I am in awe of people like your artist. If you trust him, I’m sure it will be what you want.

As for my powder room: I have all the elements chosen, many are sitting in my living room awaiting the start of the project. I just chose my contractor, who happens to live down the road (!) and also gave me the best quote for the labor. I use Houzz for contractor recommendations and did so for my deck project as well. Every referral was a pro, so anyone reading this, keep Houzz in mind if you need contractors.

My powder room is 3 feet wide, 9 feet long with 10 foot ceilings. Yup, I call it The Coffin! I will be doing wainscoting with wallpaper on the walls and ceiling, wall hung sink, new sconces and mirror, faucet/toilet paper holder/towel hook all in aged brass. Here are before photos. Going into the bathroom, you have to squeeze around it to get inside! I think the smaller sink will help.
I may be on here for help with the mirror choice since it will be a tight squeeze when I go from a singe loverhad light to the side sconces. My tile is solid dark blue and I will find blue grout.
I don’t have a start date yet.

RedRyder, I think your bathroom will look fantastic with wainscoting and wallpaper. Too bad you have to get a smaller sink - I like the pedestal sink that’s there. I think I’ll go with brass/gold fixtures in my bathroom too. Maybe something like this if I get toilet #2. Please do post your progress!

KW, I just saw your suggestions about the master sitting room. The desk bench is fabric, and I already sent it out to get re-upholstered in a greenish bluish color, like the drapes (hopefully).
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I’m open to painting the bed and side table, which I had painted grey in my previous grey stage, but I can definitely try another color for this room.
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I found this colorful painting that pulls together some of the bluish greenish color with the orangey of the desk. I think the lady in the painting looks like me, wearing a hat to protect my face from the sun while drinking a cup of tea. I also got this giant atlas moth. I don’t really have a cohesive plan for the art in this room, but I like really looking at these two pieces.

LB - the art is lovely! It’s such a happy & peaceful scene. Perfect for the sitting room. The colors are wonderful & it really will look great with the desk. The frame molding is really pretty - almost dainty with its detail & it looks gold tone so will be great with light you’re hanging in room. It’s quite large too - where are you thinking of hanging - maybe on the wall at head of daybed? The moth is amazing - truly miraculous the beauty that exists in nature. Tea - I’m sitting here with my evening bergomot with honey. So calming…

I love bergamot and honey too! I wish I could have you over for tea!

Little Bird, I've been re-reading your other threads ("Bench or cabinet in entry?" and "How to display Korean hanbok.") I'm again enjoying your creative choices. I read that you are in the Midwest. May I ask where?

I’m in Minnesota. If you’re nearby, you should come over for tea too!

Tea and a tour, please, Little Bird. I'm in Iowa City. Years ago, I spent a lot of time near Alexandria where my sister lived. Oh, the lakes and trees. And who doesn't love Minneapolis!

My older sister & husband lived in Eden Prairie & Burnsville many moons ago. My husband & I were in Omaha with USAF & we visited - in summer - I do remember the extraordinarily large mosquitos 😱

How do you know when you’re finally gone overboard with the orchids? When you can no longer see your dining room? Or not until they start falling off the edge of the counter?

Ahh - but I see succulents mixed in there so it’s not a total orchid obsession! Also I notice that your orchids are exclusively in shades of pink… so a pink orchid love?

I used to have many colors orchids, but they succumbed to mealybug when I brought home a few from a fancy florist. That’s when I switched over to succulents, but I can’t resist when I see orchids at Trader Joe, and these have been healthy over the past year. No more fancy florists for me!

Two fun unique flowers!

Beautiful plant collection!🥰

Hi Little Bird. Please pardon the interruption. I think you added an antique secretary behind the chairs in your living room. Or is it that Flo did a mockup of one you found, but you decided against it? If you bought it, would you please share a photo of it in the room? 🙏🥰

RedRyder -

I was wondering if I was the only one having tagging issues on my iPad/iPhone.

I hate all the changes that Houzz keeps making that causes using an iPad so difficult! No auto capitalization after a period. No auto period after spacing twice. No auto apostrophe when it should be added. All of the foregoing used to work when I first joined Houzz three years ago.

And now tagging people - that’s been fairly recent. Very annoying. It sed to beeasy to tag people. In fact, if you just started to type a user name, it automatically pulled up users in the thread first before you even fully typed out the entire name) - but that stopped awhile ago. Then I wasn’t able to pull up any user name that had more than one word.

I then discovered that if I held curser down on someone’s user name at the beginning of their comment + clicked ”copy” - I could paste that when I started my comment, and it would provide the correct name to type in order to have that user show as an option on my screen -

For example, if you do that to Little Bird - this is what you see when you paste it: https://www.houzz.com/user/alex102938

If I typed ”@alex102938” - Little Bird’s correct tag is shown. HOWEVER, within the last couple weeks, that has stopped working. It still pulls up Little Bird’s correct tag - but when I click on it, it fails to actually tag her:

@Little Bird- no longer green on my screen - and doesn’t actually tag person.

SO FRUSTRATING!!

Okay - so for my rant!

Little Bird - your orchids are beautiful! I’ve had a few for about three years - and suddenly they have spider mites. Not happy. I think they were on some fresh cut flowers that I purchased. They have also traveled to a few of my succulents. 😢 I’ve never had any pests before.

Your powder room is going to look beautiful! Very interested in seeing the room when finished!!

@dani_m08 The tagging doesn’t work properly on my iPad. When I start a person’s name with @, it doesn’t highlight in green. HOWEVER, ironically, Little Bird’s name was in green on my screen in your last comment to her, but it doesn’t do anything.

My iPad does start a new sentence with a capital letter.

I think some of the upgrades may be incompatible with Apple Products. My desktop Houzz software does all the things you’re not seeing. Names start popping up when half typed, etc. Not true with my iPad, which is what I use 90% of the time.

Dani_m08, I’ve never been able to tag at all on my iPhone. But I do have a solution for your spider mites! I had some hitchhike in on new plants, and infected all of my orchids and succulents. If you catch it early enough, you can save your plants. First, any spider mites or fluffy white stuff you can see - spray with 70% isopropyl alcohol and use a cotton swab to remove from the plant. Then sprinkle all of your pots with Bonide Systemic House Plant Insect Control and water in. This completely got rid of all my insect problems. I repeat every month or two as a preventive.

Dsimber, you’re not interrupting - I’m the one who can never focus on the task at hand 🤣. The toilet, tiles and faucet have been ordered for the powder room, but who knows when the contractor will actually get started on that. So we might as well chat about unrelated items!

I do have an antique secretary in the living room. Or did you mean the secretary in the sitting room by the master bedroom? I thought that was also an antique when I saw it, but it turns out that it’s just used furniture. My local antique and junk stores gave a lot of fun stuff!

@Little Bird Wow - I don’t think I’ve seen that updated pic of your LR antique desk with the deer & pinned insect display. So pretty & really interesting! I do remember the reclining deer - it really looks nice in that spot.

Thank you, Little Bird! Beautiful pieces! These just might inspire me to find the antique and used shops in the Iowa City area. I've only been here for two years. Lol.

Little Bird - THANK YOU! I’ve been so upset - and have been acting like a freak about these things (I am constantly checking my orchids + succulents - and I have a lot of succulents!) I use my camera on my iPhone and 10x magnification every time I see a tiny speck on something!

I have been using the isopropyl alcohol + using cotton swabs to remove them. Some of them are so tiny! I’ve also been hosing them off in the utility sink - and then spraying the alcohol everywhere on the sink + counter in case any of them didn’t go down the drain!

I started looking at preventative measures - but wasn’t sure which one to purchase. I’m heading to Amazon now!

Also, you have a beautiful home!

RedRyder - I have a MacBook Air at home (desktop at my office - but I’ve been home mostly due to health stuff - if I was at the office, I wouldn’t have time for Houzz during the day).

Last time I used my Macbook Air for Houzz, it also had some problems - it’s also difficult to get used to NOT having a touchscreen when using it for “fun” because I’ve always preferred to use my iPad. Maybe I will try it again.

Or maybe I need to tell my lawfirm that I need a desktop at home. . . 😉

Thanks, KW. I have even more of those insects (we have a really good taxidermy shop nearby), but it’s a lot of trouble to rearrange them to fit in new ones, so I haven’t added them in yet. It’s like with the orchids - how much is too much? I do tend to go all the way to the edge

@Little Bird Your comment ”I do tend to go all the way to the edge” made me laugh. My family claims that I tend towards ’obsession’ with some of my interests. I claim those interests are ’passions’ and which feeling every person should have about one or two of their interests!

Love love IT!

I found this fun colorful print (already framed!) for the sunroom. It’s resting on a chair for now, but I’ll hang a little higher than that on the wall. I’m thinking of getting this tulip CAFE TABLE and chairs, in the orange fabric. I have samples of the SIDE TABLE version in my sunroom. So the actual cafe table will of course be taller and wider. But what do you guys think about the table top - should I get the white laminate top, or the arabescato marble top?

@Little Bird - I love that art! It looks really cool looking at it & then through to LR & seeing the art over sofa. And I love the tulip table & chairs too! The table is such a great companion to the coffee table in LR that I love. I’m really torn between the white top & marble top. My initial thought is white top bc it is better with the floor. Both tops work with the art & the orange seat fabric. So, when I look up, both are great - when I look down, I think the white, which is also great with art & everything, looks best with the flooring in sunroom. Let’s hear from others to find out if I’m being too cautious!

I vote the grey. And then, with the orange fabric, I wonder if you would have any interest in picking up the light turquoise from the art to paint the ceiling or walls or both. But I like more color than most.

With the orange chairs, my preference is the white table. Otherwise, just the grey table and white chairs. For some reason the orange with the grey table just doesn’t look good to my eye. Even though the colors are in the art.

@Little Bird - @glschisler thoughts on the orange seats with grey marble table not being as good as the orange with white is a great point. I’m looking at the 2 options again & the orange seats make the marble top too busy with the art - or, maybe just not as ’crisp’.

Good points, KW, k123 and glschisler. Here’s what the orange chair looks like. I think you guys are right that the all-white table is more crisp and clean. The only reason I’m not “loving” it is that it’s laminate. But the marble really is very busy looking. There is another option - carrerra marble, which is more light grey all over, instead of the strong veining in the arabescato. But is white better than light grey?

KW - that is so perceptive of you to see the relationship between the tulip table and the living room “trumpet” tables. I didn’t even notice that - that it’s basically the same table, but upside down and taller.

Here’s the carrera marble version

A quality white laminate tabletop is great. Speaking from experience here--we finally settled on an Eames table for our kitchen, with a white laminate top. It's so easy to clean, and it's just plain, unobstrusive, lets the eye travel to the other interesting things in the room. And we have a lot less style going on than you do! Go with the white laminate, enjoy the easy care and the way it lets all of your gorgeous elements shine.

@Little Bird - from the side view of the carrera marble version, that top looks very much less busy / detailed than the arabescato top. It may be the perfect compromise, especially if you really don’t like the laminate top which maybe could be just too plain vanilla for your setting. That shape relationship between tulip table & trumpet table really jumped out for me! You know that I think that trumpet table is a piece of art in that music room from my comments when you first showed us that room & the table!

That’s good to hear, mccarroll16. So we are kicking out the busy arabescato, and deciding between the clean white, or the light grey carrera (less ideal than white, but it has marble appeal).

Also, everything is coming out of the sunroom. The bubble chair started deflating, so we are getting a refund on that. Fun rug is not the right size, so also coming out. And hanging chair wasn’t getting used, so moving to the porch. So starting fresh, with nothing but the cafe table/chairs and colorful art. Not sure if I need a rug in there, maybe a natural color sisal, or just leave the terra cotta as is. I think I’ll wait to see how the table setup looks before deciding what to do with the rest of the room.

What is the main function of the sun room? A rug is always nice, but if kids are playing a lot it can become a trip hazard.

I know the current rug is going, but the room looks good with a rug and upholstered furniture, so I would vote for “yes” to a rug.

Do you use the sunroom for lounging or reading or spend any time out there each day or is it going to become more of a mudroom but you got a lot of nice windows so I hate to see that and if you keeping that floor you got it pick a color from the floor in the rug like you did in that rug and a natural wheat color rug would be kind of nice really to go with the floor unless you find something else that's similar to that and has design if you want design are you going to let the trees and nature speak your design for the room

Oh, I forgot - the kids use the room for practicing cello. Good point, RedRyder and happyleg. So a rug would definitely be helpful, as the floor is very cold in there. The room is 16x8, so super long and skinny. Not sure if I should try to cover it all with one rug, or have the table/chairs be a separate area. I could also get other lounge seating to replace the white bubble sofa, and the kids would have enough room to practice in the center of the room.

So, does something like the current green flower rug still work in that room? Or is it too much now with the orange lady art? Or should I keep the rug and not put the lady in there?

Yes I think the art is lovely in there with the rug and the children's music

Oops, meant to include this photo. Pano distorts the shape, but you can see that the rug is a weird size.

LB, I do really like that rug & thought it seemed so perfect for a sunroom. Especially perfect on a cold MN winter day! It’s a nice idea to have a separate rug for the tulip table area. Would that make the floral rug easier to place in the seating area? I think if you do get a rug for table it should be very little or no pattern so it doesn’t distract from the art. But I foresee a challenge of color choice with the orange seat cushions. So, maybe not. Seems a decision that comes after furniture figured out.

You could get a round rug for by the couch it don't have to be long

KW, I agree that there should be minimal going on right by the art. Maybe sisal over the entire floor, with the green flower rug layered on top, just in the cello area? I could have the rug shortened to leave enough room for the table/chairs. Or do you think I should leave some terra cotta tile showing? Thanks so much for all your advice!

happyleg, the bubble sofa is going away - just waiting for them to come pick it up and get my refund!

I would be concerned about more than one rug being a trip hazard. I do like the feel of the rug you posted. Something in happy colors will stand up to the sun. (Full Disclosure: I don’t like sisal rugs so I wouldn’t ever suggest them.)

Colorful rugs are better at hiding small messes… 😉

They don't do refunds for sofas out here but Everett's Furniture you still let people do a trade in on their old thing for something new and they got a little bit of money off but not a lot

Oh, I don’t get an actual refund either - just store credit. Good point about tripping, which I’m prone to, even without layered rugs!

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I am not a fan of natural sisal rugs. We had one in our beach condo several years ago. It didn’t last one year without shredding! If you like the sisal pattern, go with a nylon rug. I would just start fresh in your beautiful room. Hang your art, get your table and chairs, then decide if a shortened rug would look good at the other end of the room. I do love your rug.