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Ugh, got the decorating bug

June 19th, 2012 at 06:40 pm

We've been watching a lot of HGTV lately, at least having it on in the background. (We used to like watching true crime shows when nothing else was on, but we all agree that it's too scary now having two young daughters, because too many feature brutal crimes against young women.)

Anyway, it's kind of inspiring, but then frustrating, because you start to see all the flaws in your own home's design, and figure out solutions, but none of the really amazing solutions come cheap. We REALLY don't have money to spend on interior decorating this year. Truth be told, I don't want to spend a ton on it until our student loan debt is gone (about three years from now if we stay at our current pace).

We all have particular pain points that we don't like about our main living space. (The bedrooms are actually in pretty nice shape.) The problem is that we have a big open-plan living space combining living room, kitchen and dining room. This is also where AA spends most of her time playing and where SL spends most of her time lying around in various bouncy chairs, bassinets, etc. It's our family room, entertainment center, sewing station, you name it!

Being such a multipurpose space, it has lots of stuff stored everywhere. The "stuff" is pretty well organized, but since it's all on open shelving, the cumulative effect is rather cluttered. We have kitchen appliances, fabrics and craft books, DVDs, CDs, many of AA's toys and books, NT's DJ equipment, and family board games all basically out in the open. Oh yeah, and in the nearby hallway we have a massive shelving unit that houses NT's record collection as well as various bottles of liquor, the cat's toy basket, and a few other random odds and ends. I love clean lines, and while I realize a family of 5 in 960 square feet who love home-based entertainments can't exactly be minimalist, I do wish there was a way to minimize or hide away some of our "stuff."

AS's least favorite stuff is the bookcases of DVDs and CDs. I'm bugged by her fabric collection, the toys and games, and the turntables etc. NT would love to have art covering the few blank spots on the walls (I actually like the blank spots because they offer my eye some relief, but I'd probably consent to some art if it weren't too busy). I'm also constantly moving rubble off our kitchen island and hiding it away, because it's a magnet for the random crap we bring home at the end of the day (mail, keys, phones, etc.)

The easiest (but one of the most expensive) solution would be to buy storage units that have doors to hide away the busy-ness of our stuff. We also talked about folding screens and curtains last night. We could probably fit a bit more stuff into closets if we really moved stuff around and downsized the stuff we already store there, but not everything would fit.

Anyway, just thinking out loud. I would love to find short-term solutions that would satisfy all of us and didn't break the bank. Maybe I should post photos and ask for your input, huh?

5 Responses to “Ugh, got the decorating bug”

  1. ThriftoRama Says:
    1340129827

    Never discount the power of hiding all that stuff behind doors or curtains. cover the open shelves some how. It will make the room much more serene. It took me a long time to learn that lesson!

  2. Swimgirl Says:
    1340137482

    I've put pieces of pretty fabric over shelves before. It works great. I attached velcro to the top edge of a piece of fabric that is exactly the dimensions of the front of the bookshelf. Then attach velcro across the top front edge of the bookshelf. Simple and effective.

  3. creditcardfree Says:
    1340139281

    Yes! Post pictures. I would guess that baskets on a shelf might hide the cd collections, same for sewing supplies. You could turn the books with spines facing inward for a more uniform look. Although that can look odd, too!

  4. ceejay74 Says:
    1340152769

    Great ideas! I'll post some pics after AA goes to bed and I can pick up all the kid clutter. Wink

  5. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1340422808

    What about putting the CD and DVD collections into a number of those pocket holders that are made for them? Unless keeping the cases is really important .. That would at least free up some space.

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