imo, they are traditional. If you are going for a transitional home, they could work... but without seeing your room I don't know.

What's wrong with having a horse/hunt laundry room? We live in a horse community and I have many equestrian items in our home. The laundry room has a chest of drawers - on top, I have horse things (metal tray, pipe rest, leather paperweight, hitching post top, leather/brass piece from show saddle, etc). Hanging above the dresser is a large horse portrait, with two smaller horse paintings propped against the bottom/resting on the dresser.

Last week, I saw a wooden saddle rest and black leather English riding saddle for a great price. Looked at the laundry to see if it would go there, but it would get in the way of the dryer opening/closing.

I guess it depends on how much it would bother you if it doesn't "go". I bought a painting I loved and planned on it going on our dining room. HOwever, the colors were too vibrant for the room. I initially said that I didn't care--I loved it anyway. But, it really bothered me that it didn't look right, so I moved it. If it doesn't bother you--put it where you want.

If it does bother you--Could you do the dining room more traditional so it fits? Can you post pics?

How about an entryway or hallway?

Good luck!

IMO if you really love something you will change other things so it does work for you. Finding those items that you really LOVE may be rare and I know from experience if you let them go you may regret it forever. Look carefully at your room and decide what can most easily be changed so that the art works *for you*. OTOH art doesn't have to match at all IMO.

Please do not feel you ever need to explain to guests or anyone that something doesn't work. How you decorate is not something anyone should critique unless asked.

You might check out this blog. She decorates in a horse/polo, etc. style but she has some traditional furnishings. Might give you a few ideas.

tina

Here is a link that might be useful: polo house

I agree with lucky. It is so hard to find things that you love . . .and really, art is all about loving the piece, and not trying to "match." If anything, it should be the other way around-- find pieces of art you love and work around them.

I also think, too, that since you are starting over again, that you keep an open mind about what you like and not stick to a label like transitional.

If I remember correctly, weren't you bothered by the fact your new sofa was older than the salesperson claimed, even though you loved it? I think the picture will bother you if it doesn't blend with the other furnishings in your room. I agree with the others, mostly. Art should be something you love and doesn't need to go with the room. The juxtapostion of Modern art with traditional furnishings looks great together. That said, I think equestrian paintings look better in a traditional room, one with collected furnishings. I'm not sure how well it will look with sleek, transitional furnishings. I think it will bother you. It's bothering you enough to already question it.

I agree with Allison, a equestrian-themed laundry room could be great, and let you keep and enjoy the print you love. But, to use the ubiquitous GW saying: If you love it, who cares what others think?

Dee

Allison - I guess these large pieces would just not be "appreciated" in my laundry room - they are way too dramatic for the laundry. Though, I do have a fairly large space.

My equestrian "things" are in my garage and in the tack room at a boarding facility along w/my horse. LOL

Kris - I really can't redo-my dining room in a more traditional way - I just ordered furniture from Arhaus that is sleek and more transitional. I so wanted to steer clear of traditional decorating in my new home, yet I feel like I am being drawn back to it everytime I furniture shop.

My passion is horses, but I really don't want to overwelm my home w/horsey decorating pieces. I really only wanted a piece here and there. But, I feel so drawn to these pieces.

Lucky - The furniture store salesman - said if they don't work I can return them and he offered to come and help me layout my FR. He did think since there is so much yellow in the pieces that it could work fine w/my new couch. I'm getting all new furniture, so my colors aren't set in stone, but I am definately not going w/burgandy or red.

Tina - Thanks for the blog - I loved it !

I guess if they were smaller scale they could work anywhere, but they are pretty large. Even for my staircase, and if they were on that wall, I wouldn't get to enjoy them very often. I have very little wall space in my new home, so I have to be selective about what I use. Though, with the size of these, and having a large wall and part of the ceiling being vaulted, something small wouldn't look right. So the size of these is right for the FR.

I guess I will keep an open mind about where I can use them and not look at them as a decorating "style"...

Very little in my house matches but I do love almost everything and because of that, it all "works" together (or I like to think so!) because I am true to my deepest taste.

If you love it, really love it after thinking about it for awhile and knowing what's out there and what you can afford, get them and everything will be fine.

I don't think art should match--looks like a hotel lobby, rather than a home. If you love it, it works.

I don't see why you can't have a mix of transitional and traditional since I have it all over my house.

I think you have to question your statement, "I so wanted to steer clear of traditional decorating in my new home, yet I feel like I am being drawn back to it everytime I furniture shop", and determine why is it you're wanting to steer clear of traditional. Traditional has a broad range and I would keep any art that I loved as much as you do these pieces.

I just went to the Arhaus site and didn't see any dining chairs that IMO wouldn't go with a hunt scene.
The art is who you are.....at least at this point in time........use it and enjoy it.

return it...it is boxing you in. You can visit it at the store.

It seems like there are two factors drawing you into these pictures. First, is the art itself which you say that you love. Second, and probably even more important, is the subject matter of horses which reflects a real life passion of yours. If you own a horse and enjoy riding, it seems natural that you would want that part of your life to be reflected in your home in some way, shape or form. I don't think you should pass up on the art. I can see not wanting to have your entire decorating all in a western/hunt/horse theme, but it would speak volumes and perhaps have a greater impact as well to have some nook of your home decorated in this matter, similar to how allison describes. Which BTW, is too funny, how the horse decor seems to be encroaching into the purpose of the laundry room!

If you love the art, perhaps have it reframed in a more contemporary style rather than the traditional style that it has now. You can always keep the frames for some other piece---and if it's a very contemporary piece, it would fit right into an transitional ecclectic style. The trick to that style is to pair opposites together in unexpected ways. So take that print and put it into a large plexi frame with stainless steel backing bumpers that show through. Or use a stainless mat with a large black metal frame. There ARE ways to make something you love work in your space that you envision. If you wouldn't feel the same about the print without it's current framing, then you really don't love the print itself as much as you think you do, and that gives a lot of clues as to what style you are at heart. It may be a case that you really aren't the style that you are trying to force yourself into.

I think of art as something I love and makes me smile not as an accessory to my furniture or something to hang that matches the rug. If I really loved the art I would keep it.

Maybe you could get a painting or photo done of you and your own horse in a more contemporary vein. A poster blow up could be coated to look like an oil. Hope I didn't sound snarky before it's just that I was thinking of my own experiences and that I have a whole attic of things I love but it just never worked in this house. The worst advice I ever got was if you love it buy it and then have to change the whole place to accommodate the purchase. The second worst advice was from Andy Warhole who advised not to worry everything goes with everything, ....no it does not. I love the equestrian theme and had it in our last house, it was so much fun to decorate with. I was ready to do something else when we moved into this house but I will ALWAYS love it. We owned horses at the time but when we moved to the city we found them really good homes. That was hard...