House: the Short-Tall decor theory

One of the fun things I acquired in the house purchase was this great drop leaf table of my grandmothers. I think it is so pretty and old - it even has a cigarette burn from her that dates back a while (back when it was trendy and cute to smoke (?!?!)). The table sits by our front door and acts as a console table. I drop my keys there, we put the mail there before we sort and put it away. 

I had decorated it using a pottery platter that was a wedding gift, a bowl I have had for a while, and this door knob piece I love. I loved all of those pieces individually, but it really just looked too... symmetrical for my liking. 

Recently I read a post on one of my favorite home blogs,Bower Power. Katie of Bower Power demonstrated a theory she dubbed "Short-Tall Combo" for console tables. And it hit me - that is what has been bothering me about my table! See, the short-tall combo dictates that a console table needs to be anchored with one tall item in the cluster and then have something short (and usually in a group of three) on the other side. I was trying to be too usual and it wasn't working. 

 So, taking Katie's theory to heart, I moved out my favorite door knob piece (which kept getting knocked off its stand by my clumsiness) and put my collection of Real Simple magazines under the silver bowl. While I'm not totally in love, I believe it is a step in the right direction.