I Liked It, He Didn't

I like this old birdhouse sitting atop a weathered stump. The roof is a patina of tiny zinc shingles, the bottom fell out a dozen years ago, and no bird has ever nested in it. It's just a decor item. I've had it for years, and the stump too.

I put this arrangement on the open corner of our wood deck. I like seeing it from inside the bedroom sliding doors -- it's something to look at other than empty space and a green wall of vine covered fence.

It has visual weight, it's rustic, it fills the spot without overtaking it, it's not another plant in a container, I already have so many plants in containers . . . what's not to like?

Jim doesn't like it. 

In that open spot he wants a small sculpture. He agrees another plant in a pot would be boring, and he would like something small but significant there. Not rustic and woody. Bronze, maybe. Kinetic perhaps to move in the wind. A piece of art on the corner of the deck.

He wants to go downtown to the galleries and find something. Ack!

The edge of the deck, cantilevered out over the gravel and flagstones, needs something. I don't want to fill up the small deck with more furniture, so I'm committed to just two red chairs and a table, with open space.

He objects to the homemade cuteness I guess. I think an art piece would be overdone and way unaffordable. He thinks my stump and birdhouse are kitschy and dumb.

We disagree. We both agree, however that this vacant corner can't remain unadorned. It's really unusual for us to diverge in our tastes. We both like the same decor in our home, we enjoy the same foods and travel experiences and we're politically aligned thank god.

Because of that, I doubted whether this little stumpy thing was working or not, and removed it.

This is the compromise. A sculpture, but not art. A metal peacock:

The body is made of a polished rock, the feathers are iridescent metal and copper discs that glow in the sun, and the thing is mounted resting on a bar so it will rock in the wind, but it doesn't. 

I got it for cheap at the Mexican import store at 50% off. It straddles the line between garden folk art and real metal display art. It's not a weighty bronze sculpture but it's not a tree stump. It's eye catching and heavy enough not to blow over in the wind.

I'd like it better tucked in among my plants at ground level, but I can live with this, and so can he.