Whoops, forgot one. ;)

Yes, I would remove the urn. I also wouldn't have the lamp on the desk. that is a really beautiful piece of furniture and I think the lamp looks awkward on the fold-down.

Love the painting hanging on the doors!

I'd also remove the books. I think they are discordant with the very carefully arranged ceramic-ware.

Instead of hanging the three platters on the wall, I'd take the one in the center and hang it on the back of the bottom shelf where you have the books, in the center and put some of the pieces you've got on top of that bookshelf in and around that platter. I'd take the two other platters off the wall. Looks a bit much to me.

Wow, what a pretty room! I like the lighter look. Can you try the blue pillows, or some smaller blue pillows on the chairs instead of what appear to be black pillows?

Agree with Tibbrix about the lamp and urn. I like the art hanging in front (I like that look), but with the lamp and urn, it's too much. I'd look for a simple floor lamp if you need light on that side of the room. There's enough symmetry going on that a single floor lamp in either side of the desk would work.

Lamp is fine and probably very useful. Vase is pretty but much too large. The hutch needs some serious editing.

I am from the less is more camp. I would close up the desk part and let that beautiful piece stand on its own. I love all of your art and lamps. Very beautiful. If you do want it open, I would use just a few pieces. I liked the first lamp with the black shade.

Sorry for not coming back sooner, and appreciate the feedback~been at DD''s for the last several days, and with the 2 kids, don't even think of bringing out my tablet! Ingrid, I had to laught since when lokking for 'green and orange', realized it was the gold and blue dishes you must have meant. This is sort of like a collection, so that's my 'logic' for having it all together, other than a smaller shelf on the other side of the room. I didn't post a picture since I thought it too insignificant. Thank you for the compliment on the sofa. It's comfy too! I still haveh't touched the secretart since *i'm* confused too! lol

Aww tib, thanks for your compliment about my consignment piece secretary. Not too much new in that room except the sofa and the 2 chairs you can't see. I get what you mean about the lamp looking akward, but like to do things out of the realm of normal, maybe unexpected. I had the cute kitty painting hidden upstairs where it never got noticed, so decided I needed to use it *someplace* in the vignette~looks sort of whimsical ther I thought. Have not touched anything yet! Will try suggestions on Tue or Wed. But tib, those 'books' are my cookbooks... I need them close by. Besides, i'm not opposed to a little messiness in decorating. Perfection isn't what i'm looking for, no offense to your suggestion. As for the platters, well, they're all part of the 'collection' I talked about, above. I just thought the wall was bare and needed *something*. Suggestions?

Voila, thank you for the nice compliment. The black pillows will be going, and be replaced with hopefully a blue/gold bolster type pillow, if there is such a thing. Will add fringe/trim to get one color or the other. I can never leave things as they are. ;)

Lisa, hmmmm, a floor lamp? Well guess it's worth a try, but only have one in the house, in the guestroom. I see a shopping trip inthe future. Is it ok that I LIKE 'too much'?

Anglo.....needs editing?......see above. It's mostly my grandfather's old books.I need to 'see' them. It's a comfort thing. There are a few oddities, mostly little gifts, that I can't seem to part with. Will have a looksee. Maybe I can move them to another room. I also feel the vase is too large, but am not sure about the smaller one either. And I thought this would be easy!

Aktillery, yep, I get that! But I'm not a fan of less, not a minimalist in any way, shape or form.....how do I change THAT? I haven't had the desk open for years. I like the black shade also, but not for this lighter look. Changed all the lampshades to an off white, but find them a little too stark when looking at the pix.

So will be trying a few different thinsgs in the next few days. I will first shop the house! ;)

Looking forward to it!

Patty, I hope I'm not that color blind; what I meant was the greenery stuck into the white porcelain at the top of the hutch and what looks like a group of oranges or some other fruit in the same area. The gold and blue dishes IN the hutch are great where they are and those are the ones I meant when I said you'd changed some things and the final result is more cohesive. If your mind is whirling with all the changes, I know exactly how you feel! Been there! Just let me say if you're not a minimalist there's no use in trying to be one if that's not your style. Been there too, and I always end up putting back more things. The things that make us feel cozy and enriched are just so much distraction and overkill for the minimalists among us. Thankfully we each get to do our own thing in our homes.

Lol Ingrid. I didn't take any of that into consideration, but don't ask me why. The 'thing' on the end(left)is a rooster made out of twigs and dried 'weeds'. The 'orange' is a little lemon tree, and the greenery in the vases are spheres of dried green leaves. The vases were empty for years, so the spheres are relatively recent. The dishes(Fitz and Floyd)i've had for years and have actually never been used. When I made the move to Tx, I though they would determine the colors for decorating, but the 'house' wasn't having any of that. They work as an accent, but too much color for me is unsettling~i'm more of a neutral kind of gal. Some things just *are*, like my never being a minimalist since I like to surround myself with a variety of things which for one reason or another bring comfort to me. I also feel they bring a coziness into a larger home, which sometimes is not an easy task. Yes, thankfully we get to do our own thing, but it's nice to get an outside opinion and take it into consideration, not something I do very often. As i've gotten older i've become very set in my 'ways' and really don't want to become one of those *inflexable* older people stuck in a rut. Change is always good, as long as it doesn't hurt!

I made some changes, and would appreciate your thoughts. I added a smaller lamp on the drop front cabinet, since I do like to sit there in the evening and go thru the mail and need a lamp as well as glasses. lol I also bought blue chair cushions for the chairs on either side of it. Changed the gold pillows on the sofa to ivory, used the gold with blue ones(too much))on the leopard chairs. Had the large planter container that I used on the fireplace, but gave it a couple of coats of blue paint. All the greenery was on the mantle. I use the greenery for Christmas also, just adding a few glitzy things into it. Also painted the jacket of the standing bunny. Am I finished? Thoughts........

Great job, Patty! The light blue accents tie the room together nicely. The smaller lamp on the secretary is a much better fit. Great idea painting the bunny's jacket. I could never be a minimalist either, you either are or aren't, although if it were my room, which of course it isn't, I would take a few pieces off the round table on the left and then, for balance, remove the items off the top of the secretary since you have quite a few paintings in that space. Your fireplace is so cute, and I like the way you've styled it. I'm thinking now that with the tall bunny the picture above it may be a bit much.

Great job, you've accomplished what you set out to do.

Thank you Ingrid. That's too funny, since I also thought of removing the picture hanging from the secretary. I need to see what that might look like. As for the table, there's a lamp, 2 large candlesticks, and a flower arrangemet. I added the small stack of books and blue lidded container to get a bit of blue in that area, but maybe the blue pillows on the chair are enough ???? Do you think the gold ones add anything, or should I remove them? I really appreciate your looking at my thread. In the past years, i've never been one to post pictures, and now that i've opened myself up, the times I do choose to start a thread they seem to generate very little interest. Maybe they're too boring. lol

Yaya, thank you also.....don't know if I've accomplished what I set out to do, but change can be good. I wanted to use blue from the very beginning since the rug has a bit of blue, but could never find the*right* blue. This one seems to be right. ;)

Patty, I like the yellow pillows with the blue on the chairs; they make the room glow. I think the blue object on the round table may not be necessary; you don't want the blue scheme to look too deliberate. Perhaps if the candle holders on the table were smaller that would give a more balanced look. You're the final judge of course, but I think the introduction of light blue was an inspired idea.

It looks warm and inviting and interesting to me. I love that you have things out that mean something to you, I do as well. I also have some things out that just make me smile. That's what makes a house a home. Please do not go over to the dark (minimalist) side ! :))

Georgia, lol I could never be a minimalist! I have to agree it's little thongs that make a house a home, as well as add a coziness. I also love a surprise of whimsy~right now it's the standing bunny on the secretary. Before that it was a 2 1/2' ballerina bunny sitting atop a candlestick~she's normally sitting on the top of one of the Christmas trees. Our home is the one place we can truly express who we are. There's still that little kid in me that knows how to have fun. ;)