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Slaying a Sacred Decorating Cow

Slaying a Sacred Decorating Cow

26 May

This post was most recently updated on June 5th, 2011

Step 1: Move furniture from Room A to Room B.
Step 2: Re-position furniture in Room B.
Step 3: Curse on furniture in Room B.
Step 4: Wish you had never moved furniture from Room A to Room B.
Step 5: Repeat steps 2 through 4. Frown.
Step 6: Repeat steps 2 through 4. Have a drink.
Step 7: Repeat steps 2 through 4. Frown some more. 

You get the picture, lol.

Have you been there, done that?

Well, that’s been the scene in our small main floor tv room/den over the past 36 hours.

If you’ve been following along here, you might remember that we’ve been finishing off our basement which means that a lot of furniture is getting moved around here. 

  • Room A (the “Living Room”) is getting new furniture which is being delivered today!
  • Room B (a small main floor TV room/den) is getting Room A’s hand me down furniture.
  • Room C (the new large TV room in the basement) is getting Room B’s.  Have I thoroughly confused you yet?  Sorry. Now you are just as confused as me!

First off, you need to know that Room B is pretty small.  It has two-story cathedral ceilings which makes it feel a little larger, but dimension-wise, it’s pretty teeny weeny at about 12×14.  Despite that obstacle, I was stubbornly convinced that I could stuff an over-sized couch, two beastly chairs, and large media armoire in there.  No sweat.

By my rough measurements visual estimations (my bad), I was pretty sure it was going to work in there.  If not I was sure I could make it work.  Wrong. Turns out, I didn’t account for the over-sized arms on the sofa and two chairs.

The worst design dilemma in the history of design dilemmas. I could make it look pretty, but it wasn’t functional.  I could make it functional, but then it wasn’t pretty.

No matter what arrangement I tried, the open doors of my armoire hit a chair.  The only place you could actually view the TV was from the sofa.  I don’t know about you, but five of us huddled on a sofa watching a movie doesn’t sound like it’d be much fun after 5 minutes.

Exhausted and peeved, I sat in one of the beastly chairs to collect my thoughts.

  • Option A: Buy new furniture for Room B.  No, hubby would never go for it.
  • Option B: Use new furniture intended for Room A in here.  Forget it; not at all what I’d envisioned for either space.
  • Pic taken last Christmas.
  • Option C came from a little voice in my head that I was trying to drown out.  It whispered, “Mooooove the armoire out of this room.  Mooooove the armoire out of this room.  Mooooove the armoire out of this room.” 🙂

Nooooooooo!  Not the armoire!

I love my armoire, and it’s the newest piece of furniture in the room, purchased at Pier One 2 years ago.  I am not a fan of seeing TV equipment when you don’t have to, so I love having the option of closing the doors.

As I’m arguing with myself, I had a perfect sight-line to the front porch where a new console table purchased at Christmas-time (also from Pier One) was sitting.  It caught my attention.  Hmmmmm.  Maybe.  Just maybe that might work.  Well, I thought, I guess I can try it just to rule it out.

So after some pushing and pulling and carrying and grunting, I managed to move the big armoire out of the den by myself, and bring in the console table from the porch. I disconnected all that electrical “stuff”, and then plugged it all back in again.  (She pats own shoulder).  All the while, I was hoping it wouldn’t fit properly.

I couldn’t believe my eyes, it actually looked OK.  Not “armoire OK”, but OK. I actually was starting to like it.  The best part: being able to see the TV from any angle, and any seat in the room.


What I learned from this (exhausting) experience is that sometimes you have to be able to slay some sacred cows in order to create a great space.  My sacred ‘decorating’ cow in this case was my stubborn belief that TV equipment should be behind closed doors.  But once I let go of that, and tried something new, I ended up creating a space that was not only pretty, but functional too.

After all, what kind of room is it, if it doesn’t ‘work’?

Until next time, happy decorating.

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By Kerri, May 26, 2011 Filed Under: Decorating Dilemmas

About Kerri

Kerri Roche is the owner, editor and voice behind A Pop of Pretty, a Canadian home decorating blog, where she shares her love of modern coastal and cottage home decorating style, from beautiful Newfoundland, on Canada's east coast. Home decorating has always been in her blood, even while earning a Marketing degree and MBA, and working in strategy and planning in a busy ad agency for over a decade. She aims to inspire other style seeking home lovers to decorate their own homes with confidence, by sharing home decorating ideas, shopping tips, and DIY tutorials from her own suburban home and lakeside cottage - all l while juggling the schedules of a world travelling husband, 3 busy and energetic kids (including twins), and a scrappy little Havanese named Finnigan.

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Comments

  1. Elizabeth (Blue Clear Sky) says

    May 27, 2011 at 1:37 am

    I'm glad you found a solution that works. My husband and oldest son (the furniture movers around here)always joke/complain that I move way too much furniture. Sometimes you just have to 'see' stuff in the room to know how it will work/or not.

Hello & Welcome

Welcome! I'm Kerri. I love pretty modern cottage and coastal home decorating style. I aim to inspire style seeking home lovers to decorate with confidence, by sharing decorating ideas, shopping tips, tutorials + inspiration. Read More…

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Instagram post 2193057585968325615_180915959 Just a closer look at how I used ribbon to accent the greenery on this mantel. Adding ribbon is a great way to make a fireplace mantel look a little more formal. But simple, unadorned, classic greenery on a mantel is also one if my favourite looks. So, basically? I pretty much love everything when it comes to Christmas decorating! 🤣🙌🏻🌲
Instagram post 2193032552130763057_180915959 Right now, I am in a long line doing what I swore I’d never do: shop for Christmas decor in December 😂. On a Friday no less. And, I can see sparkles reflecting from my nose when I look down lol. Tis the season! This was my mantel from a couple of years back, and it was FILLED with greenery and ribbon. I posted an article on the blog last week about the two different ways I like to hang greenery on a mantel. This year, I hung it as s swag instead. Hoping to grab a pic to share today. Have a happy Friday!
Instagram post 2192497929072543504_180915959 This Christmas tree from a few years back is still one if my favourites. I loved the navy blue accents and the little metal pails of snowballs. This year, I decorated this same tree with creams, grey plaid ribbon, and deep olive green. I’ll post some pics soon 🌲. It’s actually pretty easy to change up your tree’s colour scheme from time to time by simply changing your ribbon, and adding just a few new decorations. Everything else stays the same. Oh, and in other news, tomorrow is Friday 🙌🏻 .
Instagram post 2191657248950793864_180915959 This was a year ago New Year’s Day. ⛸⛸ Hoping for enough snow and cold temps between now and Christmas for the pond next to our cottage to freeze. Btw, this is the ONLY time of year I pray for snow 🤣. On the east coast of 🇨🇦 we get lots. So it it gets old really quickly. But, there’s something pretty magical about skating on a frozen lake during the Christmas season. Bring it on! #lakelife
Instagram post 2190941932742417369_180915959 Not all holiday wreathes need to be green, #amiright? I used a rope hoop here with some red striped ribbon, and I love the simple nautical vibe. Are your halls decked? #lakehouseliving #cabinchristmas
Instagram post 2190158222023476781_180915959 Happy Monday! So, have you been shopping all weekend? I’ll admit, I usually dive into Black Friday with giddy excitement, but, by the time Cyber Monday comes around, I’m all shopped out. But, I’m happy to say I finished the decorating in both houses, and I am ready to take on December with 🔔 🔔 on. Just have some decorating left to do outside, but it’s too cold today. #brrrr
Instagram post 2189276529016204735_180915959 Happy December! Hope you have a very merry Sunday. ⛄️
Instagram post 2188604836614546691_180915959 Sadly, the blue sky didn’t last long. We’re back to rain, drizzle and fog (#RDF) around here. We finally had our first sprinkling of snow yesterday, but, total bummer, the rain melted it before any ⛄️ could be built. 👎🏻 Are you in a festive spirit yet? Black Friday either sparks it or zaps it, lol. Enjoy your weekend!
Instagram post 2188076707747849989_180915959 Wondering how to put ribbon on your Christmas tree so it looks beautiful, full and cascading? My easy, step by step method has been used by many blog readers over the years, and I’ve received great feedback on the tutorial and the results. I’ve linked it up in my bio. Swipe through to see some of my trees with ribbon over the past few years. Happy decorating!
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