I used to love that super minimal spacing in photos, but after I tried it in my own place, the room started feeling a little too empty and less cozy over time.
I’m curious if anyone else had a trend that looked really good online but felt different in everyday life.
So I made the mistake of skipping a headboard because I thought, "eh, I'll figure it out later."
Big mistake.
Now I have this giant blank wall above my bed and somehow every attempt to fix it either makes the room look unfinished or like I panic-bought random decor from three different stores 😭
Things I've tried / considered:
I realized the wall kind of becomes the headboard if you don't actually have one.
For people who've dealt with this: what actually worked in your room? Especially renter-friendly ideas because I don't want to commit to anything crazy.
Help settle the debate!
How do we like my curtains? My mom says I need to hem them and now I'm wondering if I should have hung them a few inches higher.
This is the first set of several that I'm putting up in my space, so wanting to get this figured out before I do the next five 😅
I have a whole album if anyone wants to look through it all, however I'm focused on the entryway, downstairs nameless room, kitchen and dining room, living room, upstairs hallway, and bedrooms. Bonus: laundry room (I love my laundry time, so that one will take awhile to plan out) We will change all the current light fixtures, not our style. High ceilings throughout. This home is in the northern Italian countryside, and we both prefer a classic style, leaning towards Mediterranean but more down to earth (not Tuscan).
The house faces west with heavy shade from trees in the front yard. When all windows are closed, the house feels dim and spooky.
Entryway: feels like two different houses and the terracotta floor looks starkly different when the other rooms are open. I thought of a pale taupe color or a crisp white, I want to avoid all yellowness.
That in-between downstairs area with the table leads to a former pantry, the garage, and the laundry room. We have no idea what to do with it, I was thinking maybe an office space, gym, or hobby room. White for now?
For the kitchen and dining room, we are settled on a light azure-agave.
The living room is longer than it is wide, the library will take up half of the wall on the right side. Light sage green walls and white ceiling. Wallpaper on the library wall? Crown molding with uplighting will be installed if the library doesn't touch the ceiling. We have a teal angular sofa on order and a massive library.
The upstairs hallway has 0 natural light unless the balcony window is left open. I know how important various types of lighting are. I lived in a dim house that ruined my eyesight and made me very grumpy. The wallpaper trim and the curtain rod will be removed.
Master bedroom has a hideous Venetian style monstrous wardrobe. Husband does not want to paint it. We were forced to buy it from the owners for 1,000 more than it was worth. We want wallpaper on the wall opposite, where our bed will be. How can we swap the focal point from that eyesore?
Guest bedroom is...sad. It feels so heavy and lifeless when you walk in. I have no ideas for it. Mattress and frame were left from the previous owners.
Extra bedroom has no purpose, paint 'er white for now?
It looks so plain for me so I want some modern touch before plaster that I can suggest to the contractor
I love Lord of the Rings and am obsessed with this fire ring and would like to create a fire pit area like the second picture. My husband hates the idea and isn't on board at all and basically said I can't buy it (using my own money, we have separate accounts) because it's "too nerdy" for our shared space.
My other thought was to buy the fire ring and use bricks built up around the outside so you can only see the design inside, but it feels like a waste of the gorgeous design that way.
My tv stand is kind of plain. There are two shelves but I’m not sure what to put on them to give it some personality. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hey everyone,
After reading everyone’s advice on my last post, I decided against the trendy TikTok-style sofa and started looking more into classic furniture styles instead.
At this point, I’m mostly trying to decide on the color. I narrowed it down to blue, orange, and yellow based on your recommendations, and attached the options here. The walls are white, and I also tend to really like Persian-style rugs with reddish tones. Outside the window, the apartment overlooks a golf course, so there’s a lot of greenery and even some water views as well. I’m trying to figure out which couch color would work best with that overall aesthetic while still keeping the space feeling light and airy.
I included the first photo of the space to show the general layout/setup I’m planning. I drew it terribly and the proportions are definitely off, but hopefully it still gives you the idea. The apartment is pretty small, so I’m trying to avoid anything that will make it feel too heavy or cramped.
I also included a few inspiration photos so you can get a better sense of the overall style I’m aiming for. Would really appreciate any opinions or suggestions again. Thanks!
Hello! I decided to make this post because the last one, honestly, blew up way more than I ever expected. I wasn’t physically able to respond to everyone in the last thread, but want to address some commonly brought up topics and answer some questions. There are also new and better quality pictures which, hopefully, will give some more context and perspective - I know the single picture was a bit confusing, especially when it comes to the ‚mmm’ light fixture placement.
Today OP delivers, so here we go!
Q: Why do it?
A: We bought this apartment and we will very likely stay here for a long time. We never had a space that was made for us, with our ideas, so this was our only shot in the foreseeable future. Why do it like that? We wanted a space that feels like ours. The previous kitchen was functional, but very neutral, and it looked a bit depressing when it was gray outside. We intentionally went for color and contrast to make the space feel brighter and more alive year-round. There’s way too many gray days in Poland during autumn/winter to also have a gray interior. This new kitchen is great to look at when it’s cloudy and dark outside and really brightens our mornings then (well, it does so at all times, but also then). And when it’s sunny, the colors just pop and look amazing.
The waves pattern that you see in the kitchen (handles, light fixture) is repeated in other places in our home (I'm showing the dining table today, and you’ll see the rest one day, too). The color palette (green, pink, blue accents) also repeats outside of the kitchen to varying degrees.
You can hate the colors, but we love them, and as multiple people pointed out, that’s what matters at the end of the day.
Q: Did you design this all by yourself?
A: It hasn’t been asked by anyone, but I have to give credit where credit is due - the design is the result of our collaboration with a Polish design studio called Faro (if you like this kitchen, you might want to check out their instagram profile). With the last post, I woke up to a million views and hundreds of comments, so it was too late to give a proper shoutout - I want to do it now, because it’s well deserved.
The story is that we had an idea for a colorful kitchen with a playful twist, strong blue accents, an island and the Oblure light fixture (‚mmm’), and hired Faro to consolidate these ideas - they came up with lot of options for us to choose from and prepared something really unique in the end. We were so happy with them, in fact, that we contracted them to design our bedroom, too. And it also turned out awesome - I will post it soon, as it nears completion.
Q: Why is the sink so small? None of my cookware would fit!
A: This was the #1 criticism, however - it’s not too small for us, and our largest dutch oven easily fit inside this sink with room to spare: https://imgur.com/a/ucSuw0o
We are used to a sink of that size, there is a big and efficient dishwasher in the kitchen that we use a lot, and in our case, having a larger sink would only be an invitation to have it filled with dirty dishes. I understand that many of you are used to huge sinks, but we seriously don’t need one. I know this is unusual for some, especially when compared to some of your sinks that I saw pictures of, but it works really well for our habits. The kitchen is not that big, too, so it also gives us more countertop space.
If we wanted a larger sink, we would need to get a much thicker countertop, which was very expensive. I did get criticized for having an expensive light fixture rather than a thicker countertop, however, for us, a larger sink was simply unnecessary.
What’s more, we have a flexible tap, so there’s no need to put pots inside the sink - the water can go where it’s needed instead. I will say, though, that most of my friends and family do have larger (sometimes much larger) sinks than this one.
Q: mmmm, boing boing boing?
A: mmmm, boing boing boing!
Q: Where is … from?
Light fixture: Oblure Arch
Outlets: Katy Paty
Handles: Desiva Cloud / Desiva Frill
Cabinets: custom
Appliances: Electrolux/SMEG and a Siemens dishwasher. The hob is an induction one. (plugged into a dedicated 400V, 3 phase outlet, boils a pot of water in a breeze!)
Sink: Franke (not that anyone asked lol)
Q: Color palette? What is ... made out of?
A: Upper cabinets: NCS S 1030-R10B
Lower cabinets: NCS S 5020-G70Y
Countertop: quartz
Cabinet doors: lacquered MDF
Oven stack: engineered wood
Q: Why did you devalue your property?
A: Short answer: I'm not optimizing for resale, but for enjoying my home.
Long answer: We did not even consider or discuss this topic during the renovation - not once. This is a space to live in and enjoy. We are living in our home, not in the home of some future potential buyer of this place. We want to feel good here and we would not feel good in a gray kitchen. It’s worth the money for us. I am quite surprised this topic came out so often, considering this is a house decorating subreddit, not a house flipping one.
Q: Why did you ruin natural wood?
A: None of what you saw in the original kitchen was made out of wood. It was laminated chipboard and lacquered MDF.
Q: Environmental concerns, why did you trash a perfectly good kitchen?
A: I can assure you that almost nothing went to trash. Someone we know needed a new kitchen, so everything that no longer of use to us was disassembled and donated to them, including the appliances. The missing cabinets were rebuilt to match the doors.
I honestly would feel quite bad if the old kitchen went to the landfill, I admit, and I’m glad it didn’t.
Q: Why not simply repaint the cabinets?
A: That’s what we wanted to do at first, but it quickly turned out unfeasible. The doors were lacquered MDF, chipped in many places, too. The countertop and backsplash were glued to everything. The hood was terribly loud and very old, and it could not be replaced without replacing the upper cabinets. We also hated the white brick and wanted it gone. So it quickly turned out that the best thing to do will be to tear almost the whole thing down. We only reused a few lower cabinets and the dishwasher, which was almost new. Here's a picture of the disassembled kitchen: https://imgur.com/a/50lC8sv
Q: How do you not bang your head on the huge light fixture?
A: I hope it’s clear from the new images - it’s above an island.
Q: How much did it cost?
A: Recalculated to USD, it would be 15-17k, including contractors and appliances. Mind you, I am in Poland, so take that into account. Also, a lot of people assumed the new kitchen is made out of wood, which is not the case, and is quite unusual in Poland. It would probably cost twice as much or more if it was wooden.
Q: What is wrong with the power cord of the light fixture? Why is it not straight?
A: It’s supposed to be like that. The mounting point of this power cord is offset from the top of the „wave”, and if you look at the Oblure website, nearly all implementations they show feature a wavy power cord. It also fits the „wave” theme of the home - it was a deliberate decision to leave it like that.
Q: Is the rest of the house like this?
A: More or less, yes. Other spaces are also being transformed from gray to colorful/playful. I hope to post some more in the upcoming months, but it’s still work in progress.
A special thank you to all the people who appreciated the space or the design choices, even if they didn’t like it. And, of course, to all the ones who have similar taste to ours and shared so many kind words about the new kitchen. Again, I could not reply to everyone, but I have read almost all of the comments, and it was really, really nice.
I knew this design wouldn’t be for everyone, but I’m really happy it sparked so many reactions and discussions.
Hi, I attempted to install frames….first time. Should I be adding paintable caulk the finish between the wood and the mirror? Example one spot I can see glue behind the mirror from the reflection
Thinking about painting the wall here hunter green. Wall hangings will stay the same. What would you put on the buffet? Also because people usually ask, yes the parks have been visited.
Someone posted this in a meme sub where all responses were basically harry potter memes.
But on a serious note, how would you use this space?
Hi !
As you might be already familiar, I am an upcycling nerd , love it , but the most that I love it’s a project where the piece came from the trash. Literally, the trash, the dumpster, the sidewalk. Today I give you a different perspective and I will like to know how do you feel about it.
Spent the weekend at a friend's and really enjoyed this armchair. It was more comfortable than I was expecting. I've always assumed armchairs were more decorative than functional but now I'm questioning that.
For people who own one: do you actually use it, or does it eventually just become a place to leave clothes? Trying to figure out if it's worth the investment.
shades are all different heights and depths. this is supposed to be total blackout, but I can see the clear blue sky from my bed, and passersby can see me.
installer damaged my walls and trim and didn’t tell me.
working with The Shade Store has been a nightmare.