We’re bringing someone else into the bedroom. And it’s… gasp… a TV.
We were originally anti-TV-in-the-bedroom, so we know it’s not for everyone (and it’s downright sinful to some) but we only have one TV in our entire house – in the living room – and this guy was just sitting unused in the playroom (ever since we upsized the living room one since he wasn’t large enough to actually see from the sofa)… so we’ve gone and changed our minds. Haha. There’s actually a real reason behind the decision: more and more we’ve been thinking about how we have issues with work/life balance and it’s hard for us to “shut off.” Which is why we always end up working on the couch with our laptops and the TV on in the background. But a TV in the bedroom could become a no-work-and-no-multi-tasking spot – so we wouldn’t allow any laptops or work to take place in the room and we could actually concentrate on our favorite shows.
Just pure relaxation and zombie-apocalypse/Dexter viewing. What can I say, that’s our idea of a hot date. And I know there’s an old saying that a TV in the bedroom might keep you from… ahem… other activities. But we figure if things like caring for a toddler, renovating rooms, writing a book, and maintaining a blog don’t get in the way, that’s nothing a little TV in the bedroom could change. Aaand, now I’m blushing. Moving on.
Not gonna lie, it sounds downright heavenly to wake up on a lazy Sunday and watch a movie in bed with the bean instead of sitting on the sofa and immediately snapping into “we should be working” mode and grabbing our laptops.
And let’s just say a wall with a dresser and a TV are straight up spa-like when compared to this ridiculously cluttered before:
So I returned from all of our tour flights with a fire burning under my buns to whip the wall that we stare at every. single. night. into shape. The first step was just putting things where they actually belonged (books we had read went under the built-ins in the dining room with the rest of our collection, empty boxes got broken down and stashed in our recycling bin, the lamp moved back to where it should be, etc).
Then I moved our mid-century side tables (remember we phased them out here?) into the guest room. Now that we yard-saled the old dresser that was in there we have a completely bare wall – and two of them next to each other actually look like a console against it. I owe you guys a picture, but it definitely works for now. We don’t know if we’ll eventually use them in Clara’s big girl room, so we’ll have to keep you posted.
Anyway, once those were out of the way we could properly center the dresser (which was one of the only secret book projects that we paid for and kept since we were so in love with it – you might recognize it from this video). It sits directly across from our bed – for our prime viewing pleasure – and then we just plopped the old too-small leftover living room TV on the top.
So far, it totally works for us. Wait, except not literally. It’s not actually hooked up to cable or anything yet, so… womp-womp. Nothing to watch. Maybe I’ll “dude, get on that” in a week or two (returning from tour stuff + Thanksgiving week = too much going on to sit on hold with Verizon). Perhaps I’ll have the patience next week?
Oh and I’ve heard that it’s bad feng shui to sleep across from a TV or a mirror, but we actually slept facing a giant floor length mirror for a few years at our first house and didn’t have issues sleeping or anything like that- thank goodness. So maybe we’re immune? Haha.
Honestly, my favorite thing about the dresser actually being centered and cleared of clutter is that I get to put cute little jewelry dishes up there (which tie into the color of the rug, you know, because I’m coo-coo-for-stuff-like-that).
Also hanging out up there: wood blocks in our initials and our favorite number. Oh yeah, this stuff makes my day, guys. #noshameinmygame
So that’s where we are. Slowly inching towards a bedroom that looks less blank-wall-here, cluttered-junky-wall-there. We’ll let you guys know how the whole TV thing goes once it’s up and running. Who knows, we might end up never using it, hating it and removing it, or pretty much deciding we should never leave our room! Mostly I’m just excited that we can share photos of one of our favorite book projects on the blog. Yeehaw.
Do you guys have TV’s in the bedroom? I’m dying to know the breakdown (is it 50/50? way more than not? very rare indeed?) but the last time we embedded a poll it crashed our site, so we’ve cobbled this tiny poll together over on Facebook so if you feel like playing along or checking out the tally, click here. Can’t wait to hear where you guys land!
Psst- Have you guys seen baby Weston yet? It was so exciting getting the call in the middle of the night that he came into the world safely and all was well with Katie and the fam. Clara loves him already – and after I showed her a picture in the morning she lovingly said “I want to bother him.” Cute, right?
Angel says
If you don’t end up loving it, put it in your guest room. I don’t like a TV in my bedroom at home, but when staying somewhere else it gives kind of a fun “hotel” factor!
Theresa says
That dresser is so wonderful.
Sometimes I maught at the things you guys post. I know you HAVE to write and tell his- otherwise everyone would see and be like, WTF? But I just wonder the conversations that go down with you two. “No, we can’t do that, we’d have to put it on the blog” or, “we have to put that on the blog or everyone will notice!” ha. You guys are wonderful, you share everything (almost quite litterally now ha) and we all love you for that. You rock at your job.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thank Theresa! We just can’t help but over-share! I honestly think we don’t know what we’d do without a blog! Probably post super long and annoying Facebook updates! Hahaha!
xo
s
Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says
I have to admit that I love seeing pictures of you guys in real life… the side of the room that has been hiding from pictures for the past few months. It’s nice to see everything not picture ready but lived in.
Growing up I had a tv in my bedroom and loved it. My husband and I decided not to go with one though. We were tempted earlier this year to add one though because we moved our armoire directly in front of the bed. We definitely had visions of lazy nights laying in bed watching movies but in the end decided not to.
Lilly says
So happy I’m not the only one living with a TV in the room and the Feng Shui seems to be on my side on this one too. Oh and the huge leaning mirror. Cause I have both in my bedroom and I was worried about Feng Shui but it’s been working out I try to balance out all the elements so that I can still have a normal life. I love the way your used to be bare wall looks now so “Homie, Hotelly, Sheek” I too strive for something nice across my bed it’s very bare right now, with nothing but the TV hanging with wires exposed and 4 huge plain white closet doors. No wonder I don’t have trouble sleeping my wall across the bed is a total yawn TV and all.
schmei says
We’re definitely a no-TV-in-anyone’s-bedrooms family, but I can totally see your rationale. And since I’d want to spend all my time staring at that dresser, anyway, putting a TV on top of it makes some sense. :-)
Meredith says
We have a TV in our room as well. A 32 in flat screen on a dresser. It is definitely relaxing to catch up on your shows in your comfy bed! That dresser is A-Mazing! I LOVE it! I need one!
Kelli says
We have a TV in our bedroom, but I can’t remember the last time we turned it on. Maybe two years ago during closet clean out weekend…? But just for background noise… Thinking about moving it to the craft room.
Tracey says
I absolutely love, love, love that dresser. No wonder you kept it. It loves great in the bedroom too.
I was so excited to read about baby Weston. He is so cute. I feel for her, my son was 10 lb. 3 oz. too. I had a C-section though, not sure Katie went that way. Healthy, happy and plump, just the way ya want them. Congrats to the Bower fam. especialy big brother Will!
YoungHouseLove says
She had a traditional (non c-section) delivery! Isn’t that amazing!!!
xo
s
Emily | Sparkle Meets Pop says
We have one in the bedroom and it’s on a lower dresser. Hubs says he wants to mount the TV up higher on the wall so it’s easier to see, but maybe we can switch up the dressers, since we also have a tall one. Brilliant, I say.
Katie says
We are also a one TV fam, and it is a less-than-huge TV too. While we have been doing renovations in the living room for the last month, the TV has sat on the floor. And we watched it that way… us on the couch, TV on the floor. Definitely not ideal, but hey, it works for now. Maybe one day we can upgrade to a bigger tv that sits ON an entertainment center. Oh man…. big dreams.
Stephanie says
We are a tv in the bedroom kinda family as well. I can’t fall sleep in pure silence so it helps to have some background noise going on (and a fan isn’t enough for me). Plus, if we sit in the living room watching tv until we are tired, once I get up to go to bed I realize there are always a few things that have to be done before settling down, and once I do those things I am not as tired as I was. We don’t have it hooked up to cable but we do have Netflix, so we put on old episodes of The Office or Parks and Rec. It makes it easy to relax, and yet easy to fall asleep since we have already seen them and don’t feel like we are missing anything.
Oh and I feel I should mention – we’ve had a TV in our room since we’ve been married (5 1/2 years) and it hasn’t hindered our other bedroom activities at all… ;)
Natalie says
We have a Tv in our bedroom, it’s a must have for us. My husband is in the Army and when he’s gone I have to have it on to fall asleep. When he’s home we just turn it to one of the classical radio stations to fall asleep. The Tv automatically shuts off after a few hours so it’s not on all night disrupting our sleep.
Mona O | Renters in Love says
Hehe, I knew “Dude, Get on That” referred to more than household items!
YoungHouseLove says
Bwahahahhah!
xo
s
Candice says
I am on the fence with TV in the bedroom, it’s such a personal choice. For a while we didn’t have one and then we put one in our bedroom for hubby to play a new video game & so we could watch Netflix. That worked out okay for awhile but I was having a very hard time sleeping if he stayed up to game or watch movies. Then it became a huge point of contention – he wanted to keep it & I wanted to get rid of it. Fate stepped in about a month ago when the TV broke!! I convinced my hubby to avoid running out & buying a new one, I said we should see how much nicer it is to sleep without it. It only took about a week to bring him on my side & now we’re sleeping wonderfully & TV free! YAY! I think with strong boundries a TV in the bedroom isn’t the worst thing, it’s just not for us:)
LOVE that dresser BTW!
laura says
you totally called it on the best thing about the tv in the bedroom…waking up on sunday morning and just snuggling with the little ones. i always heard not to have a tv in the bedroom once you were married, but for us…it works. especially when it means we can cuddle up our 2.5 and 5 year old while they watch mickey mouse…
Cara says
No tv in the bedroom for us. I had one in college but neither I nor my hubby like one in the bedroom. I know lots of people who do though. We only have one tv in the livingroom and one in the basement with a dvd player for workout videos.
Do you watch the walking dead too? It is getting intense!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s getting awesome! I for one am glad Lori’s gone though. She was so annoying (always getting them almost killed for crazy reasons) that I voted her off the island last season. Haha. I’m heartless I guess!
xo
s
Cara says
Nope, I didn’t like Lori either! The way she died did disturb me a little since I had a c-section. I don’t like Andrea or Hershel’s daughter (not maggie) either. Maybe I just don’t like the women. LOL!
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, it was totally gross and disturbing (I was a c-section gal too) but she was just always getting the guys to do crazy stuff so I’m glad she’s gone. You’re right about Maggie’s sister or whoever that girl is too. But I love Michonne! Couldn’t love her more. And Andrea. And my total favorite is Daryl (now that Shane is gone- I mourned him for weeks!).
xo
s
renee says
Just as long as the TV doesn’t get in the way of the next DIY Baby Petersik making, I’m ok with it ;)
Maria @ Inspiration Affirmation says
I think this is great! My husband and I have a TV in our bedroom, across from our bed, and we rarely use it. But it is very nice to have it in there, ready and waiting for us on the rare Saturday morning that we can hang out with breakfast in bed and move on with our day slowly. Enjoy! :-) And I love that ombre dresser, by the way. It is gorgeous!
threadbndr says
When I got a flat screen last year, I moved the old tube tv into my bedroom. However, I so seldom watch it that I think it will move up to the guest room when I redo that room.
I tend to laptop in the living room and “watch” TV at the same time, sometimes I even knit while doing both of the above LOL.
jackie jade says
We have a tv in our bedroom (also our old living room one since we need a bigger one when we moved) but I can’t remember the last time I used it! I blog/hang out in the guest room usually and watch my old tube tv from college. I’m a weirdo.
Heather says
I answered the FB poll already, but, no we don’t have one and no (for now)we don’t want one. In our current house we have one in our den (a space just for me and the new husband), one in our upstairs living room (communal space for all room mates- 6 of us in this house right now, yikes!) and then one in our basement which only gets watched during game days or when we have people over.
I like the idea of completely unplugging from technology before bed because it helps me fall asleep better. To each their own and who knows, maybe in our next house when we’re all alone we’ll feel different :-)
Clara says
I love it! And I have the perfect piece to paint that way so guess what my next weekend project is going to be? YAY!!!
Btw, It was sooo nice to meet you guys @ west elm, I wish I had talked to you more Lol, I was so excited, i had waited that moment for so long and had sooo many questions and comments in my mind, but I guess after three hours of waiting in line and 3 sugar cookies my brain stopped working Hahahaha :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, it was amazing to meet you Clara! We love all Claras the most, it’s a rule! Haha.
xo
s
Matt says
I am afraid this post will start a household war! (She’s pro, I’m anti.) You might be able to get over-the-air channels to hold you over until you get cable up there. Just have the TV do a channel scan or the like to see what it can pull down.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Matt!
xo
s
Johanna says
I am in LUUURVE with that dresser!!! Are you guys going to post a tutorial on the blog? Only thing im wondering about is how you pick the right shades for the color to flow so nicely…. I reeeeally really want to do that… Looks so great! :)
YoungHouseLove says
That tutorial’s actually in the book, so we won’t be posting about it here (we did a ton of bonus projects in the book so they wouldn’t already be blogged about here and would all be fresh and new). Hope it helps!
xo
s
Johanna says
Totally makes sense! I’ve had my fingers crossed that your book will be under the Christmas tree this year…. Can’t wait :)
Linde says
We’ve always had a TV in the bedroom. We use that room more of a Family room anyway.
Kim W Rily says
We have a tv in the bedroom, but as we don’t have cable, I can’t remember when I last watched it besides for exercise tapes. (Yes, tapes.) I know DH and I have fallen asleep watching a downloaded program on the iTouch, though. And I usually keep my laptop next to my side of the bed. Our desktop computer is in the kitchen and one of us is usualy on that, but if I’m laptopping in bed, it’s usually facebook or pinterest, leisurely flipping around. We do like having two TVs though, because sometimes we let the kids watch a cartoon while mommy and daddy watch something a little more grown up (and we don’t have to stay up too late after the kids are asleep or watch yet another Barbie or Dora video.)
cporoski says
We do not have a tv but it is because I am a sleepwalker and TVs make that worse. So we don’t even charge cell phones in the bedroom to have me not just start walking around. Creepy, I know.
Diane says
Good plot line for Criminal Minds!
Kim says
Love having the TV in the bedroom! I watch the Today show when I get ready for work in the morning, so I justify it as getting the important news of the day. :)
cindy says
I thought no tv just like you for the first 11 years of marriage. When I was on bedrest with baby #4, my husband put a tv in our room and voila! It was like “Oh, this is the greatest invention in the world. TV + bed = Heaven. All of our kiddos would crawl up in the bed with us on weekend mornings and watch cartoons and movies. No distractions like cleaning or washing dishes. Just that delicious snuggliness of warm, well rested babies and kids was awesome. Fast forward 16 years and we have never looked back. And no, it doesn’t interfere with, ahem, the other. Slighlty blushing.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, good to know!
xo,
s
KellyA says
I have a severe multitasking problem so I would never end up sitting in bed just leisurely watching tv lol
It might be that I don’t have cable so there’s just tv with movies in the living room and old granny tv (with vhs) and disney movies in the guest room!
Christy says
We also put an old TV in our bedroom, and we honestly don’t even use it that much. But its nice to have especially if one of us is sick haha.
Melly says
I am so glad that you kept the fantastic ombre dresser. It looks like it was made for that spot!
Weighing in: pro-tv in the bedroom.
Amanda says
We don’t have a television in our bedroom, but we do occasionally spend lazy Saturday mornings in bed watching movies on Netflix or Bugs Bunny cartoons on Youtube. It’s nice.
I think the biggest reason why people are anti-televisions in bedrooms is that sometimes if there’s a television in a room, it becomes this omnipresent feature. They can’t just be in the room without the television turned on, and that becomes problematic.
I doubt that would be a problem for you two, though!
Tracey says
Oops, I mean it looks great inthe bedroom.
Quiana says
My husband and I are very anti-TV in the bedroom and I’m so glad this something we’ve always been on the same page about! We’re not big TV watchers anyway and cut the cord on cable over 2 years ago, and it was one of the best decisions ever.
Katy says
Are you planning on adding some color to that wall? I like the dresser a lot, but it’s a whole lot of gray currently. I think a punch of color would add a lot.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s hard to see from this angle, but the main punch of color is the giant rug (it’s 10 x 12 I think, and full of teal, turquoise, and navy) so no matter where you look in the room you see that! Of course I’d love to layer in more color since I’m just getting started on that wall, so it’ll be fun to see where we end up!
xo
s
Stephanie says
We have always had a TV in our bedroom. I drew the line at hooking up the Xbox in there too. And was Sundays episode of Dexter not the best yet? I can’t wait to see what happens.
YoungHouseLove says
Ahhhh yes!!!
xo
s
Jeanie says
No TV in the bedroom, but we have no TV in the house either. Our TV was in our living room and then it died when our son was 3 months old. We just didn’t care and we didn’t replace it. My husband was never a TV watcher anyway so it wasn’t much of an adjustment.
My husband also works from home (but for a company, so he is on the phone and tied to his computers all day), so I certainly can understand the work from home/regular home life balance. It is hard to separate the two sometimes when (for us) a part of your house is dedicated to his company. (But we are so grateful for a job…not to be misunderstood.) It just can be really hard because he works many, MANY more hours now that he works from home (his company closed the local offices and sent them virtual — not like he had a choice).
Anyway, I am glad you can snuggle and shut off the work. Good for you two!
Sarah@SBrandesDesigns says
There wasn’t a suitable option for me in the Facebook poll because we have a tv in our bedroom but we neither love it nor hate it because it hardly ever gets used. We didn’t bother hooking it up to our cable, but we do have a dvd player hooked up & a wii that is used solely for watching netflix. Every once in awhile we will pick a movie or something on netflix and just unwind in our bedroom since we also have a hard time unwinding in the living room (laptops galore). I think if it became too much a daily routine I would probably pack up the tv & move it out of there though bc I wouldn’t want it being used all the time. If it is being used for together time I’m ok with the occasional bedroom tv time, but that’s it.
Ps I totally want to do an ombre dresser for our first bambino’s nursery down the road.
Carla says
From a design point, I think the dresser/TV looks awesome. I love how it goes with the grey in the room. Personally, I’d never have a TV (unless I was on bedrest or something). I’m worried one of us would get used to having it on to fall asleep, I’m worried about the light preventing a good sleep (I think the brushing teeth/washing face/etc break between TV and sleep helps us get into the sleep phase). I’m worried that we’d stop talking in bed before we go to sleep. So no TV for us!
Andrea A says
We have a tv in our bedroom… I usually watch it in the AM while getting ready for work. Hubby will sometimes turn it on in the PM when there is a late football game on.
I am seriously in LOVE with the dresser!!! I wonder, do you think the same concept would work on a 4-drawer (similar height as yours, but taller drawers)? Or would it look too chunky with the different colors? (I, for the life of me, cannot picture it on just 4 drawers!)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I bet it would look awesome on four drawers! I’d just use the four consecutive colors on a swatch (don’t skip one or anything since it looks best when the color change is gradual). Good luck!
xo
s
Leslie Stewart says
I’m not sure we could survive without a tv in the bedroom! LOL!
Emily says
We have a tv in our bedroom – and not only is it good for me every once in awhile, it’s great to snuggle in with my 2 little girls and watch movies. Our couch downstairs isn’t as comfy.
Martha says
I love having TV in the bedroom. 1. it’s a sanctuary of (relative) calm in our too small, something is always being renovated condo and 2. it’s pure decadence to watch a movie or your favorite TV show stretched out, under a blanket, snuggling with your honey, resting on comfy pillows. And, it doesn’t get in the way of those, ahem, other activities. It’s amazing what you can block out when you want to!
Stacey T says
We have two tvs in our bedroom…. one on the dresser directly in front of the bed, and a small computer screen size one on my husband’s nightstand. My husband has trouble falling asleep at night, so he watches tv until he gets drowsy. The one on the dresser is too bright for me to go to sleep when it’s on (hello 40″), but the one on his nightstand is the perfect size for him to roll over and watch without bothering me. I hope this isn’t a permanent fixture, but it will be for a while…
Ethne @ Wom-Mom says
Lori told me Weston was over 10 lbs and VBAC – out of control! Our babies were all under 6.4 oz! Anyway, love the dresser – the little jewelry dishes make it; I also am a lover of those little guys. I have them all over the house. Do you have one or two in the kitchen for taking off your rings when you get your hands dirty? And I have little teeny ceramic bowls from an Asian grocery store that I put toothpicks, garlic and change in (separate). The change one is the best because my 5-year-olds are more than happy to play gopher for me for a penny or nickel. It’s genius. And shortlived I’m sure. Haha.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s so sweet! I never take my rings off (I know, I’m so weird) so I even sleep in them and cook in them and shower in them- but I’m always taking off my earrings so I need a dish for those!).
And yes, Katie is an absolute warrior!! So happy for her and the fam!
xo
s
Ethne @ Wom-Mom says
I sleep and shower with my rings too, so you’re not super weird, Sherry – but ground beef when making meatloaf, that’s where I draw the line!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha, maybe that’s why I avoid cooking! Haha.
xo
s
cassie says
i used to be anti-tv in the bedroom, too, but i love nothing more than laying in bed watching a movie with my kids, all snuggled together!
K (Barking Babymama) says
So we didn’t have a TV in our bedroom for the longest time, but had one in our office/guest room. When that room became our second son’s nursery, we were out of places to put the 2nd TV (which we mainly had for when my mom visited, because she can’t sleep without TV on). So we decided to put the second TV in a cabinet in our bedroom, since when I was sick I loved to watch TV in bed, and we loooove having it. Because it’s in a cabinet, we often forget about it, but once in a while we remember and gasp and exclaim “We can watch that IN BED!!” and it’s like the most luxurious thing ever. I also forget-and-remember about it when I’m folding laundry or something, and it makes the chore so much more enjoyable. So I’m totally pro-bedroom-TV as a luxurious, escape tool, which is how it sounds like you guys are thinking of it too! I would love to see a big Em-Hendo-style art gallery wall around the TV in your bedroom!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh I’d love that – although we’re planning to get the TV hooked up and make sure we watch it/like it before we mount it or hang anything around it. But you never know where we’ll end up!
xo
s
janetl says
I actually haven’t had a tv in the bedroom since I was a teenager so I’ve been without for 12 years. But maybe it doesn’t count so much if you just watch netflix or hulu on a laptop instead. :)
Kara says
You upgraded the TV in your living room because it was too small to see from the couch. Is this one any closer to your bed then the old TV-Couch distance?
Do you have trouble seeing it?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, the bedroom is not as wide as the living room so it’s not as bad! It’s probably around 3-4 feet closer in there :)
xo
s