kt- what terrific photos of terrific pieces. you have really made my day. so exhilerating! what i love about these pieces is that his work is so reflective of the tropical plants themselves. the long twisted pieces are often obviously influenced by actual tropical plant parts. in keeping with their surrounding plants, they add color and excitement to some otherwise more monochromatic visuals. it's funny, i have seen many many of ch's pieces, and been to the tacoma, wa. museum that houses much of his work- but i have never before seen pieces so simpatico with their environment( certainly NOT the huge venice installation). your photos definitely rekindle my interest in him, so thank you. i think your re-positioning of the iron pieces- amongst your ferns- is brilliant. as to the bigger 'art in the garden' discussion, i do have a few thoughts. we have a lot of garden art throughout the gardens here, and most of it has some size. for me, the pieces provide contrast and counterpoint to the surrounding world of plants.however, even as they provide contrast, they must make visual sense for where they are placed.they also have personal associations for me, and some of them ( quotes and poetry) reflect my feelings and give me pleasure to read when i'm in my gardens. all of them make me smile. outwardly or inwardly. two large pieces make me laugh- and that is specifically why I purchased and installed them, though they are in our work area. one rule that i have developed for placement is that i try to not have more than one art piece in any given 'visual frame' (unless they are symmetrically matching.)each garden room has its own artwork that is not visible from one room to another. the art pieces do not jump out at you. 'garden art' includes 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional sculptures, sculptures that incorporate movement- from water or wind,and some incorporate architecture- as a backdrop to the piece or as the piece itself. all this garden art is a real life saver when the gardens are not their most attractive (like now, with all the stress of the hot summer and when it's quite 'jungley' out there. i find them particlarly valuable in shady sitting areas where large swaths of non floral plants can really use the surprise element. at the risk of sounding overblown, here is a poem that i keep over my desk- that says it all for me- about the gardens and about the art in the gardens. I pray for an arresting beauty a single span of pure delight Intrude upon us. Give us pause Be the deer in the yard, the wine in the water cask, the mermaid in the net. -Thomas Donovan surprise, delight, reflection, contemplation, nourishment- all the things i hope are provided by the art pieces throughout our gardens.

Definitely Yard Art !!! All of it! And it's yard art of the VERY best kind since there is a story to go with all of it. I LOVE IT! May others please join with in pictures of their yard art. I did a little yard arting this morning. We collected a number of cypress knees when on vacation to Florda many, many years ago. We made a glass topped coffee table and lamps from them which have long been dismantled, but I kept them. Just a few minutes ago I lined them up on the top of the lattice frame that borders the deck. Looks kind of silly, but oh well; nobody will ever up there anyway ... LOL ... but I finally did something with them after all these years and they do hold happy memories. So what's your bit to offer in the yard art category?

I have thoroughly enjoyed browsing all the photos and reading the stories of your collections here. Such beautiful pieces and wonderful, touching stories. To see most of mine, you'd think my home was full of antiques, which is far from the real deal, but these seem to be most of my most interesting non-art things. However, some of you have given me some ideas for things I could do in the future with things I have stored! This is a small collection of silver vases, albeit in need of some polish right now. My collection of miniature tea sets. This started with my aunt giving me her much-used Mickey Mouse set she had used back in the 30's as a child and a then-new set when I was about 8-years old (the blue and white delft set). The rest is a mix of old and new I picked up along the way as an adult. I also have a lot of old hankies that belonged to my grandmother and great-grandmother, and yes I use them at weddings and funerals. They made some of them, including the tatting on the edges. Gallery hallway of family photos (old and new) To honor our home states (Alabama and Ohio) I started looking for old maps of our states and regions. This is one of Alabama and of the Eastern US in our breakfast room. The next one is an Agricultural map of Ohio. I think I've posted enough. Thanks for viewing. BTW, those clocks are awesome! And I adore that mirror, and I can't say enough about that belly cast!

Having all the seating pushed against the walls is contributing to your living room looking oversized. Float the furniture in the room as Erin suggests. The wood is pretty (though I get that you aren't as enamored of it as your husband), but between the floor, walls, and beams, it is a lot. You will probably want to cover up as much of it as possible without letting your husband know that's what you are doing. A rug to ground the seating area (big enough to extend at least under the front legs of the sofa and loveseat). A couple pieces of artwork to flank the wide doorway (one LARGE for next to the guitar). Side and/or coffee table, plus some table or floor lamps will help pull it together. If you can move the lighting to be more centered in the room, I think it would look more balanced. If you don't need/use the ceiling fan, replace it with a contemporary light fixture (depending on your climate, you might really want that fan, I know).