Sorry it took a while for me to get back,Virginia. My wisteria situation is complicated, so I can't give a simple response to your question. Since I had always read about how thuggish wisteria is supposed to be, how drought-tolerant and vigorous, I planted my first wisterias in areas of my garden that are un-adapted for roses due to poor and shallow soil (i.e.,very rocky,even having bedrock close to the surface in spots. My garden is on a hill, about 600 meters above sea level,with erosion issues). Well, I learned that wisteria-at least in my garden-is by no means all that thuggish and vigorous! Two of mine-a Chinese and a Japanese-look like they are basically dwindling away,not being vigorous enough to thrive in the drought of summer in the soil conditions they have. Another japanese(?) one,"Prematura" is instead growing very vigourously and I want to prune it more in hopes of getting more flowers. Two "Prolifics" are doing Ok, it seems, though one has never flowered and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it, too, has overly thin soil. A third Prolific is doing well, but it has good soil.So, it's hard to make a comparison . Amethyst Falls seemed OK as a plant,but ended out dying off at the graft. It wasn't the size of the flowers that disappointed me ; it was the quantity; they didn't cover the whole plant the way the Chinese ones do...

Thank you everyone. Once again, I think Les's words are wise. Though I would love a more "furnished" entry hall, the reality is my HALL IS TINY and I have to avoid putting too much stuff there. (Not only would it be visually cluttered, but it could be a tripping hazard.) I am thinking about the word idea (I like camlan's suggestion). Earlier today, I went to the store to look for a pot to put in the corner (per Les' suggestion). Target has a tall 10 inch square dark grey Zinc pot that might work. (I would need a plant that could take very low light levels because this hallway doesn't get much natural light). Finally, I could modify the ceiling can to make it a wall washer. skatiero and kmcg-- Great pieces, unfortunately, I really need something that is 10 inches or less. kahlanne -- yup, I think some form of wall art is probably the answer, possibly "agumented" by a plant on the floor. houstonmom-- yes, I agree. It is just hard to give up on an idea -- even when it becomes pretty clear that it won't work. houstonmom -- thank you for the link! justgotabme -- Thanks again! camlan - Yes, I did some searching and found a nice collection of 10 inch and less "Media cabinets." If I decide to go forward with the cabinet idea, that is the term I will use to search Thank you.

I know you want to lighten things up, and while I think the shape of the mirror you posted could look good, I'd be worried that it doesn't have enough visual weight to stand up to the dresser. I'd definitely try it, but think something with a dark frame might work better, but not too large a frame. How big is that one above? Could you do a mock up to see if the size is good? eta: oops I didn't see your linked mock up. I think it works in your mock up, if it's to scale, but the dresser in your mock up looks lighter with brass pulls than what I see of yours....but could be my monitor.

i have a runner in my second floor hall... the front stairs has the runner continue down, the back stairs is just 150 year old bare pine. its very disconcerting stepping from carpet directly down to bare step, to the extent that my husband wont ever go down the back stairs. are you going to do a runner on your stairs? it makes it a bit easier to tie into the top. otherwise, remove the carpet back to some hardwood at the top. you need to expose around the railing too, for a nice wooden shoe that matches the rest of the stairs, otherwise you'll have to revisit wood stair work again. (fwiw, it hurts a lot less to fall on a runner than on a bare stairs. cracks fewer ribs, too.)