I’m an optimist. I really believe that for every home, and furniture contained in that home, there is a best possible scenario for positioning that furniture for the well being and enjoyment of that particular family. For reals.
I loved the idea of our family room, but the sofa placement never felt right. Or best. The fact is, this is our sofa. We love it, it is well made and beyond comfy but, it was bought for a home we were sure we would stay in forever, and then we moved. The other fact is that we watch tv. I’m not buying a new sofa and my husband and I will watch anything on tv that involves Boston Rob. But, I’m willing to move my furniture around. And I had tried it every way possible in this room. Every way that is… but one. One way I was pretty sure I would hate because you would see the side of the armoire right as you enter the front door and I would have to have a new cable hole thing put into the wall. I am thrifty, I don’t like new cable holes that I have to pay for. And besides, I was SURE I wouldn’t like it that way. I mean, I’m the self proclaimed queen of moving my furniture, I didn’t need to move it to know how much it was not going to work like that, right?
But, I’d rather pay for a new hole than for a new sofa, and this room just kept telling me that there was a better way. And I’m not afraid to figure out what that way is.
I’m in the midst of picking a light neutral paint color for the walls, redoing some window mistreatments, and considering slipcovers to protect our sofa from more holes. But, I think the best way for me to be able to complete the room, is if I’m sure of the placement of the largest pieces of furniture. So I’m ignoring the different colors on the walls, lack of fabric on the windows, lamps that are a weird height, small tables, wall art and anything else. My first mission is large furniture placement. I’m at a standstill until I can get that right.
The following videos were taken spur of the moment, by me, on my phone. I only know how to upload it to youtube from my phone so if you are in a country that bans youtube, my apologies.
Video 1:
Phase one–I figured now was the time to try {once more} this tan sofa from our front room. I moved the toile sofa out and wondered if somehow, this sofa could work. I didn’t like the idea of not having the sectional but, since it was something I already had, it was worth moving it just to see. Sometimes, when you move stuff, it inspires a great idea that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. But, somehow, this sofa felt even bigger than the red one. But in order to have a walkway behind the sofa –which we have to have, it was too close to the tv, although my boys tried to convince me otherwise.
Just for kicks, here’s the red toile in the robin’s egg blue {Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray} room. I LOVE the combination.
So next, I moved the red sofa back in and tried it in the corner–no worries, I’m going to move the tan sofa out, again, much to the dismay of my boys, they like a sofa on sofa look.
First thoughts–pure hate. But, you cannot EVER trust your first thoughts. You have to push through and see complete the move and see how it feels.
Weird huh. Why’s that sofa in a corner? But lets face it, in this room, the sofa is in a weird place no matter what. So I’m looking for the best weird for our family and for Boston Rob. After you move your stuff, even if you think it’s all wrong, it’s important to try to live with it just for a little while. So, I made myself keep it this way for 24 hours. My husband came home and loved it. And our house feels twice as big.
The morning after–I just loaded this video so the quality won’t be better for a few hours, but you get the idea.
Well, that’s what I get for convincing myself for all of these months that our room would never work situated like that. We actually love it! It just goes to show the importance of moving your furniture. If there is a remote possibility that your stuff could work in a better way, it is SO worth it to try it out and see. I really regret not trying this sooner. And there is no substitute for moving it and looking at it with your own eyes. You and your family are the ones who have to live with it so you get to decide if it works or not. I’m just as guilty as anyone to ask a zillion people how I should arrange my stuff, and really the only way to figure it out is to move it around and see.
I still have to call the cable guy and pay him hard earned money to make a new hole in our wall so for now this is what we have to do if we want to watch tv. Cue Sandford and Son music. You can see the outline of thew white cable wire stretched in front of the fireplace.
PS, usually when I move furniture I put these furniture sliders under the legs of my stuff. Our floors are some kind of super strength engineered wood that is impossible to scratch and most of my furniture has plastic caps on the bottom anyway. But you know, just in case, use your sliders or rip up a cardboard box and put the pieces under your furniture to protect your floors.
Now it’s your turn. Is there something you’ve considered moving but you are pretty sure it won’t work? Maybe you are right. But, what IF you are wrong?
You have more strength and energy than I ever had. I’ve always taken detailed measurements of any new house where I moved marking windows, sills, space for doors to open and even electrical outlets. Then, using notebook paper (one foot per line) I’ve drawn a sketch of the room. I already have cut outs of my furniture. That lets me move things around on paper. I wouldn’t dare ask anyone to move all that stuff more than once. Maybe it’s the carpet on the floor that cramps my style? Good work by the way – nice new arrangement.
I agree that you have to keep moving things around to make it work for you. I have a long rectangle den and there was only one way that the furniture looked right in it. Mainly because the tv was in a corner hutch, so it had to go in a corner. duh. I finally got the idea to cut the back off the corner hutch and put a new board on it to give it a flat back. Then I was able to move it to any wall I wanted! Now our furniture it placed completely differently, and the room feels so big. Love it.
My mom used to move furniture all the time, especially when we were all out of the house or even when we were sleeping. We used to joke that you better be careful when you get out of bed in the morning because you might bump into something! :)
Glad you are enjoying the room so much more!
Blessings,
Traci
Completely irrelevant to moving–I am so glad to see what you did with your corner fireplace. I like how the shutters look. We have one that has been the bane (or bain-whatever) of my existence since we moved in–that and the windows that STILL need to be mistreated.
I am so happy that I came accross you today. Your post was so informative and quite wonderful that you let us in on the process going on in your mind. Very well done. It is so important that we all are reminded that one way in decorating, isn’t always the only way.
I was very taken with your great color and pattern sense. That blue with red toile works great. I love toile and don’t want to give it up, and now I know that with the right color it can look updated and very chic. And I must comment on your black and white checked chairs. Love them!
Your blog was a joy to visit!
Yvonne
Give your husband an extra big kiss for being so laid back. Some of us have husbands who are much more set in their ways. The only way I can re arrange the furniture is if it is his idea or I have to explain myself endlessly. He still doesn’t understand that when he makes piles of tools or books or whatever and he wants to keep that way EXACTLY for a couple of years, that it gets dusty and he doesn’t have to dust it.
My mother moved the furniture weekly, I’d come home from school to find my bedroom was now in a different room. Now i move furniture, though not that often. I find it a good thing when I need a change or an atitude adjustment. It is my therapy and it makes me clean as I go. Loved your post. I also love your furnishings, tfs,
Thanks for the name of the color!
Nester, would yo believe that, thanks to you, I’m considering moving a baby grand piano?! This is the (5ft) monster that my husband very strongly asserts will NEVER move once it’s set in place. All three times we’ve moved. hee.
But, I think it will go better in this other room, and it will make the current room more usable. Hubby actually agreed to try it! Thank goodness, I can’t move it myself.
YOU GO GIRL!
I love how you say it will never be done. It’s really true for those of us with constant need to be decorating something. Even when I think a room is “finished” I always find a way to tweak it, or just turn around and make it completely different. Loved, loved, loved this post! And I really like the new arrangement, it’s amazing what an extra 10 square feet of open space can do to a room. Again, you are everything I aspire to in decorating. Now I think I feel an itch to go move some furniture!
That’s so funny! I’m knee deep in the same situation right now. I’ve lived with the new arrangement for a couple of days and am convinced I do not like it. So I’m moving some things around again! All this started because I wanted to do a little mini makeover and paint. WHY do I get myself into this mess?? ;)
I know you’re probably tired of moving stuff, but if you ever get the itch again, here’s my suggestion: Put the armoire in the wall where the plates are. Move your sectional where the middle corner would be “pointing” to your breakfast area – one flat side creating a “hallway” between your breakfast bar and the section to the door – the other flat side would be parallel with your big window. Basically the sectional would “float”. On the wall where your armoire started, either put the red wingback or the 2 plaid chairs (which I absolutely ADORE and if you ever want to get rid of them, please let me know 1st!) Make a little reading area near the fireplace, by placing the dresser behind the sofa, facing the window, like a sofa table with chairs or chair facing it (hard to tell, but might look a little cramped)- normally I hate ignoring the fireplace, but that is just an unfortunate placement of it! I do like it the way you started and the way you’ve settled on now. Its always good to have more options!!!
Amy
yeah, the room looks big enough to do that but it’s not AT ALL. If I did that the back of the sofa would be 3 feet from the fireplace. Good idea though!
Hello. I actually got stressed watching your videos. I move stuff around my house constantly. I cannot tell you how many times my Husband has come home for work and not looked before he sat on something…and landed on the floor. LOL. Anyhoo, I like the look, I think you made the best of a hard situation. I also kind of want to paint the door hanging on your breakfast nook area red like the couch, and then maybe the table thing too…because I am insanely obsessed with symetry and the blue door next to the blue armoire kind of gives me a tick…because it is no longer evenly spaced around the room…see, it is a sickness. LOL.
The only other thing you could have done was make the space “two rooms” with the couch in the middle facing the plate wall and putting the armoire there and putting a table against the back of it and then backing up the chairs so they face the fireplace, but that makes me exhausted just writing this…
OR, put the sofa where the breakfast stools are and call it a day LOLOLOLOLOL.
I like the video!
Many Blessings :)
Ace
Great ideas we can all take away from this post and your video. I have been frustrated with our family room tv stand, 80′s oak and not my style. This weekend I just decided to get rid of it because it bothers me so much. I would worry about what else to use later. Once it was gone, the blank slate let me decide to move an old Canadian sideboard in. It is not perfect, especially with the big boxy tv, but the sideboard is a piece I love so I can live with it until we can afford a flat screen. Too bad you don’t have a neighbour who could put in a cable jack in exchange for some decorating advice.
Nester,
That is so good and nice of you to take the time to do a video! I’m pushing my furniture tomorrow in our family/lr room. It’s a wee space. I don’t know how to do videos. But I’m changing everything using everything we already own.
I LOVE your new set up. All for more walking space especially with a family. Did you paint that armoire? If so, what color is it? It’s must be my favorite color or something. I have it all over my house. A friend pointed it out to me. I have to paint our armoires and would never have thought of a color – except white (is that a color?) But I love your blue!!!
Great post! What two paint colors you are choosing between?
That turned out really nice :)
We recently rearranged our livingroom when we bought a new couch. We got rid of old couch, plus love seat and without the loveseat gained a lot of room. Then my husband decided he wanted to do something totally different. So we did and I like it now. We basically split our livingroom up into 2 parts. We have a long narrow livingroom. The couch splits it. So we have our TV/visiting area and then office area and some open space for a card table if we want to play a game or I want to do crafts or something.
Can’t wait to see what color you choose :)
It looks great, Nester! I like the way the tall armoire on the one wall balances out the same color shutters across the room above your fireplace. I, too, have found you really have to try things out before you know for sure. Good job!
Thank you for sharing all those videos on the rearrangement of your furniture…it gives me hope that I, too, can change things around and like it!!! Looks awesome!
Beth
Furniture never seems to fit quite right when you move from one home to another. Good for you for all of your experimenting. Everything (now) looks very soothing and comfortable.
Did the move around myself the other day. Thought my floors were the indestructible engineered wood and yeah, not so much! I managed, not a clue how, to scratch it up! It really ticked me off. I tried my best to touch it up. Yet it stares me in the face and mocks me!
We have a hard room to rearrange. Windows on either side of the fireplace. French doors to the right, huge window to the left and then two open doorways opposite fireplace. And while I thought I’d love the plugs in the floor, they can be hard to hide if you don’t have something right on it!
I love this series of little videos! You and your house are both so cute!
I have to confess, I haven’t read every single reply on this post, so my apology if someone has already said this….(JMO) I LOVE the toile sofa in the other room! Oh, that was so pretty! I think that is what I’d be tempted to do, but I know anything you end up with will be so. stinkin. cute. Such fun!
Oh Mary, I LOVE it in there too! It’s actually a much better fit in that room, but our family of 5 MUST use that sofa to hang out and watch tv on and that doesn’t happen in that room. Waah.
Could you not put the tv in that room on an end table or something other than the armoire? You could use your tall awesome urn of twirly sticks to hide it from the main walk… It looked so cozy in there! Though, your new arrangement is an awesome improvement. Thanks for the videos!
Good looking room. I love it. Hope the new cable install isn’t too much.
And woo hoo…I love Boston Rob. And geez…I hate Russell and I’m from Houston. Ugh. He’s giving Houstonians a bad name. I hope Rob wins it all. I love how on the first night he told Jeff Probst…”I’m a villian??”..
you poor thing. i felt so sorry for you when you said you wished you had someone to help you. i always feel that way when i start moving furniture, but i always start moving stuff when no one’s there to stop me. my husband hates it when i move furniture. (i think he just doesn’t want to help). wood floors are the best. i used to move stuff when we had carpet. i was younger then.
Had this same problem too…and after finding out how much it would cost to have one stupid cable run, said forget it. Only after, of course, I had moved the room around TWICE by myself. Sigh.
(I have to do it when my husband is not here or he’ll drive me crazy with his opinions…easier to just do it yourself!)
I love it, it looks great like that… well, except for when you have to drag the armoir out into the middle of the room to watch TV! LOL!
Tania
I need me some of those movers. After Christmas I couldn’t remember where my furniture had been pre-Christmas tree (in my defense my mom passed away December 11 and most of my life immediately prior to that became a blur). I moved and moved and moved some more. Finally I got it back to semi where it was. ANYWAYS, you’ll be glad to know the southern accent I noticed in the Dayspring tassel video isn’t there this time. Love the new look. Hubby says he’ll come put a cable hole in for you. Have a great day!
I just started a blog a few weeks ago and joined your blog recently. I just wanted to say that I quite enjoy it. Great Job! I really love your sectional in the corner! It dramatically opens up your room. Who needs exercise when there are rooms to be moved!! : )
Stacey
Super fun post!! When my girlfriends and I need to move furniture we round up all the kids and come to each others rescue! The menfolk like to ask questions like, “Now, are you 100% sure this is where you want this?” Bah! As if I can make a judgement call like that!
Every Dear Husband needs to see today’s post ;)! haha
My corner fireplace is my main issue when it comes to furniture arrangement. I get so frustrated and always end up placing things just the ‘way’ they used to be… ah… You’re looks great, spacious and lovely! You’re my hero! Best, Vanessa
You are so very inspiring! Thanks for sharing! I, too, have a living room with a fireplace in the corner, and I find it so difficult for furniture placement. We did resort to a flat screen above the fireplace. I love your approach to decorating…..I check your blog everyday!!!
Love your website!!! I’ve learned so much! I know (and totally agree with) you stick to using what you have. Do you have a round coffee table to try? I like the new arrangement, but I’m wondering if a round coffee table would somehow feel more cozy/connected to the sofa. Thanks for your awesome work! :)
O.k this might be one of my most favorite Nester posts! I loved being able to hear you (you have such a sweet voice) and see what you were really thinking about. I’ve been reading your blog for so long, its the one I check first thing every day and it’s really changed my thinking in decorating. I love, love your motto and it’s helped me because I do worry about my home not looking nice enough. I get sort of paralyzed and then I do absolutely nothing.
My living room area is a mess. It’s not big enough, we don’t have enough seating room here for even just our family. I’m trying to figure it out with what we have and I’ve tried some arrangements but it’s still not working. After my little one is over being sick, maybe, just maybe I’ll try to rearrage my furniture by myself. It can’t be there hard can it? I don’t know, this makes me nervous.
I agree you have to actually move things around sometimes. Just planning out on graph paper doesn’t always let you “live” it. And sometimes you just have to do the unthinkable to make a room work. After 7 years in this house, I finally got the nerve and pestered the hubby enough to get a LARGE entertainment wall unit and placed it smack dab in front of the double window in our den. Don’t worry, there are still 2 other windows and a glass door in the room. There’s also a fireplace. Trying to make the room work with the door/window/fireplace was beyond annoying. We also had to have another cable plug installed. I’m loving the new arrangement we did, and as with most things we end up doing we wish we’d done it so much sooner.
I LOVE the arrangement of plates on your wall. I’m going to have to start keeping my eye out for some fabulous ones for my hall. Thanks for sharing how you work at figuring out placement and I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Nester I love your blog I read every day!
You made sooooo much room in your room by opening it up, you could add a sofa table (mistreatment kind??) behind your sectional which would give you more lovely display space!
One of your best posts yet! I am going to move some furniture this weekend, six months in our rental and I’m ready to re-evaluate what is and is not working for us….I’m sure it can be better!
Loved this post and you sharing your moving experience with us. I wish I would have been there, I would have loved to help you. Watching those videos make me want to move my space around. Thinking that most likely will not happen, cause there is only really one way to set this room to have space, and with it going on the market again…I need all the space I can get.
Aren’t those sliders the best. Make moving things around soooooooooo much easier and saves the back.
Great post.
Hugs,
Cindy
Great job! You are so brave, and it really paid off. I need to get some backbone and start moving things in my own living room. Thanks for the motivation and the great ideas and tips!
love that you moved all of that furniture by yourself!!! we have had some of the same issues with moving into a new house, and the furniture not being “right” for the house. Our biggest issue right now is that our new floor plan is really open, and all of the outlet are on the walls. our furniture isn’t against the walls, so we can’t have lamps on the side tables next to the couch! the tables looked naked and awkward, so we ended up just moving them out of the room.
Love the new look.
I’ve thought about moving the bed around in my craft room/guest room, but am “pretty sure” it won’t work. I guess I could always go in there and have a moving day.
there’s a furniture layout that I’ve been considering for over a year in our living room. I think it’s time I give it a chance!
Love it. It really opens up the room!
What I really want to know is: if you could have any family room furniture what would you buy? I am in the process of purchasing for a new house and have no clue what I really want. The furniture will be in the family room with the TV. We have 4 children, hubs really loves a recliner…I just want room (end the “I was sitting there first” discussion among the littles), durability, and a little style-thank you. I worry that a sectional won’t be versatile, although this post gives me hope! Suggestions?
Nester,
You definitely burned up some calories doing all that! I’ve had the same exact problem for my family room as you. Just an idea…and I can’t tell exactly how big the room is by your pictures (you may have already tried this manuever) but could you caty corner the tan sofa in the same corner the sectional is now? Of course you would have to move the sectional out of the way first! HA! And also caty corner the rug to match the sofa. If that even makes sense?
Love your blog. Loved the videos. ~Jenn
I did this same thing several months ago. I was SURE the entertainment center could not go against the wall where the front door is…I mean who wants to walk into a home and be greeted by the TV! But to my dismay, I tried it at my boyfriends urging….and it was perfect! It opened up my living room, made more sense to the couch placement…and it doesn’t even feel weird when you come in the front door.
Oh….and I lived with the cable cord draped across the entry into the kitchen for about 3 months before I finally got the new placement ran. LOL
Or maybe don’t call the cable guy. . . just get an antenna (a flat one from Walmart is $30) for the tv to pick up the digital signals better (and a converter box if you need one) and just have the “regular” and free channels. You should be able to get CBS, PBS, ABC, NBC, FOX and skip all the extras and save yourself a whole bunch of money b/c you can watch TV for free. Of course, if you completely love cable just ignore me. ;)
You have wanting to rearrange my family room! LOL!
Yours looks incredible. ~Gorgeous. :)
Wow, love the videos!! It was so fun to see The Nester in action and hear your voice! You’re too cute, and I love how you always keep it real!
In our previous home, we drilled a (tiny) hole in the floor and ran the cable cord underneath the house in the crawl space and then up again to the side where we wanted our armoire. Saved us a lot of money and we got the arrangement where we wanted it, but I’m not sure that would work where you live. I love your wall colors too, and think the slipcover idea is a great way to lighten things up for Spring!
Love posts like this, although I’m sure it took you forever to put together! Looking forward to seeing updates on the room’s progress!
Setting: me in bed trying desperately to look at your blog while simultaneously showing my 6 year old daughter how to draw tally marks, show 1:30 on the clock, and divide a rectangle in half.
Daughter: Oh, Mommy, can I please watch the cute videos too? Ohhhh, what a cute house! Who is that funny lady who thinks she needs deodorant?
Me: Sure, honey, have a look. Shhhh. That’s The Nester. Shhhh. You know, S. and EG’s aunt. Shhhhhh.
Daughter: Oh, Mommy. She is so funny! When can I meet her too?
Me: Shhhhh. I’ll let you know next time she’s visiting S. and EG at church. Yep, I want to be her (and her sister) when I grow up
Daughter: I love you just the way you are Mommy.
Gotta love it. Love the inspiration as always, friend!
Daughter:
Oh so true. We move our living room around a different way at least twice a year. At Christmas, we move half of the furniture out so we can move in the big ole 12′ tree. Then, when we move it all back in, I’m always itching to try something new. Thanks for all the wonderful inspiration!
I’m desperate to rearrange our rooms now! Our house (which has small rooms etc) seems so inflexible though. Can’t wait till we’ve done a lot of the major work so this sort of thing will be easier to do (well, that’s what I tell myself anyway!).
Love the deodorant comment! Cracked me up!
That was fun to watch, thanks for sharing!!! I have my tv cabinet on a wall like where you moved it and you can see it when you walk in the front door. I want to move it to the opposite wall where my couch is now. But my couch is oversized and I just don’t think it’ll fit on that wall. No money for new furniture. not to mention I don’t want my kids to ruin it! And we’d have to run a new satellite wire, too. Maybe one day I’ll try it. To be honest the only thing that’s stopping us from trying it is the fact that our armoire with our big fat tv weighs a TON, even with my hubby moving it.