I have a confession. I hate my living room. Now, I know that hate is a strong word, but I really do mean it in this case.
In its current state, my living room is a hodgepodge of mismatched furniture – and not ‘mismatched’ in a good way. The “media center” is too small, the coffee table is too large, and the top of the room doesn’t coordinate with the bottom of the room in any shape, form or fashion.
I can’t believe I just revealed this to you. This is honestly what my living room looks like on a good day. I’ve lived with it like this for about six years, and I will probably live with it like this for a few more.
If you have a room in your house that you hate (or strongly dislike), here’s how to live with it.
What to do When You Hate Your Living Room
1. Make Peace – One of the best things you can do about a room that you hate is to make peace with it. Sometimes I feel silly writing each week about decorating, because it’s not one of the “big” things in life. It may feel big when you have a room that you hate, but it obviously pales in comparison to what a lot of other people are dealing with.
In the past few years, my kids have managed to destroy this chair that I rescued, meaning that there is old, exposed hot glue on its sides and wash faded throw pillows on its back. That’s okay. I know that I won’t have this chair in my home forever (or at least this chair in its current state), and if I do, I at least know that it’s comfy and well-loved.
Make peace with your room (or rooms) in their current state, and remember that they won’t always look like they do today.
2. Make a Plan – To prevent your room from looking like it does today, make a plan of action for what you want it to look like. For some of you, that may mean creating a mood board. Others of you may start a Pinterest board for things you would love to see in the room. Still others may play with paint samples or fabric swatches in an effort to see what would look good in the room. These are all things that mean you are making a plan.
This is obviously not my living room. I do have a plan for my living room, but it’s currently living inside my brain.
But this is my plan for my son’s bedroom – the next room on my hit list. I was hoping to start working on it as soon as school started, but other obligations – and now a back injury – have sidelined those plans. Even though Zack and I both dislike his current room, we know that this is our plan for it as soon as I can get started. I have found that having a plan helps me get started on a room that I don’t like. Otherwise, I just ignore it in hopes that it will magically go away.
3. Don’t Make Apologies – This is a big one, y’all. When you have friends and family over to visit, don’t apologize for a room that you hate. They are there to see you, not your home. And chances are, they didn’t even notice all of the little things that you are pointing out to them.
My little group of friends has started coming over on Sunday evenings to watch The Walking Dead. Even though my living room isn’t well-appointed, it’s comfortable enough for 5 or 6 of us to hang out and watch TV. To make my point about your friends and family not noticing things in your room, one of my friends commented a few weeks ago how much she loved my new sputnik chandelier. I laughed, since I had hung that up about 10 months ago.
I also hate my kitchen/breakfast area that you can see through the archways there, but I’m going to have to live with that for a while. There are a few other rooms ahead of it on my redo list.
4. Make Changes as Your Budget Allows – Decorating as my budget allows is a huge one for me. We are lucky to live a comfortable lifestyle, but we don’t have an unlimited source of money for furniture, accessories and light fixtures. We’re putting as much money as we can away for our retirement and into our kids’ college funds, so we don’t have a lot of money just hanging around.
To that end, I am making changes as my budget will allow. Last year, I hired a professional painter to paint this room (and some other areas) bright Lindsay White. At the same time, I found my reasonably priced Sputnik chandelier. I would have waited on that, too, but the painter (and all around handy guru) offered to install it for me since he would already have the scaffolding in my house. Earlier this year, I created the panels hanging in the top level of windows.
The next thing I want to do in this room is new flooring – either tile that looks like wood or some sort of wood/engineered wood itself. I’m putting money aside for that. Since I want that floor in my living room, entry way, dining room and kitchen, it’s going to be a big expense. I certainly won’t be able to make that change this year. I’m hoping that I can do that in 2015.
Obviously, I want new (or new-to-me vintage) furniture. I also want to make a giant built-in on the TV wall and add tons of accessories. By having a goal and doing one thing at a time, I’m not overwhelmed with the expense of such a big project. And since I’m working on it one thing at a time, I know it will happen when it can. I know there are people who can’t live in their homes with it half finished, and I totally understand that – but that’s when I refer back to points #1 and #3.
5. Make a Request for Help (if You Need it) – If you feel overwhelmed by a room and don’t know where to start, ask for help! Find a friend or neighbor who’s house you love and ask them for suggestions. Hit up Pinterest or a favorite blogger and get ideas for them.
Or, sign up for the brand-new School of Decorating. Our wonderful contributor – Jackie from Teal & Lime – has just opened the doors of her virtual academy. There you will find video tutorials for specific decorating dilemmas (like how to style shelves and how to shop for decor online), video interviews from decorating experts, and a forum to springboard your ideas off of other members.
I’m excited to announce that Jackie recently completed an interview with me about the hows/whys of my decorating style, and it went live this morning! Here is a little preview clip of that interview:
If you are interested in signing up for the School of Decorating, click here to begin the sign-up process or take a look to get more information. From now until October 25, 2014, you can use code MAKELY5 to save $5 off your first month (coupon only applies to first month’s tuition for new members).
Do you have a room that you hate (or strongly dislike) in your home? Tell me about it in the comments! Have you made peace with it and a plan for moving forward? Or are you stuck making apologies?
Thank you for reminding me I don’t need everything perfect – but, I admit, I hate, hate, hate my bathroom so the money I am saving is going toward getting that depressing room done. I am reminded that I am blessed to have a home (small, yes) but mine! You have inspired me. thanks much.
You are welcome! It’s really hard to remember sometimes, but it’s true!
I really don’t like my foyer. I really should move it to the top of my list, but family and friends come in the side door. I only open the front door for package deliveries and sales people.
I’m doing something similar. My master bath needs some life – BIG TIME. But, my husband and I are the only ones who see it, so it’s like the last thing on my list.
I hate our entryway and our main guest bathroom. The entryway NEEDS painting but since our stairs to the second floor are right thurr when you come in the front door, the walls are wayyyyy too high for us, so it’ll be a pro job. I want to get the whole main floor done so it’s all taken care of at one time but I feel like it’s going to cost a lot of money. I also hate two of our four bathrooms with the passion of 1,000 fiery suns, but I have plans for those babies. Just need to find the time to act on those plans!
I hate my bedroom! It’s never showed up on my blog. It’s dark, it’s super messy. People might wonder about my sanity if they saw it. Honestly. It’s a nice big size but it doesn’t fit our needs or our life. I don’t have time to properly hang up laundry all the time in the closet. So it piles up in the bedroom. When we need to clear space in other rooms upstairs, I just move junk to our bedroom and it never moves out. I don’t know what to do to make it better or easier. Thankfully I am happier with the rest of our house – there were several rooms that needed improvements and we did some remodeling. Our kitchen needs an update but I don’t hate it.
I think it’s a good plan to have a goal for an improvement that costs $$ and a timeline to save the $$ and make the change. Otherwise without that goal, it’s easy to let the years go by and not be happy with a room for too long.
Yes! That’s definitely true – setting a goal will help you get their faster and make it easier when you are not getting that Starbucks coffee so you can later have a new floor. 🙂
I have a tough time doing a little bit at a time. It takes me so long to get to the next step that I’m already over the one done before. Guess I should just stockpile all of my collected this g’s and just put it all together when I’m done acquiring for the room.
I am so like that. In the middle of a project, my head has already moved on to the next one.
Haha, great title! Really catches a reader’s attention! Secondly, good advice! Far too often we feel alone in thinking our living room is the only one that doesn’t look like it is right off the pages of Pinterest! Thanks for sharing!
Yes! Finally someone writes abut f
Indeed, you should just live with what you have, which in your case is a living room that you “hate.” And it is true that you should just work your way around it and change anything but with regards to a budget.
I’m not sure if its a “room” persay but I have an open concept downstairs living/dining and extra. I took out a wall which i love but once you get past the living room and before the kitchen there’s this no mans land that i’m not entirely sure what to do with. I have a table and chairs there but the chandelier is about 3 feet right of it. then theres this other awkward nook that leads into the under stair closet and the other side holds the bathroom. I want to keep the flow of the house, its small so keeping it from looking cluttered (currently) but storage is important (not enough of) but it seems to me that stacking up stuff and throwing a table and chairs in the mix does not a room make… Oh and its yellow. 😀
I hate my living room so much!! This article is very encouraging and what really makes me amazed is that I have the same cut out in the wall to the kitchen that I see in your picture. I always say it looks like it’s for puppet shows.
I think it looks cozy in my opinion. Let’s trade.
My lounger has doors in the middle of 3 walls and a fireplace in the middle of the other. Wherever you put the furniture it’s in the way. I just don’t know what to do
Someone took out the half wall between my dining room and the den, so I have a huge kitchen/dining/den area all together. The den has a fireplace and a door to the garage, and is also carpeted while the kitchen/dining is linoleum. I try to divide the spaces but currently have no chairs or couch to do so. So I’ve got a piano, a bookcase, and a computer desk surrounding a fireplace. I have tried to put a couch in there, but the dog barks non stop at it, so I’m stuck with this awkward den. The kids use it as their playing/running/dancing area so they’re happy. It’s just weird and frustrating. My husband is moving the grandfather clock in there now too, he needs another bird cage for his macaws in the living room. I just go outside, lol!
this is such an old article but I just wanna say it was really relieving for me to read. All the furniture and wood in my apartment is mismatched and I feel like I’m still living with college dorm furniture. Thank you for helping me feel a little better.
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