AにBを飾る or BでAを飾る？

[Lomaster]

I think i've seen both variations so far. Are both 玄関に花を飾る and 花で玄関を飾る grammatically correct? If so, what about nuances? To my Indo-European ear 花で玄関を飾る sounds more natural, although i can see how one can 飾る something onto something else.

 

[Toritoribe]

玄関に花を飾る and 花で玄関を飾る are both correct, but the former is more common. 玄関に花を飾る is just an image of a vase with flowers in it, whereas 花で玄関を飾る sounds like the entrance is filled with flowers. The difference is from the object; what is put/decorated (花を飾る vs. 玄関を飾る).

 

[raikado]

I found this 次の言い方、どちらでも使われているようですが、どれが文法的に正しいで... - Yahoo!知恵袋.
Both versions are correct but the object that they focus on is different. For a quick answer, look at aurinkokunta101's post. I think seeing those two sentences with 塗る should make it easier.

 

[Lomaster]

Thanks for the answers. Now that i've come to learn about 壁塗り代換 phenomenon
it makes much more sense to use に with the object and を with the means in 飾る、塗る cases.
And i'm glad to know that the opposite is also possible in certain cases (like in "filled with flowers" case above)

 

[Toritoribe]

Notice that 飾る has a different nuance between 花を飾る and 玄関を飾る. The former is closer to "to put", whereas the latter is "to decorate". Therefore 花で玄関を飾る has a nuance of "being filled with flowers", not only the ground but maybe also the walls or door. It's also same for 壁に絵を飾る vs. 絵で壁を飾る. The former is "to put a picture on a wall", but 絵 might not be singular in the latter.
As you can see above, in the sentence 玄関に花を飾る, 玄関 is the location, not the object. 花 is not the means, either.

 

[Lomaster]

Notice that 飾る has a different nuance between 花を飾る and 玄関を飾る. The former is closer to "to put", whereas the latter is "to decorate". Therefore 花で玄関を飾る has a nuance of "being filled with flowers", not only the ground but maybe also the walls or door. It's also same for 壁に絵を飾る vs. 絵で壁を飾る. The former is "to put a picture on a wall", but 絵 might not be singular in the latter.

That's exactly how i understood it.

As you can see above, in the sentence 玄関に花を飾る, 玄関 is the location, not the object. 花 is not the means, either.

Calling grammatical units properly was never my strong point.