missed you. Thought I'd try toning down the frame on the larger pic.

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