It's lovely. Very serene. Beautiful greens
Art is very personal--what one person loves, another will hate. Do you like it?

It's a very pretty picture; however IMHO the greens seem to be too vibrant and bold in contrast to the rest of the decor which has such a calming and serene feel.

Casey I do like the painting, but have never "loved" it. If I keep it I would like to see it in a frame that went better with this. (the other art work in LR is antique, I always look at paintings on Craig list and antique stores, but haven't found anything I want). Do you think any painting over the couch needs a light over/ or on the side? Thanks again for the help! {{gwi:1390667}}

As a piece of art, honestly: I don't care for it very much.

However, with the right frame, I do think it might work in your room. (That opinion is based only on the images you've shown us of course.) The frame would have to be quite large, possibly 3" wide, and I'd opt for a brown stain that would relate to the color of your wood furniture.

OTOH, I agree with hilltop that the piece might be too vibrant. It's hard to say without seeing other parts of the room. But I think it's the blues in it, rather than the greens that are the issue; in particular, it's the bit of blue sky at the top of the painting. Other than the background of the photo on the small table to the right of the sofa, do you have anything else in that color in the room? On my monitor, I think I see bits of soft blue in the carpet....yes? Regardless, to make the painting work, you could try replacing the clear glass piece on the coffee table with a large sky blue vase or bowl and then place a blue piece or two in the china cabinet.

Hilltop has a point--your decor is more muted and the antique painting above looks great. But I am not really one to match art to decor.

Have you looked on Etsy? There's lots of great vintage art there.

As far as the painting itself goes, the only thing that matters is whether or not YOU like it.

I would not put it in a frame as ornate as the other one you showed, but it could use a more substantial one, and I always prefer old rubbed gilded or painted and gilded frames, so that's my bias.

I don't care a whit if it goes with your decor or not. That's not my view of how you choose pictures. But I do think it looks lost over your sofa.

Now here's the part where I answer questions you didn't ask...

Think of the wall your sofa is on as three distinct areas, and think in terms of a vignette for each. The area over the sofa and its end tables is one. Then the spaces out toward the corners are distinct compositions in themselves. That may help you decide what to put where.

I also think you need lower, more substantial end tables. Your current collection of furniture is lovely, but your room is in danger of being the dreaded "forest of legs," which could be solved with a chest-type end table on the left (something like a cellarette/wine chest), and a cloth-covered round table on the right. The marble-topped table with the clock on it would look nice toward the corner to the right of the right-hand chair, perhaps with a tall slender mirror over that, to compose the corner section. You might also put something like an antique trunk between the chairs, and use the second marble-topped table elsewhere.

Frankly the painting in question looks too much like a "starving artist" find to be a focal point or to spend a lot of money on a frame for. It's a formula picture..."peaceful scene... tree lined path winding into the trees, blue sky, distant mountains, meadow in the distance..." very nice but trite.

If you don't love it.....sell it...or give it away. Better to have a few things like, such as a mirror a couple of smaller prints and perhaps a plate or 2....than a picture which is too small and not "important" enough for that position....especially one you don't love.
I would rather you spend your money on a really nice ornate huge frame and put a mirror in it than wpend money on an expensive frame for that picture.

I have no objection to the forest of legs...it often makes a small room appear larger because more floor is visible. However I don't find your room inviting. If I came and you invited me in for a cup of coffee or a cold drink....where would I sit? On the sofa? And you in one of the chairs? and I would have to turn around to talk to you? and where would I put my cup? The coffee table seems a reach....and there doesn't appear to be room on the table to the right of the sofa. And I think that beautiful clock looks in real danger of being knocked over on that tiny little table. Such clocks would properly be placed on a mantle or a substantial chest or sideboard.

I guess I have to side with bronwyn'smom and say you need a small chest to put between those 2 chairs, not because of the leg forest, but because you nees something substantial to put that clock on. then you have that other table free for my coffee cup!!
Pretty room, I like the colors....oh, and the clock!!

If you did love it you could make a mix of turpentine and burnt umber and do a glaze over it to knock down the color but, for me, the big problem is that it's not the right proportions for your couch. You need something longer to make it become one with the couch.

Hiltop Thanks! you put into words why I have never been happy with this painting. Several times I've wanted to re-frame it, just couldn't because I didn't want to be "stuck" with it.

Casey I've looked at Etsy, I've also looked at repo's for the vintage look at: http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/browse-the-website.html I would only get a not well known artist's work for my home, still now sure how I feel about this...any thoughts?

Browny I too like a gilded frame. I have decided to replace the painting, thanks for your imput. The tables are vintage the carvings (which I think are beautiful)didn't come out in the picture. Looking at the LR (in photo) made me realize another table for the clock may be a good idea.

Linda your right! The painting I get will be larger as you suggested. I realized you didn't see other seating I have in the LR. Company usues the coffee table/end table for their glasses. With a small group my den is usually used, when the LR is used I often turn the chairs around from the DR for extra seating. I always wanted a formal LR, in my old house I had a LR/den, actually put the first flat panel TV made over the fireplace there. My den is the used room, my LR is what I wanted for 20 years in my old house

{{!gwi}}

Yes, I see now from the perspective you just posted that the room is better balanced than it seemed in the other shots.

I'd still move the marble topped small table so that you're using them as a pair on either side of the sofa and put something lower and bulkier like a chest between the chairs at the window. Then you could use a pair of slender swing arm floor lamps or wall lamps above them, to light the space warmly, and help furnish the wall itself.

Bronwy I plan on taking your advice about the table. I also like the idea of side lights. Unfortunately for me, decorating continues to be a work in progress...thought by now I would be finished. My problem is instead of finishing a room, I move onto another result is unfinished rooms. I recently finished my "budget" kitchen (with the help of this GW), but continue to look for table and then new light/fan for over it. When I figured out what I was going to use for valances (almost home made) in LR/DR I realized how horrible the painting looked. My excuse for not finishing is life has gotten in the way of decorating...but I'm determined to finish this house before we decide to move...lol...!

Thanks again for your advice!

Boy, do I understand about life getting in the way of finishing things!
Too many ideas, and much more fun to start than to slog through to the end. And then of course Stuff Happens.

I love the color/paint on the wall. Can you tell me which color it is?

I do like the painting and I think it has a nice depth perception.

I love your furnishings. I don't think a painting of this size (alone) is the correct scale for your couch and the large span of wall you show it hung on. You could add a table lamp on the right side and maybe a tall plant on the left and try to fill in the wall space better. I guess what I am saying is that the painting alone looks sparse on the wall and this is not caused by the art work per se.

IMO it has no place in your LR. (There's a reason some artists are still starving.)

tweetytweety- It's MB-Standish White.

dilly_ny- Thanks! The suggestions have been great! I'm going to get a new table for the clock, and move that one to the side of the couch and will look for additional lighting too. As for the painting, I never loved it, so will look for one I do (DH is the only one that likes that one, I think it's because it's already on the wall), and then will frame that one the way I want. As for the tree/plant, I don't have a green thumb, the only one I haven't killed is the bamboo plant in my bathroom.

bronwynsmom- When you talk about stuff happening you are so right! "Truth is stranger than Fiction"...if I tried to publish what has happened since we bought this house 6 yrs ago no one would beleive it was a work of Fiction. The book would start that we found a house we both loved, we paid the asking price, went to contract the week before the market started to drop. We moved in, 10 days later DH had a heart attack (he's ok). Unfortunatly it continues to go on and on and on....That is life, still better than the alternative!!

You gave me good advice on getting something different table/trunk to put my clock on, I've been looking at antique stores, home good, but didn't find anything I liked. Unfortunately my MIL passed away, when we were going thru her things DH said how he loved her bench/foot rest which was his Grandmother's, he refinished it as a gift for his mother before we met. I realized immediately, that my not finding anything was meant to be, my MIL bench is the perfect piece to hold my Grandmother's clock.

Now I just have to find the right painting, or just get a new frame, which is what I'm leaning toward

Forgot to show how end table looks on other side of couch....

Honestly, I don't like the clock on that low bench at all. It should be at eye level. And I would bring the chairs forward so that the front legs were on the area rug and thus part of the conversation group with the sofa.

Your room is very pretty. I like the muted tones. I agree that it is a little jarring in your room. The picture is pretty and has a 3D look to it. I think the artist seems to be very talented. But the scale is off. I would love to see what art you choose. Please post.

It is hard to tell how far apart your chairs or on either side of the clock and how far they are from your sofa, but furniture needs to be closely grouped enough in a U shape or an L shape, preferably, so that it looks conversational. Spaced too far apart, the room looks as though one might need a megaphone to speak with other guests. It is probably just the photography but it looks like they are pretty far apart from one another. I agree with Linda about the painting/picture looking like a "starving artist' find. I also believe that art over the sofa needs to be 66% to 75% the length of the sofa.

I don't like the clock on the foot stool. Maybe perched on top of your hutch until you find a substantial piece for it to be properly placed.

I'd be in a total panic with the clock that low and reachable and on such a soft surface. We have a number of antique clocks and they are high and on solid surfaces away from unintentional kicks, elbows or whatever. I suspect the clock isn't running as pendulum clocks need to be adjusted to level so the pendululm ticks evenly...not possible on a soft surface. At least I would put it on the more substantial wood piece you have under the other painting...

I suspect what you are reacting to is having a more substantial piece to put the clock on...but it is not substantial enough.

I agree with the furniture placement as well....one decorator called it that it looks like someone spun the room quickly so all the furniture ended up against the wall. I would pull those chairs in closer to the sofa....it's ok to let the walls breathe a little more.

You might try moving the wood piece to the left side of the sofa and putting the clock on it. Then move those 2 side chairs forward with the round table in between and use the foot rest next to the red chair and see if that works for you....it may not be all the right pieces in all the right places, but it may give you a sense of what you need.

I'm sorry, but I don't think the clock works on the footstool. It's too low, and I'd be very worried about it sitting on an unstable soft surface.

I think up you should shift the rug so the sofa legs are on it, and pull the chairs in, so they're on the rug too. All of the seating looks too far apart for conversation.

Decorating, like life, is a journey not a destination. So IMO one should just enjoy the process and not be concerned about finishing.

I think if you like that painting you should find a better place to hang it and keep it. One doesn't have to "adore" everything one has, it can be a lesser "love" in a lesser place in your home. It's still decor and IMO is an OK painting.

"I would only get a not well known artist's work for my home, still now sure how I feel about this...any thoughts?"

There is no way I can afford an original Monet or any other well-known famous artist's work I love. And since I much prefer original art I only buy "not well known" artist's works. I do only buy what I feel I don't want to live without. What I do is haunt small galleries and when I see something I like I leave. If I am very concerned it will sell before I return to the gallery I know I need to buy it and I often rush back and am very relieved it is still there. The ones that have sold I still remember and am sorry I didn't buy them but I know there will always be more in the future that I will love. I personally think one should have a few minor regrets in life! Makes it more interesting.

I am always amazed that people think original art is expensive. I've paid between $75. and $1500 for original oil paintings and less for original water colors. Framing is often a big expense but I've bought nice frames at yard sales for only a few dollars and I like the look of unframed oils so don't frame all of them. I also have lots of original oils and watercolors from yard sales and have never paid more than $20. for a framed piece. Some were only $1 or $2 and very nice works.

Searching for art one loves is a wonderful hobby so enjoy finding what really makes your heart beat faster! :)

I think the painting is better than others I've seen, but it still looks like commercial, formula painting. A lot (if not all) of these starving artist sales come from China. They may very well be starving artists pumping them out but they are fast, mass produced "originals". Its composition is poor. The vertical sectional stripes distract from the landscape image.

You've asked a very direct question. Here is a direct answer.

I don't like it at all. But, more importantly, you don't either! Or you wouldn't have asked.

Think of something you own that you love. Would you ever post its picture like this, inviting ridicule and criticism? Nooooo. You love it. You wouldn't care at all what we think, and moreover if we happened to comment you would shoo us off.

So, hey... it's got to go! Not only don't you like it, but it makes you feel bad when you see it because you regret it (been there, done that!).

While I understand the criticism of this painting, I also wonder how many can apply the same thoughts to...contemporary modern art? I see the same thing over and over in modern art that it's boring. So, like many things, it all comes back to execution and overall enjoyment. Does it move you emotionally? Do you feel a positive emotion looking at it?
That's about all that's important to me in art these days.

Execution is vital to me, whatever it is, it must be well done and the overall feeling that it evokes must be on the happy side -and those feelings come from so many different areas; books I've read, my emotional makeup, experiences, smells...

Sad paintings, even magnificent ones, have no place in my house. But there is a difference between calm, somber, wishful, wistful, ironic, perplexing, well, just not SAD!

If you want to keep the painting, I would do what yayagal said....use something to make it antiquey looking, (since it is not an expensive painting) and put it in a matted, more ornate frame....like your mirror in the dining room. Then get two scounces and put on either side of it to fill the wall space behind your couch.

Not thrilled with the green landscape in your room. I would most definitely place that clock on a table or a mantel or a bookcase; not on a low bench where ir could easily be knocked down. Either find a much larger piece or perhaps 2 or 3 pieces of art that coordinate.