So here's how they look from further back... which is why I mistakenly said they looked fine. It's been chilly here (to me... not to anyone else) for the past couple days, so I've stayed in the house and done "house things." Today, I went out there and took these pics: And here we have close-ups of some examples of what I'm seeing happening. Also, I've noticed the new leaves seem stunted. They don't grow very big before they either stop growing or fall off. Misshapen leaves, 'browning out'... Hard to really tell in this picture, but the leaf in the center is sorta 'browning out.' If this was a fancy goldfish, I'd say this one has 'dropsy.' Some weird new-growth habit, among other things. More brown spots, plus white spots. At the edge of the pot, you can see the leaves are dying here and there. This is an attempt at a close-up of one of the worst ones. Small leaves that fall off if you even touch them. Another particularly affected plant. The first sign of a problem on a previously robust plant. I don't know what the problem is, but it's obviously contagious. I'm going to have to pull all of this out, dump the brand new potting media into the trash, wash and sterilize the pots, wait for some undetermined length of time, then replace it all. Super bummer. I only hope that whatever it is doesn't spread to things that AREN'T Coleus.

Sometimes the most influential things, whether they direct your eye or just add to the appeal of landscape, are the things that you don't notice. I think that it is particularly true when it comes to "directing the eye". I'm a big fan of subtlety (if I did not make the work up, I probably invented this particular way to spell it). My preference is a composition that is not beating me over the head to do anything, but that leads me to do something, including making me focus on a certain part, comfortably on my own. Yes, I'm being manipulated. The difference is that I like it when I'm not pushed or yanked to behave in a certain way. Maybe I project my own senses onto other people, so it drives me to try not to push or yank others into doing what I want them to do. Give them a gentle breeze and hopefully they will drift in like a feather never knowing they were directed is an idealistic goal. Maybe it can't be reached, but it can be approached. The OP states that the author's purpose for "specials" is to direct the eye around the garden. I think that the biggest risk to the reader is that they take the notion that they need several things screaming in different places to get us to look here, then there, and maybe several other targets. I don't think the eye movement is an enjoyable experience when it jumps from item to item like a first time operator of a video camera. I think more people enjoy a gentle panning from both a videographer and in taking in a garden. That, of course, assumes your primary purpose is to make viewers eyes move through the garden. I'm not convinced that it should be the purpose of every garden to make your eye move through it, but that is another subject. How do you make the eye pan? Certainly there are plants and objects that are more attention getting than others. That does not mean that you have to let them steal the show. Dominance does not exist on its own. It exists at the mercy of what it is matched against. If the goal is to keep the eye moving, it must not be given a reason to stop. It needs "specials" to give it incentive to look, but it also needs to mellow thoses specials out so that it does not stop. I call it visual weight. A good thing to look at to help grasp this concept is a real and good Japanese Garden. There may be a red cutleaf japanese maple that is larger than other plants in the composition and set on a raised hill, yet the composition is restful and balanced. How is that possible? Look around. There are subtle things balancing it out. Positioning of other plants has an influence. Colors have an influence. Massing has an influence. Pretty much everything has an influence to mellow out what seems like what should be an over powering dominance. Consider yourself manipulated by the designer. He drifted the feather that you are on his gentle breath to put you right where he wanted you. Look for the things that are not obvious, especially in places that seem comfortable to you. When you look around, you might be amazed how closely they resemble places that are uncomfortable to you. Most obvious are the places where neighboring activities are more or less in full view, yet don't feel as intrusive as they do somewhere else. Tr to figure out all of the things that are contributing to that difference. When you understand what works and what does not in existing places, it makes it that much easier for you to reproduce the affect. The hardest thing is to not dwell on the obvious and to root out the subtle. It is the subtle that makes or breaks an affect. It is the subtle that makes a space comfortable by being unnoticed.

^In both plans immedialy above, you could change the swing on the front door so you have a better view at the entry. You could also put up a small wall, half or full, to get that foyer entry. Something interesting.

All, thank you for the suggestions.  I think I'm going with either navy or black paint for the tv cabinet. Still recovering from back surgery so no physical labor for a few more weeks.   I also wanted to clarify a few points for some so that it doesn't appear that I was ignoring your input.  1. We did a major renovation 10 years ago and took down many walls.  The beams are structureal in that they are holding up the second floor.  They are solid wood, came from an old local barn, then refinished and repurposed for our home.  2. As far as the beams being painted to match the style of our home, I did not post pictures of every part of our home but it is filled with many modern farmhouse touches.  The stove vent (pictured below) is wood from an old barn in PA, the vanity in the powder room was custom built from  barnwood in Minnesota (pic below), the farm sink in the kitchen, the solid wood front door - stain matches wood beams, and multiple antiques and furnishings (live edge wood tables, barnwood accent wall in the home gym) throughout the house that are classic farmhouse style. The exterior of the home includes a rustic stone fireplace and outdoor kitchen, patio and screened in patio with wood and iron detail. I can appreciate that those details were not known in the original post but I didn't think they were important in looking at my issue with paintng the tv cabinet. 3. I will look at moving the china cabinet 6 inches to the left closer to the window and then moving the picture to the left side of the window and hang the two pictures vertically on one side.  Hoping the lack of symmetry won't be glaring - but we will see.  4. As I stated before, we removed many walls.  The dining room has 2 walls. One is full of windows and the other has the one smaller window.  The rest is open to the kitchen and living area so placement of the china cabinet is restricted to the location that is currently pictured.  5. This same issue goes for the wall where the tv cabinet is located.  The living room has one wall of windows and one wall is the fireplace.  The only other option is the wall space in between the two blue chairs.  However, that is in the direct path of the entry and the wall space itself is off center to the viewing area of the living room.  Flipping the couch and chairs would also cut off the flow to the bedroom (door to the right of the tv cabinet) and the dining room.  6.  We have been in our home for 21 years and are looking to move in the next 3-4.  So I'm not really interested in major reno or expensive projects just looking to refresh and make minor design changes that will allow the home to "show" well when we are ready to put it on the market.  Again, thanks to everyone for the input and suggestions.  Once I paint the tv cabinet I will post a pic with the update.