paintergirl94 - yep, way too contemporary for us. I mean, we live in a not old house but we not fans of contemporary at all. justgottabe me - what's that the say about the shoemaker's kids go barefoot? :) I hope you get your cabinets soon. curyly - yes, I think I'll need a rug too, once I get the paint picked and can figure out if I want a couple more chairs in there. Wow, Joann, your home is lovely and I am in awe that you made all those mantles and that beautiful furniture. What I love about your pieces is that it doesn't look like something newly made, but something that has been in the house for years and blends with antiques. Wish we had those skills but alas, ours run in a different direction. I really appreciate all the info that I can pass to the handyman. I sent him one email last night and he sounded very up for the challenge. I'm thinking though, that I will go ahead and get the room painted and everything else mostly arranged so then we can focus on the mantle. And Joann, gardener me is over the moon at your beautiful pond pics. I had those bookmarked a few years ago when we were looking for houses and had hoped to be able to put in a pond. Alas we have too small of a yard for one (just several water pondless features instead.) but your pond pages are still some of my favorites. Oh, and paintergil, here's the picture over the fireplace. I know the other things on the mantle are out of scale and can be moved around though the bronze figurine will likely stay there. Jan - love that you noticed that dark bowl on top of the other cabinet and my blue and white! I can't wait to get to tablescaping....my favorite part of decorating! Now back to the paint store for more samples to slap on some boards. I am almost sold on Baby Turtle in this room but since it gets very little natural light, I worry that it will be too dark. I can't seem to find another green/brown that has as much depth or interest or whatever you call it. :) Flowering Herbs, the next one up from Baby Turtle, seems too light. Thank you, again, all. So many wonderful things to think about.

I've done those tiny, miniature poinsettias on my mantle - a royal pain to keep watered and they must be daily. I've tried tiny topiaries (live) again a problem to water. All these things look great for a photo shoot, but for 2-3 weeks prior to Christmas and at least through New Years? Not so great. It's why so many have gone to fake greenery. What is available to the public is just so awful. Florists and designers can buy gorgeous stuff, but it's VERY expensive. The pictures one sees online and in catalogs usually have doubled - even tripled - the garlands to look lush and full. Then one must store these gigantic things. Last year, I used a 1/2 circle vase holder from the 1980's - it holds 5 very small cylinder vases. I put in cut amaryllis. I surrounded it with my magnolia leaves. They got a bit dry, but the amaryllis held very well and was easy to water. I'll be doing that again this year.

I love your architectural prints. Are they from a particular country? Maybe a framed old map or a landscape or a period painting. I like dramatic art pieces over the fireplace. The large map in the center of this group looks interesting. This is a rather plain seascape, but it has nice color and a beautiful frame.Not quite the right porportions, but a lovely painting.

The space looks really nice ... except for that TV over the fireplace. I would move the TV to the left wall and place it at a more ergonomic height. You could do a built-in for the TV or place it over a long low console. On the fireplace, not sure if I would do a mantle or not, but I would certainly find a large beautiful painting to go there.