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?
Alix says
Looooove that dresser!! Glad you kept it for yourselves; it looks perfect in the bedroom!
This makes me wonder what you do with your DVDs! We have tried everything: media baskets, bookshelves, putting the discs in inconspicuous binders, etc., but they always feel like an eyesore! Where do you keep them all? In 5 years of blogging, I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a DVD case in your living room!
(P.S. Hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!)
YoungHouseLove says
We literally craigslisted/ebayed/yard saled all of them but our ten favorites (most of them are Clara’s now) and those are in a little zip case thing that fits in the basket in the media cabinet.
xo
s
Elle says
The thought of those mid century side tables painted grey to match the new dresser and transitioned back into your bedroom makes me drool. Any plans to do that? ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Alas, they’re just too low for our bed, but we’re not above painting them (or some of them – or leaving them as-is) in another room like Clara’s big girl room. Just have to see where we end up!
xo
s
Cassie says
TV in our room! The only time I really relax before bed is to zone out to a movie for a few minutes before passing out… yes, that means that I watch them first 15-20 minutes of Easy A every night!
Maura says
For years, we had a TV in the bedroom instead of the living room. After our kids were old enough to want to watch “their” shows, we moved it to the living room, so they wouldn’t be left unsupervised in our room. We always meant to get a second TV, but for one reason or another, we never did. This is the year! We both like watching TV to relax in the evening, and it’s really nice to snuggle up and watch our shows together. It’s also easier to get my night-owl husband to go to sleep at a reasonable hour if he’s already in bed, ha! Too many nights I fall asleep on the sofa, waiting for him, or I go to bed without him and he stays up way, way, too late. Also, with two TVs, I can ask him to please go watch that loud (fill-in-the-blank sporting event) in the other room. :)
Tinkster says
We had a tv in the bedroom but It was the teeny one I got for my room as a teenager and as years went on I got blinder and couldn’t see it! I’d be in bed and have to jump up out to read notes or things like that. So we ditched it and I don’t miss it at all.
Jessica G. says
Speaking of the Walking Dead! Did you guys watch this week’s episode? One of your old kitchen stools makes a guest appearance!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah we noticed that!! But it’s a padded one. Hilarious that you noticed too!
xo
s
Kay says
‘I want to bother him’ – cute indeed!
I used to have a TV in the bedroom, and it seemed to work out fine for my sleep. These days, while I live in a one-room-flat (or bedsit), I don’t have a TV at all.
jamie says
I don’t have a tv at all in the house! My 42″ plasma went out, so I got rid of the whole setup in the living room. It’s been about two weeks and haven’t missed it too much.
Jessica says
I read the tutorial for the dresser and I have a question: Did you use the same kind of paint for the hardware as you did for the wood? Are you worried about it peeling off the metal, if you did? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
That hardware is actually wooden (it’s just wood carved pulls that are part of the dresser) so it’s all the same paint. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Jessica says
Oooooohh, very nice!
Theresa says
Not sure if you have a cable outlet there or not but you could consider an Apple TV (order movies, watch netflix, hulu plus, etc).
(How long does it take you to read comments every day?!?)
YoungHouseLove says
Around 2 hours on a light day and around 4 hours on a heavy one (like today- so many TV tips! haha).
xo
s
Megan B says
TV in the bedroom. I could live without it, but my husband can’t. I like to have it on while I fold laundry. It’s my one time during the day that I turn on the tv. Sometimes my kids allow me to actually hear it, sometimes not.
My husband has to have noise to fall asleep (weirdo), so he turns it on to go to sleep. Our next tv will definitely have a timer option because it’s pretty annoying to have to dig around in the blankets for the remote in the middle of the night (or worse–get up and walk across the room!) to turn off the tv.
Vica says
We have always had a TV in our bedroom. Never caused any problems. It’s actually nice to have the second DVR for my girly and my mindless folding laundry tv. Oh and you will love bringing the bean into bed for 30-40 mins for a tv show on Sat/Sun mornings. It’s one of our rituals and it’s such fun family time.
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
I was completely team no TV before I got married. Then my husband and I moved in together to our guest bedroom (as we hadn’t moved the bed into the master yet…) and there was a TV in there for guests. And we watched a movie together in bed. And I totally fell in love. Get ready for that moment. Although, you have to be careful. It can be really addictive to start falling asleep to the TV (helllllo sleep timer = best/worst invention ever). It’s habit forming but oh so nice when your brain won’t shut off long enough for you to sleep!
kristy says
We have a tv and a roku box in our bedroom, so we get netflix, hulu, and amazon video. I love it, and we do get some family snuggle sessions while watching an episode or two of America’s Funniest Home Videos :)
Heidi G says
We’ve always had a TV in our bedroom. We don’t watch it that much, but it’s nice to have it.
michelle says
I’d have a tv in every room if I could. Sometimes I don’t want to each my husbands dork shows and sometimes he doesn’t want to watch Real Housewives…its nice to be able to do our own thing. It’s my way of zoning out and not thinking…mindless smut tv makes me happy. So to me a room isn’t right without a tv. Actually I’m getting one for my sewing/work out room. I think I would work out more if I had a tv to zone out to…so go from 20 min on the elliptical to maybe an hour..yeehaw!
Andrea says
We have a TV in the bedroom, and we love it. Every once in awhile, we’ll declare a random Friday night a movie night and instead of watching the movie on the big TV in the living room, we (myself, my husband, son, and daughter) all pile into our bed and watch a movie there. It is so cozy and fun — best memories ever.
Kelly says
I have an off the topic question…hope you don’t mind :-) Do you happen to know the plank width of the wood flooring in your bedroom? We are looking at wood floor options and I love the (what I think is) wider plank look. Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s extra wide! 7.5″ actually!
xo
s
Kelly says
Thank you!!
Jessica says
We don’t have a TV in the bedroom, but we do watch Hulu/Netflix on our laptops in bed almost every night. Our formula is the living room is for new shows, and the bedroom is for reruns of old shows. If I watch something new in bed, it keeps me up, but if I watch an old Friends rerun, I’m usually passed out before it’s over.
Whitley S says
I LOVE a TV in the bedroom because some days there is nothing better than snuggling up and having a Doctor Who marathon. I’m also in love with that dresser and I wants.
On a completely unrelated note, have you heard anything about the Charlotte signing? A coworker and I are trying to plan on coming. We’re beyond stoked!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we hope to have those details for you soon! Still waiting for them to finalize them!
xo
s
Roxanne M says
Oh we have a tv in the bedroom. My philosophy is a happy marriage means having more than one tv in the house!
I also love that dresser!!
Sandy says
I used to be totally anti TV in the bedroom. But now we’ve had one for about 4 years and it has worked out just fine. We used it more when we first put it in there but now we hardly ever watch it. The novelty wears off after a while. I mostly watch it while I’m sitting on the bed folding laundry now.
LARY@ Inspiration Nook says
At first I wasn’t a fan, but the mister finally convinced me to have one in the room. It’s awesome to wake up and stay in bed enjoying some football highlights or animal planet with our puppy (60lbs golden-doodle) on the weekends.
P.S Love the dresser, I’ve been thinking about painting my dresser for a long time, once I got your book, it convinced me too. Now I have to “dude, get on that” one of this weekends. HAHA
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, good luck with it Lary!
xo
s
Suzanne says
I love a TV in the bedroom!!! We don’t watch too much but as the parent’s of a toddler too sometimes it’s the only 30 minutes of the day that we really relax right before bed. No one thought that when you have an open concept kitchen family room that Mom feels the need to be “cleaning” while watching tv or doing 10-15 other things. Enjoy it!! You deserve it!
Jennifer says
Go for it. Nothing wrong with a TV in the bedroom! It’s nice for weekend snuggles, time away, and when you are sick! I know I shared this before when asked for some sort of project, but here it is again…since you are going to have to tackle a cable box or even just a dvd player (you know, for Sunday morning snuggles)..http://www.refreshandrepurpose.blogspot.com/2012/09/dresser-with-job.html
Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the link Jennifer!
xo
s
EvY says
We’re definitely of the absolutely no TV in our bedroom camp. That policy is firm. But we do have another TV in the guest bedroom/office for when he’s playing video games and I’m watching Downton Abbey.
Alex says
I just think its preference thing…and on sick days, laying in bed is about as close as a person can get to paradise when ill. Haha. Currently Breaking Bad has left me biting my nails and those episodes are 45 minutes sooooo, I probably stay up too late watching them because I can’t stop!
janet @ ordinary mom says
Totally excited about baby Weston’s safe arrival. Yay! :)
And we do have a tv in our bedroom. It is in an armoire that closes and is mostly used for the kids to watch tv as they take turns with shower and baths. Or on sick days. But I love the armoire and the spot it is in, so I have no idea what we would do with the space without the tv. For us, it works! :)
Cheryl says
I’ve gotta admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of your bedroom before. Something was just off. Now, I am absolutely loving it! Great job, folks, for tweaking it until it’s right!
jenb says
We enjoy TV…nor ashamed to say it. After wrangling 2 little boys all evening, cuddling up to watch a show is nice. As long as you know when to turn it off, it’s no biggie. ;) Everything looks super!
mariela says
We have one! We dont turn it on nearly as often as our living room TV. But its nice to be able to watch tv every now and then on our comfy bed.
Kara says
I didn’t have a TV in my bedroom (ever) until I got married. And then I became OBSESSED with watching TV before bed. Last year when our cable went all…digital? (I really have no idea how these things work) we lost TV upstairs and didn’t want to pay for another box. I now watch Netflix on the ipad in bed but I miss watching on something larger. And now that I think about it…maybe I can hook the ipad up to the TV in the bedroom like we do downstairs. But that seems like a lot of work and the ipad would be too far away from the bed to be able to control without getting up….
This is all making me sound seriously electronically challenged. And possibly lazy.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha!
xo
s
Rebecca says
Casting my vote for “no tv in the bedroom ever!” On the feng shui side of things, I think your big paper chandy right in line with the tv would break any of the negative energy. So there’s that! :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, good to know about the saving powers of the chandy!
xo
s
Katherine says
I am adamantly opposed to tvs or computers in bedrooms. There are several studies that have shown that both kids and adults sleep better when they are not overstimulated or tempted by technology in the bedroom, so that’s some motivation to follow the rule. We also don’t have a spare tv lying around, are too cheap to get another cable box even if we did, and the issue hasn’t ever come up in a decade of living together.
Jessica says
We only have one tv in our house and it’s in the living room. We’ve been discussing getting a tv for our bedroom but we haven’t yet pulled the trigger. I love the idea of being able to snuggle in bed while watching some tv with my husband but we’re also afraid of watching too much tv in there.
Jasmine says
I actually just noticed that your bedroom is right off the living room– don’t know how I missed that in the multiple tours/floorplans you guys have shared! Lol… but I had a question about that— does it feel weird to have your bedroom right off the main living area? Especially when you have guests over? Happy happy book tour and so many congratulations to you both :)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a little weird but not too bad. We usually just keep the door shut and when you’re sitting on the sofa your back is to that hallway anyway.
xo
s
Laura says
I can one up you! We just got a tv AND a giant treadmill in our bedroom! And I’m pretty sure our bedroom is half the size of yours. Lol! We live in Seattle and when rainy season started up a few weeks ago, I immediate went to Craigslist and found a treadmill. But with two young children and a tiny house, the only place I could safely leave it open and set up was in our bedroom. I was totally going to go to goodwill and get a $20 tv so I could just watch Law & Order while I ran, but I husband got all excited about a new tv and splurged on fancy flatscreen. It’s been in there about 4 weeks and I’ve turned it on maybe 3 times for my toddler to watch movies when she was sick. Sigh. And I have to climb into bed from the foot of the bed because that giant treadmill blocks the side path! What have I done to my previously cute master bedroom!?
April says
Have you thought of placing a large picture/photo on the wall above the dresser instead of the tv, like the large photo next to your chair? The dresser is awesome and I wondered about shades of blue for a boys room, even shades of pink for a girl. Also, I noticed you don’t have a lot of family photos around, any particular reason? Are they only displayed in the hallway of frames?
YoungHouseLove says
We have a ton of family frames actually! There’s a grouping of them in the bedroom right to the left of the sink nook, a grouping of them in the laundry room right by the door so we see them when we come in and out, a bunch of them in Clara’s bedroom on her frame wall, and a ton of them in the hallway for our frame wall! As for a picture on the wall in the bedroom instead of the TV, if we didn’t want to watch TV that would work- but we’d rather try the TV first! Haha.
xo
s
Pippin says
We don’t own a tv and haven’t had one in over 15 years. My personal belief is it’s an appliance and people arrange their whole lives around it. Instead of watching tv, we read, listen to music, and get more sleep than most people. I challenge your family to go tv free for a week. Give it a gander you might just like being tv free!
Lisa P. says
Welcome!
Kim H says
We have always had a tv in the bedroom. It’s perfect for catching the late night news and weather. In the mornings, it’s important to know what’s happening traffic-wise before we hit the road for our commute.
Sara says
I just got your book delivered to my door!! OH! I will read it slowly, slowly so it doesn’t end to soon…
(btw, I live in Sweden!)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw you’re so sweet Sara! Hope you love it.
xo
s
Sara says
I love it!!!!! <3
(Now I've read it from cover to cover three times… you did gooooood)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Sara!
xo
s
Lucy says
We have never had a TV in the bedroom, but this year our Christmas present for us will be a TV in the bedroom!
I suppose it is mainly for me really, my hubby works shifts so snuggling up in the bed on these dark wintry nights and watching some TV whilst he is out with the cat on the end of the bed really appeals to me now I’m almost hitting 40!
Lucy says
That post made it sound like my hubby is out with the cat! He is not, he is at work, the cat is with me!!
Glenda says
Hi Guys,Your book has just arrived in Australia, via The Book Depository ~ I love it ~ Congratulations.
YoungHouseLove says
Wahooo! So glad!
xo
s
renee says
Gotta have it.
Tonya says
Heck yeah, we have a tv in our bedroom. Always have, always will. One time we vacationed in a condo without a tv in the master bedroom. My husband was appalled! Poor thing barely functioned that week. Lol! Both daughters also have tv’s too, so we have also rebelled against the “no tv in a kid’s room” rule as well.
jessibee says
I hope we’re immune to feng shui too because right now we sleep across from a tv AND a floor length mirror. I had no idea Sherry! Now I’m nervous! haha
The dresser…SWOON!!!
Mark says
Hilarious post. I really like that dresser though. I might have to mix up some paint to make one like it.
Michele says
First comment here! Been spending hours on your site for the last couple weeks :) Anyway, our favorite thing in the world is watching TV in bed after the kids go to sleep! Love love love it. And my baby #2 was 10 lbs 2 oz born naturally too! Well if you count naturally when it includes a nice epidural.
Amanda says
I’m a long time blog reader but a first time commenter. Kinda sad that a tv in the bedroom is what prompted me to leave my first comment! I couldn’t sleep without the tv in my bedroom. It’s a tiny (makes your bedroom tv look huge!) holdover from my college dorm room that was too small for any other room. I sleep with it on most nights as it blocks out the sounds of the neighbors and traffic. I am too cheap to pay for a second cable hook up so I only watch DVDs in the bedroom. Just a thought if you decide you can’t sit through a phone call with Verizon.
YoungHouseLove says
Smart idea!
xo,
s