El marco queda mejor sobre el aparador, pero el jarrón azul va mejor junto a la ventana.

Here quedar does not mean just to stay or to remain. In this kind of sentence, quedar bien / quedar mejor is commonly used to talk about how something looks or suits a place.

So:

• El marco queda mejor... = The frame looks better... / The frame is better placed...

It is very common when talking about clothes, decoration, arrangement, and appearance:

• Ese vestido te queda bien = That dress looks good on you
• La lámpara queda mejor allí = The lamp looks better there

So in this sentence, queda mejor suggests that the frame looks better in that position.

In Spanish, both quedar mejor and ir mejor can be used when talking about where something looks or works best, especially in decoration or arrangement.

Here the difference is mostly one of nuance:

• quedar mejor focuses more on how it looks
• ir mejor often suggests it works better / suits that place better / goes better there

So:

• El marco queda mejor sobre el aparador = the frame looks better on the sideboard
• El jarrón azul va mejor junto a la ventana = the blue vase works/goes better next to the window

In many everyday contexts like this, the difference is subtle, and native speakers may mix them quite naturally.

In Spain, aparador usually means a sideboard, cabinet, or piece of dining-room furniture where things can be stored or displayed.

So sobre el aparador means something like:

• on the sideboard
• on top of the cabinet

A learner should be careful not to confuse it with other furniture words, such as:

• mesa = table
• estantería = shelving / bookshelf
• cómoda = chest of drawers / dresser

Because sobre means on, on top of, or over, while en usually means in or inside (sometimes on in broader contexts, but not usually for physical placement on a surface like this).

So:

• sobre el aparador = on top of the sideboard
• en el aparador would sound more like in the sideboard / inside the cabinet, if that made sense in context

If the frame is resting on the surface, sobre is the natural choice.

A very common alternative would be:

• encima del aparador = on top of the sideboard

Junto a means next to, beside, or by.

So:

• junto a la ventana = next to the window / by the window

It is a very common location phrase.

Another common way to say this is:

• al lado de la ventana

Both are natural, though junto a can sound a little more compact or slightly more formal in some contexts.

In Spanish, adjectives often come after the noun, especially when they describe a basic quality such as:

• color
• shape
• nationality
• material

So:

• el jarrón azul = the blue vase
• la casa blanca = the white house
• el coche alemán = the German car

Color adjectives almost always come after the noun in normal usage, so el azul jarrón would sound wrong here.

Spanish uses definite articles (el, la, los, las) more often than English does.

In this sentence, the speaker is probably talking about specific objects in a room, so the definite articles are natural:

• el marco = the frame
• el aparador = the sideboard
• el jarrón azul = the blue vase
• la ventana = the window

English sometimes drops articles where Spanish keeps them, but here both languages would normally use the anyway.

You sometimes can, but the meaning changes a bit.

• queda mejor = looks better / suits that place better
• está mejor = is better there, often more neutral and less specifically about appearance

For decoration, quedar mejor is especially common because it focuses on visual result.

Compare:

• El cuadro queda mejor aquí = The picture looks better here
• El cuadro está mejor aquí = The picture is better here / It’s better here

So está mejor is possible in some contexts, but queda mejor sounds more idiomatic when judging arrangement and appearance.

Pero means but. It contrasts the best place for one object with the best place for another.

So the structure is:

• El marco queda mejor sobre el aparador
• pero
• el jarrón azul va mejor junto a la ventana

This suggests something like:

• the frame looks better on the sideboard,
• but the blue vase works better next to the window.

It is a simple contrast between two placement choices.

The word order is quite normal for Spanish:

• El marco = subject
• queda mejor = verb phrase
• sobre el aparador = place

Then:

• el jarrón azul = subject
• va mejor = verb phrase
• junto a la ventana = place

So the overall structure is very similar to English:

• The frame looks better on the sideboard, but the blue vase goes better next to the window.

The main difference for an English speaker is usually:

• adjective placement: jarrón azul
• use of verbs like quedar and ir in an idiomatic way for arrangement and appearance

Yes. Both are possible.

You could hear:

• El marco va mejor sobre el aparador
• El jarrón azul queda mejor junto a la ventana

Both would sound natural in many situations.

The speaker’s choice of queda for one object and va for the other adds a bit of variety and slightly different shades of meaning, but it is not a strict grammatical rule that one object must take one verb and the other another.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• El marco queda mejor sobre el aparador, pero el jarrón azul va mejor junto a la ventana.

Approximate English-style help:

• el MAR-ko KAY-da meh-HOR SO-breh el a-pa-ra-DOR, PE-ro el ha-RRON a-THOOL ba meh-HOR HOON-to a la ben-TA-na

A few Spain-Spanish notes:

• j in jarrón sounds like a strong throaty h
• z in azul and ventana? Only azul has z here, and in most of Spain it sounds like the th in thin
• ll is not in this sentence
• stress:
  • marco
  • queda
  • mejor
  • aparador
  • jarrón
  • azul
  • ventana

You do not need perfect pronunciation to understand the grammar, but learners often notice the Spain pronunciation of z in azul.