new artwork in the parlor

last week i got a little stir crazy around the house and took a hammer and nails to a bunch of the rooms in my house and finally hung some artwork. why is it that i am so scared to put a hole in the wall? it’s not hard to replace or fix? my friend liz always says, “your house isn’t a museum hang the artwork”. i finally took her advice and decided that the mural in our farmhouse parlor had it’s solo moment long enough and it was time to hang this large oil painting to add some interest to it.

the mural was a birthday gift from joe over 5 years ago and was the first thing we hung in our house. it went so perfect with this vintage velvet sofa i purchased from a friends vintage shop in grand rapids. the orange foxes in the mural just made the velvet POP. however there just needed to be something hung to draw your eyes up.

my first thought was adding a mirror but i didn’t have one handy and i didn’t want to lose my courage. it was now or never. i bought this large oil painting at a small antique mall for $75. friends, that is a steal. typically paintings of this size can cost you up to $500. he has leaned up against the wall in my dining room waiting for his moment to be displayed. i kept telling him hey man, it’s better than leaning up against the wall in the crummy attic of an antique mall. it’s called count your blessings look it up.

this room is part of the original farmhouse and most likely used to be the living room. now it is situated in between the living room (the green room) and the dining room. we use it as a cocktail lounge, parlor area. it honestly is a strange room that is used mainly for when we have a lot of people over because it’s not one that you use every day. however it makes a great storage space for all of my dishes and vintage finds. I love vintage oils on canvas and this room has started to accumulate quote a few. the next step in finishing this room is changing the paint color and framing in the mural off. I’m thinking of using the same black as the trim in the dining room… what do you think?

view more of the cocktail lounges progression here.