This post chronicles the tale of how one tiny room with two walls got a makeover. No furniture, budget, or marriage was harmed in the making of this room.
Here’s how our little dining room turned sitting room looked up until last week. I realized it wasn’t working for us when one of our boys wanted to read to me and I asked him if he wanted to read in this room and the answer was a reluctant “I guess”. We talked about the fact that this room didn’t feel very cozy and I asked him why he thought it was so uncozy. He’s eight so he didn’t have some life changing advice but he simply stated that the red sofa room was cozier. And he was right.
apparently, we live on Mercury
Here are a few things that made this room not work for us
1. Sofa placement
I feel like the natural place for the sofa in this room is on the long wall. The room is tiny and only has two real walls, the window wall and the long wall. But, the sofa was never inviting. It never called out to us, begging us to rest our haunches on it. I like rooms where the sofas speak to you {speak nice things, not rude things like “help me, somebody please put me out of my misery”}. Normally, I wouldn’t put a sofa in front of a nice, big window but, I figured it was worth a try, I can always move it back.
2. Clutter
Granted,there’s not a huge amount of clutter, but accessories are my drug of choice. I have a big problem with covering all surfaces with an abundance of accessories. At the time this photo was taken, the coffee table had become a holding area for a bunch of loitering accessories.
3. The room has no purpose
I’m not sure I solved this problem. We are very blessed to live in such a large home that we have rooms without a specific purpose. It irks me when each room doesn’t have a task it needs to fulfil but, for now, being pretty and inviting are good goals.
First, I cleared out all the little junk.
Then I moved the sofa in front of the window and liked it. But then I had a huge empty expanse of wall that needed anchoring. So I pushed the thrift store dresser on the long wall. Of course I moved the coffee table and rug. And I clipped on some drapes I found at the thrift store. They are too short but you can’t tell with the sofa in front of them. I didn’t even bother to take the old mistreatments off {can you see them behind the blue ones?} And for the record, the drapery color looks beautiful in real life, not purple or anything like it reads in this photo.
Here’s the feature wall. When you wall into the front door and look to the right you see this wall first. The dresser cost $80 and the shutters were $10 I think, you can find the rest of the room’s prices here. I’ve had the lamp and white frames for years. And you can look for a few of those accessories on ebay in the next week or so. And no worries, I’m still trying to figure out what knobs to use.
The sofa works really well on the window wall. When you sit there it is so cozy and you don’t have that exposed feeling like you did when it was on the other wall. Here’s a little trick I’m not sure we’ve talked about before–I like to use a bed pillow in a pretty sham on my sofas. I love the texture of this one.
This is the one I use on the toile sofa. When we watch movies, everyone fights over who gets the big pillow.
Ultimately, the room is a work in progress, just like the rest of the house. But, now we actually like being in there and I love looking at it. Plus, the dresser is great storage for books {but I don’t use it for that, it’s packed with…accessories!}.
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love the new look nester
comfy ginormous sqooshey bed pillows rock!
guess ya’ll will have reading time there tonight! :)
ps–the other day i used the term “valuable real estate” when discussing my kitchen counter-loved it
i was so channeling my inner nester
xo
love the new look nester
comfy ginormous sqooshey bed pillows rock!
guess ya’ll will have reading time there tonight! :)
ps–the other day i used the term “valuable real estate” when discussing my kitchen counter-loved it
i was so channeling my inner nester
xo
That really is more inviting! Moving your couch and table opened it up and made the couch more accessible. Love it! Love it all!!
Great job! I love it when I move things around and it’s like a brand new place for no bucks!!! I think I would love to read in this room, and although like you, I am a fiend for accessories, this looks better and gives you a place to set your coffee cup in the morning!
WOW what a difference that makes! I love the sofa against the window-wall. I bet that will be a lovely spot to cuddle up and read and enjoy the natural light. I also adore the thrifted dresser. How pretty!
Looks great!
It was rally cute before, but the after is definately more “cozy” and purposeful. great job! I actually like the layering of the 2 drapes
It looks beautiful, warm and inviting. Great job!
I think the new look is wonderful! It looks like a place that I’d love to be. Just plop down on the sofa in the afternoon sunshine and take a leisurely nap (of about, oh, 10 minuets if I were real lucky).
You did a great job! Thanks for showing us that you don’t have to go out and spend $$$ to get a new look.
The couch now looks like a place you might sit down to read quietly, hide from the noise in the house and (accidentally) fall asleep. I guess that equals cozy, right?
Why are there only drawer pulls on the left side of the dresser?
Oh, I do love it!!! I would love a tour of your house, IRL, naturally. But I am not a crazy stalker. That would be me if I showed up at your front door and wanted a tour IRL….LOL.
Suzanne
Like it? No.. LOVE it! I just love the colors of that room. So soothing but not boring. I have just finished redo-ing our master bathroom. I think it is the land of brown. Tan tile, tan walls, brown cabinets. I like the look but I need to color it up but keep it soft at the same time. Thanks for always providing great ideas. You rock. :)
I like it!! I think your son will enjoy reading in there now plus he will have easy access to the natural sunlight. It looks great!!
we have a room with no defined purpose, too, right inside the front door.
we call it the “waiting room off the lobby”, hah! but it’s turned into my favorite room, where i do my Bible Study & listen to music & send notes (way too few) & nap (way too many).
i agree with suzanne – it’s time for a tour of your current house.
i love the bed pillow in the sham idea. gotta go do that right now!
I do like the feature wall and I see what you are saying about the furniture placement of the sofa. I think it was a good idea to eliminate some of the tchotchkies . The thing I would do next – and unfortunately this one involves $$$ is to lose the sofa entirely. Do you have two upholstered chairs you could steal from somewhere else in the house? I also have a small room like this to the right of my entry. I envisioned a sofa there looking out the window ( on our long wall) where kids could watch for rides. It just didn’t work. I did the steal a couple of chairs thing and they still aren’t right but I’m getting there. Actually, this might be a post for me too. Thanks for the idea.
I love the blue color you are working with. I don’t have anything like that but I do heart it.
I actually wish I had 4 uphostered chairs, one for each corner!
maybe I’ll get lucky at the thrift shop?
looks awesome!
I think you’ve mentioned somewhere on your blog the color of the shutters – could you tell me what it is? LOVE it!
on the sidebar search for painted armiore or “painting pine furniture” it’s the same color I used for that!
I love the rearranged look. I never put furniture in front of windows either. Maybe I should change my mind????
It looks so pretty and cozy. Good job!
Love it! :) It does look much cozier… how fun that you showed us the transition!
I have a guest post on a friend’s blog on tablescaping today… everything I know about it I learned from you, but I think I need more unique accessories, I do have one kind of unusual thingy filled with corks but besides that, just picture frames… anyway, thanks so much for sharing about how to do things like this, it inspires me to try even when I’m not always thrilled with the way it turns out. IDHTBPTBB, right? :)
Guest posting here: http://morinhouse.blogspot.com/2010/02/love-your-house-guest-post.html
Yes, I agree that second version of the room looks much better. So did you get to read in that room with your boy?
I love this room-great job!
Good for you for making it suit your needs! I have a little bedroom that is currently not being used. It was the nursery until a couple of weeks ago- sniff! I’m hoping it will be a nursery again at some point, but for now I feel if I don’t give it some kind of purpose it will get taken over by junk!
Wow! I can’t believe the difference those few changes made. It looks soooo much better. I really admire your knack for pulling things together. It amazes me how you can take take so many different colors and make them work. Is is a matter of ‘buy what you love and it will work somehow’ or is there a trick to it? Inquiring minds want to know. :0) I often feel stuck because my house is so tiny I don’t feel like I really have any options. Anyway, love the new look. It does seem much cozier.
Love the change! Did you slap your forehead at all and wonder why you didn’t do this sooner? Now you can totally spy on the neighbors from your perch on the sofa. I mean, do your part to keep the neighborhood safe.
totally slapped myself!
I like it the new way very much! The dresser looks fantastic under the shutters and the accessories look great. I’d sit in there and read a book with you any time {but I want the big pillow}! : )
you have such beautiful accessories! :]
i like what you’ve done to the room.
Kids are very smart when it comes to this stuff, if we only listen to them!! You made it work, even better, using things you already had! Janell
Well, I thought it looked nice to start with, but you’re right–there’s definitely something cozier about it after the rearrangement. We had a similar room in our last house that I never knew what to do with. It turned into the “time-out” room for the kids, so there were never many pleasant memories attached to it. Ha.
Interesting about the shams on the sofas–I never would’ve thought of that!
I, too, have my sofa in front of windows. Since my sofa is low, and the windows are up higher, it doesn’t really block any light.
Don’t throw things at me… but are the shutters and the dresser the same color – they almost look too “matchy.” Girl, you know I ♥ ya!
Same color. But not because I thought they needed to be.
Remember, I just moved the dresser there, and we are renting, and we move alot, and in my post about the dresser I said I wanted to paint it white but I probably won’t get around to it for a year or two and my house isn’t perfect.
There are 739 other things in the room that you could point out that are “wrong” too. Oh well! heart you too!
Oh, if you saw my whole house, you’d laugh! It’s a work in process that I hope never comes to an end. So glad we get to share the journey, though!
it is so a journey, you are right. And you were right about the “matchy” I would never advise someone to purposely paint those two items the same color. just using what i have
my house will never grace the pages of any magazine because of all the small things {ok, some big} that I’ve chosen not to let stop me from considering my home to be beautiful. But, I realized if I waited untill my house was done, and looked “right” I could never show any photos of it.
Thank you all for putting up with the same color from the same can of paint, dressers with out knobs and using what I have. Love you Gina!
When the second child leaves for college in the fall, I will have a room to play with. My youngest wants the bigger room and I have promised her a room make-over. Already have plans, just haven’t informed “Mr. Wonderful” of what his part will be. Although I have found chocolate pie works wonders for his willingness to help. Thanks Nester and include me on the home tour.
Oh I really like it! Very cozy now! :-)
Have to admit when I saw all the accessories on that coffee table I was shocked. Mine has a few items but I keep it to just a few…namely because I’m lazy and hate moving it all off to clean the table. But also because I want guests to feel free to plunk their beverage or whatever down on the table and get more comfy while we’re visiting.
I also was forced to put my sofa in front of a big window because my house is tiny and the living room serves many purposes – including watching the dreaded TV and that was really the only spot that worked. And as Get Your Martha On so accurately points out, it does enable you to spy on the neighbors..he he he just kidding. Well, sometimes I spy….
Christine and other people, please know, that coffee table was NOT all decorated, I didn’t intend for all that stuff to be put there and actually look good, I just started sitting stuff on there over the past few weeks to get it out of the way and before I knew it, it was covered in stuff.
I heart accessories but not THAT much!
Thank heaven Nester. I was truly worried about your apparent “Accessories on Parade” addiction.
Beautiful simple changes-great job! I especially love the whole using bed pillows on the sofa. I might do that as well. Something a bit more weighty than those tiny fluff pillows.
wow, great transformation! Soooooo, what does your son say now??? I would have thought that the sofa would be too heavy on that wall, but it works because of the stairway weight, I guess! I love that you move stuff around so much, and I love that you interchange stuff from other rooms. I also love your idea of bed pillows in the family room. I have bigger pillows, but not bed pillows, love that idea, and plan to use it! thanks!
Loving how you left 2 drawers out and painted inside and put accessories in there!!! I will so be stealing that idea one day!!! The change is great, always so refreshing when you change a room. I hate that my sectional in the great room can’t go anywhere other than where it is, trust me I’ve tried everything! Never do a sectional again!
Love it! It looks so calming and cozy. You’ve got quite the talent Miz Nester!
It looks great this way! The bed pillows in pretty shams are something I’ve been using for the past 6 months on our couch too.
We just bought a home in Sept and your blog has helped me so much in decorating our little nest! Thank you!
p.s. visit my blog…there is an award waiting for you! :)
So very cozy! Love it!!!!!! Blessings!!
Love the new look! You could just pretend that the old drapes are on there so the new ones don’t fade :)
What a cozy room this is now.
It’s funny, Nester–I’ve seen this room the other way. And I thought it was absolutely beautiful. But after hearing what your son said, I can imagine that your kids did feel “exposed” sitting there–almost like being in a waiting room. The world’s most beautiful waiting room, but not cozy.
So now it’s beautiful AND cozy. You are one smart cookie.
I love that I hear your voice when I read your words!
Can’t wait to see you again sometime!
Hey Nester! I love this post…you know what I really appreciate about you? I love that you take pictures of the before and after…I love that you aren’t afraid to show what you do in all stages of the process.
I’m new to blogging, and I have to tell you…I haven’t put pictures of my home up yet…b/c every single room isn’t exactly like I want it for the pictures. seriously. what’s my problem? Apparently, I still care what people think. yuck.
I hear your voice often in my head…saying….”it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.” Now, if I could just believe it. *sighhhhhh*
That’s amazing! It does look so much cozier! Now, I’m wondering about my couch placement……. also, those drapes look great. Are they gray-ish?
wow! what a difference that made – your room is so cozy now. i love how you showed pictures of your process too!
Love the sham idea. And that your little man not feeling like the room was cozy was the inspiration for this switcheroo. Now THAT’s being in tune with your family’s needs!
CUTE Post! A very good lesson we can all learn from an eight year old! The room is now very very inviting. I love it when our kids teach us things. I think I need to do that in one of my rooms as well.
looks great! is the sofa too large to put against the stair wall…to look out the window. would it just look weird…all sticking out? i sooo want to move my sofa, but it seems that there is only one place for it. ugh! btw…i’m gonna see tina tonight to solidify our plans.
Love the new look! Definitely looks cozy! I remember when we went to pick up the piano and you had your white Christmas tree in the window and all your apothecary jars all together thinking “if I lived here I would sit here and read” but that’s probably because everything was pretty and not mine. The truth is, you had that white fur wreath up with the shutters and I probably could have stared at THAT all day! Anyway, I love the new look and LOVE the idea of a pillow with a sham. Definitely doing that since you said we could!
I love the new placement and even thought the before picture was lovely.
Unfortunately, clutter is my drug of choice. And we have a few rooms that we don’t use, as well. Guess what they’re filled with? Said clutter.
But they can look pretty when they get dressed up. Then my kids just run through them- that’s all.
Maybe ONE day we’ll dine in there. Maybe if Oprah and Ellen come over at the same time.
Or else I could change it into something useful like you did… hmmm… I might hold out for Oprah.
I actually love the thrift store dresser in there paired with the shutters. :) I think the pretty white accessories balance everything out, but what do I know b/c my main accessories right now are Barbies on the floor and plastic play food under the coffee table? ;)
I just adjusted my living room last weekend and oh my gosh it is so much better now. It was such a disaster in the process but totally worth it when it was done. It’s not nearly as pretty as yours but that’s a given :) I thought of you as I was doing it – I just rearranged, used what I had, and knew you’d be proud. Next step – get the guts to paint my armoire.
I actually like the dresser and mirror together too. It really draws attention to the blue which is fun.
And the sofa IS so much more inviting now. Maybe the table was “in the way” before – like it was standing guard or something. I guess it didn’t quite “draw you in” since you had to go around it, I guess. You know, we’re all so lazy…hahaha ;) I have found that to be true with my table in the living room too. Our furniture usage varies depending on where the table is placed. Not that we don’t like to sit where the table is, but if it is “in the way” of sitting down, we don’t choose that one first.
Interesting anyway… wonder if that is true of most homes?.. So I do try to place it where the natural “line” to sitting down is the least obstructed and still looks good.
Now with the sofa in between the two walls – so cozy. I would totally sit there to read with my kiddos! I’ll bet your boys will enoy it too. :)
that is so true, the table was like a pit bull daring us to pass it and get to the sofa!
You seriously cracked me up with the “we live on Mercury” thing!
I love having a sofa in front of a window. I love being able to look out while I’m reading or something and see my birds at the feeders or keep an eye on my Kiddo. And I LOVE that pillow in front of the sham!
Wow, what a transformation! I didn’t think the first room looked bad, but the second is so much more inviting. I’ve been wondering about the furniture placement in our living room for a while. It’s a huge space, so we have a ton of furniture in there and I think it’s just…. wrong. I’d love to see more furniture arrangements here!
Whoot Whoot!
Love, Love, Love~!
Love it! We have also used bed pillows on our sofas but I never placed it in the centre like that. Great idea!
The first thing I noticed when you moved the sofa to the window wall was that it created a kind of cozy nook area …you no longer walked in the front door and got a full view of the sofa. Made a huge difference to me. You are on the right track ;-)
Am loving the new look. That blue is to die for!
Love the new look! Have you though about fabric pulls on the dresser. Pick your favorite fabic or ribbon and make a pull, so cute!
LOOOVE that idea!
I never would have imagined what a difference these changes would have made!
We have a couch (actually a loveseat) in front of a window. It’s my favorite place to read during the day because it’s so bright & cheery. :)
I absolutely love the new look for the room!!!!
It turned out lovely! It can be so hard to let those accessories go. I often have to get to a point where I’m searching for a place to set my wine glass down before I realize there’s an issue. Interestingly, I would never do the same thing to a client, so why do I do it to myself?? I’m always glad when I pare back. Huh. Anywho, enough personal introspection. I love the bed pillow on the sofa. I put sofa pillows on the bed all the time, so why not? I KNOW that will be a hit.
just found your site – so fun!! I can’t wait to spend a bit going through archives and getting some great ideas for our house :) Loving the inspiration!
I’ve read nearly every single post on your blog and even have mistreated my dining room windows!
I have a question-I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to know the color of paint you used (and what kind) on your candle sticks you had a on the coffee table in the before pictures. I’m sure I have run across it somewhere on your blog but for the life of me I can’t remember!
Thanks!
Erin, on the sidebar search “painting pine furniture” it’s the color I used for my armiore, dresser, shutters…apparently, I use the same color for everything!
Thanks Nester!
I wondered if it was all the same but it’s so hard to tell on the computer!!!
Thanks again!
I love it!!
Well, I’ve had the privilege of sitting my haunches down in that pretty room. I loved it…a perfect room for tea and giggling with girls. But now that I see it all cozied up and Mercury-lit, you’re right–much cozier! I bet you’ll be doing lots more reading in there. My kids definitely have opinions about where we read…and it’s always on my bed.
Simple changes, but a striking difference! I’m tempted to make a few changes…thanks!
Really I thought the first photo was the after at first, they both look beautiful! The real after is very inviting and comfy, I hope your son will be excited to read with you!!
Just found your blog..adore the new look room a fabulous idea with the shutters and dresser
Thanks for sharing
Hugs Suz x
That looks like an inviting little nook and I just want to flop down and put my feet up with a book. I am half way through reading the bible in 90 days and I have tried out every chair in our house for extended reading lately!
and another thing…I like the shutters and the dresser being the same color it gives the look of a hutch. new style. you are so hip!
I think it looks great to have a focal point on the wall where the couch was before. I kind of think the coffee table is too large for the small space though or maybe it’s just the way the picture looks and it really is ok in person. But a suggestion for more room and extra “coziness” factor would be to lose the table and find a round upholstered ottoman to use as a table. Put a tray on top of it to hold a few accessories and a cup of coffee etc. Upholstered in a print would be neat!
yep it’s too big for that room. but it’s ok for now. I’ve had it up in the play room and I’m on the hunt for a round coffee table.
I’d love to have an ottoman, I have two I need in another room–want to buy me another one?
Thanks for another inspiring post! I think the sofa in front of the window looks great for reading, lots of natural light. I think your comment about it feeling “less exposed” was really insightful too, I want to think about that concept in my home.
My weekend plans just got called off so I think I’ll rearrange instead!
Very inspiring to rethink a room – we get so hung up on the stated floor plan name of a room. Your house is your home and you can use it and make it for your family!!!!! Love the term “loitering accessories” great glasses to put on when viewing my rooms. Maybe think oval for a new coffee table though did think the ottoman idea was cozy and more dual purpose but would need to watch size. Happy hunting!!!
My living room is set up almost exactly the same way, just slightly bigger (it’s the only living room, we don’t have a family room or basement) with the same staircase half wall thing and big window. I moved our couch under the window a few months ago and it really opens things up. Now if I could only figure out a way to cut the oversized couch down to normal size and how to fix the two cushion slide-to-the-middle-of-the-couch effect, I’d be good to go. Great idea about using bed pillows on the couch!
Just stumbled across your blog and LOVE it!! Can’t wait to spend some time perusing all of your beautiful ideas. Thank you!
Looks very cozy! I love to sit on a couch in front of the window, turned and looking at the world outside. A basket of books next to the sofa and a stack of vintage children’s books on the coffee table would be inviting too.
Roberta
Hi Nester, where did you get this fabulous sectional. We are moving into a house where a sectional is a great choice, but I can’t figure out where to go to get a custom fabric on it. Love, love , love yours. Thanks, Kristi
VERY, VERY COZY!! Love the changes!!
I am pretty new to blogging & have been following you for a bit….LOVE, LOVE your posts. I have a whole lot of shutters in my attic that I could just not pass up at Goodwill a few yrs. ago….they are coming down tomorrow & I am going to paint!! Great color choice. And on the bed pillow on the couch… I have always liked that idea ( I had a house with 4 men : ) & one Christmas I made pillow cases that could be used ( & even looked good ) on the couch, custom for each of my friends & family members. They all loved them & thought it was a great idea. Thanks !! You Inspire!!
( I just started my own blog this afternoon… I am still trying to figure it all out)
You gave me a “slap myself on the head” moment. I took that slap on the head and finally made some decisions about a room that was struggling for a purpose. AND I referenced you in the post about my room rearrange http://bit.ly/aO42Fa ! Thank you for continued inspiration.
You know, the room wasn’t bad to start with (although I would have moved the little rocking chair to the other side of the sofa, so it didn’t close off the room. But I LOVE the changes you’ve made!! You say it’s still a work in progress, but it looks like a beautifully finished room to me. Great job! Yet another post that makes me happy I started reading your blog not too long ago.
I’d love to hear more ideas you have on refreshing rooms and giving them a nice pick-me-up for Spring…on a very small to non-existent budget. Can’t wait to see what you post next!
I finally found some shutters at the thrift store! I am dreaming of which plate to hang on it. :)
We also have a sitting area I am not quite sure of its purpose but it is pretty and fills the space…though it is nice when we have large amounts of people over…and I do sit there to read sometimes. So okay, maybe it does have a purpose!
I’m really having a hard time figuring out how to group accessories together. I love how you do it. Maybe the problem is that I don’t have anything cute like yours to shop from. All my things don’t seem to go together.
What a great job you did. Our problem is books and bookshelves. The last time we moved 12 years ago we had over 100 boxes of books. I have no idea how many we would have now. My wife’s an artist so between paintings and bookcases, you get the idea. luckily we have a small basement so some stuff can be put down there. Just discovered your blog. Thanks
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