The Problem with Furniture Rearranging

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

24 Aug 2009 01:50 PM

I love watching HGTV for decorating ideas, but there is one type of show that makes me change the channel every time. Whenever I see a show about furniture re-arranging, where items are taken from one room to furnish another, I can't help but get aggravated.

The show that I caught this morning showed the decorator pulling together a formal living room. She took a rug from the den, a rug from the dining room, the dining room curtains, prints from the dining room, and accessories from all over the house to decorate this room at no cost. The problem was, she left big gaping holes in other parts of the house.

As nice as the focus room looked, I couldn't help but want to see what was left of the other rooms that she pillaged.

Furniture rearranging is not a bad thing, but it needs to be done in moderation. When I pull items from one room to decorate another, I always find an item to replaced the ones I removed first. While I might take a rug and leave a hardwood floor behind, before I steal curtains from a room, I look for replacements even if it means simple shears or a window scarf.

I much prefer to switch items from one room to another instead of taking items and leaving an empty hole behind. For example, I had to chairs in my great room that I knew would look great opposite my piano in the formal living room. I waited until I could purchase replacements (a sectional for the greatroom) before moving those chairs to the living room where they look great. I also knew that my Shaker entertainment center purchased in 1998 was a bit outdated for today's design and my flat screen TV did not fit in it. I knew, however that it would look good in my husband's office and would look great as a cabinet for our assorted printers, so I traded that cabinet for smaller cabinet in the office that my flat screen TV could sit on top of.

So as you can see, I am more of a fan of furniture swapping than furniture replacement. While it is great to have one fully complete room, for me, it is no fun to see a room left undone as a sacrifice to the completed room.

If you liked this you should also read my blogs at the home blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.

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Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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