Replacing the tree in the front yard is on the next-year list. Your guess of Sorbus acucuparia was spot on; that's what this one is. It began as a multistem tree and is losing one trunk per year. I think voles may be eating the bark just below the soil surface. Now it has only one trunk that is leaning at an odd angle. So that will be replaced for certain, and perhaps the bed that contains it will be moved or reconsidered. No other trees are on the table for now. We have glorious mountain views and we have been very careful to frame them deliberately. In this case I'm much more concerned with the view from the house than the view of the house. The tree on the right in Yardvaark's photo would block a spectacular view. Of course, you had no way of knowing that. :) But rest assured, the front yard has generous clumps of aspen trees that do soften the overall look of the front yard. Also Yardvaark, it's pretty easy to reconcile liking the idea of a tree yet not actually wanting one. In the abstract, small trees look nice anchoring house corners. Yet in specific, in this particular case with the long and lean layout of the front porch, I prefer that to be left open. Make sense? That said, if I could find the perfect, small, well-behaved, interesting tree to put in the left corner of the foundation, I would consider it. I've always wondered about Hawthorne trees because they stay narrow. Deviant, I just love the look of that entryway patio and porch. That creates a very welcoming face on the house and is probably a lovely place to linger and socialize with the UPS guy. Thanks for sharing the photo. Thanks for the ideas and input, I am benefiting from the collective wisdom here. I am home from my trip now and will have a look at my space with fresh eyes.

Well, we live in a mid-19th c farmhouse with most of its original details intact, so I am somewhat constrained by that. I want a plain, workman-like space for the kitchen essentials, with nothing pretending to be something it isn't. (No faux wear marks or fly-specking details on my cabs for instance - at least none applied at the factory; we're not talking about what will happen naturally if someone leaves the doggone screen door open again! For those I've got my Spic 'n Span bucket ready.) I know this sounds drab and dull, but that's not the case since I have details like 14" tall skirting boards with deeply curved moldings; an open staircase with a second-floor gallery and the underlying (also rigid) balance and symmetry of a full-on Greek Revival building. With such strong elements never out of the picture, I have just had to learn to get out of the way. Since almost all our stuff is passed down from our families, (some period antiques and but mostly just old pieces, approaching legal antique status of their own, but not period, IYKWIM) my "style" of decorating is pretty much "what we found in the attic", combined, now, with what we've inherited from our parents. I can't really imagine what it is like to choose to decorate in a defined "style" or go out intending to purchase stuff to go with a particular style. When I read or see pictures here of what people are working on, I often wonder how you ever decided which one to choose. Seems like a lot of energy is expended working out those details. I just concentrate on 1) What do I need to make this room work for how we want to use it? 2) What do I have that will do the job? 3)(If I have more than one option for #2) Which piece looks best (mostly scale) with the other stuff in the room? 4) What can I/do I have to do with it (or to it) to spiff it up enough so make it presentable, if necessary? (If I can't find a suitable piece for some use, then we usually do without until a solution appears.) In general I find that my old stuff tends to look well with my other old stuff, providing the scale of the piece is right, particularly in the context of it all being old stuff, in an old house. And to some degree, after attending to comfort and practicality/feasability and cleanliness (which can include cleaning up a wood finish or redoing upholstery), I really don't care to do more. The only place where I can fall in with the forum's decorating mania, is color. That really lights my fire! I can spend weeks and months thinking about, testing and generally feeding the decorating part of my brain while contemplating which color to put on my walls. L

Other than the fact that it is a bit stiff, is there anything particularly Wrong with it for a 44 year old room? If so, what changes would you make? It's too cluttered, fussy and rigid. It has a good traffic flow. The mirror would go, not because it's bad, but those warped reflections make me nauseous (it's an optic thing). A flat mirror with good glass clarity in that spot would be fine. Assuming it has colors I liked and comfortable seating, I would clean off the tables, rip out the carpet and use a nice oriental rug on polished hardwood. The lambrequin might go or be recovered with something less formal. Lamps are OK, would replace scalloped shades for less formal linen ones. Because the colonial era was a big trading era, I would invent a family member who "was in shipping" and sent back interesting things. I would hang more paintings, fewer non-paintings. Mirror on the right would go, hang a nice landscape instead.

I've been under the weather for the last few days, so wasn't able to act on any of the additional suggestions until today. Thank you so much to everyone for the feedback, pointing out both the good and the bad. Today I moved a few things around. I decided to concentrate my efforts of lighting, as I think this will help us to enjoy the room more. The new additions are just stand ins, while I look for the right lamps and plants etc. I will also look for better wall art by the love seat and go to Benjamin Moore to look for a warm neutral that's lighter for the walls. I also liked the suggestions to replace the several small accessories with larger ones. And also to try to incorporate the window seat into the room more somehow. I was thinking of trying more colorful cushions on it, to tie it in and make the eye travel back there more. I will keep the points about the tables in mind for when it's time to look at new furniture. Thank you again so much! I feel so much better about this room already! I will start a new thread if/when I have specific questions about lamps or pillows. Thank you!!