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?
Julie says
Two comments about the Feng Shui of a TV and mirrors in the bedroom. A master bedroom should only be for sleep, rest, and intimacy; a zen-like space. The mirror in the bedroom includes the energy of a third person in the room with the couple. The TV is a “black hole” that sucks the good energy out of the room.If you have a TV or mirror in the room, put them “to sleep” by covering them with a scarf when not being used to keep the energy in the room pure. For more Feng Shui information on available Feng Shui education or consultations contact Feng Shui Services of New England at [email protected]
Viviana says
I was against having a tv in the bedroom forever. I felt like it kept me from falling asleep on time and then hubby would fall asleep with the tv on and I would wake up in the middle of the night to turn it off. I needed my uninterrupted sleep. But then we had a baby, and there is no worse sleep interruption than that. The spare bedroom with the 2nd tv became the nursery so now I needed a tv in the master to watch my shows, because hubby and I have complete opposite tastes. I now insist it goes off before he starts snoring. I usually have to stay awake and watch him… if he twitches, or snorts it means he fell asleep and he gets an elbow in the side to wake up and turn it off ;)
Rachel A says
We just put a TV in our bedroom yesterday! The day you posted this post! (Why is that fact making me use so many exclamation points?)
We also were kind of afraid of putting a TV in the bedroom. (Well, my husband was. I was neutral.) But it was acting up, so we bought a new one to stick in the living room and thought we should put the old one out to pasture in our bedroom. We put the new one up on the wall…and the new TV is having the same problems as the old one! Oh no! We just bought a new TV and apparently the problem is our DVR. Now we have to decide if we want to be financially responsible and take back the new TV and move the old one back into the living room…
The new one’s bigger. That’s totally enough of an excuse to keep it, right?
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah! Good luck making the call!
xo
s
Rebecca says
Love, love, LOVE that dresser :) I also wanted to tell you that I love that your book cover is matte and has no dust jacket. Thanks for all of the inspiration. 2013 is going to be our DIY year!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Rebecca! You’re sweet!
xo
s
Leslie says
I vote no to TV in the bedroom, for any reason. But my husband and I like to read or, um, do other things before bed. That’s the way I like it and I’m not budging!
Ellen says
We have no tv, but we do have Netflix and our computer is in our bedroom, at a good angle to watch from bed. It works for us… we don’t watch a lot and when we do, it is nice to snuggle in. It works great for our little girls too… when they get their one-or-so show a week they curl into our bed and for the rest of the week, the tv isn’t there in the living room tempting them to beg for shows.
I think that if you have good self-discipline, it doesn’t matter where you put the tv!
Molly says
My husband always loathed the idea of a TV in the bedroom, but when a similar thing happened to us and we had an extra.TV and a perfect space for it on top of a dresser in the bedroom we went for it. It really hasn’t been a bother at all, and we rarely use it but when we do it’s purposeful and great. It’s really handy to watch an episode of something funny while folding clothes, or to put on an old black and white movie to lull us to sleep when we’re too jazzed up from work and the day. I think it’s really all about making sure not to have it on all the time and you’re good! Enjoy, yours looks great on that dresser from the book!
Sassafras says
Have a TV in the master bedroom…only used when I am sick a’bed with a wild cold or some weird flu bug, so maybe it gets turned on once or twice a year, but when I’m down I still like to be plugged in to my HGTV and DIY I.V. Then, I’m encouraged to be well and up to do new projects.
Melissa says
I have a firm rule that nothing that plugs in or glows is allowed in the bedroom. All we do is sleep and love up on each other (tmi sorry) in our bedroom, its a very peaceful environment.
Sarah M. says
We do have a tv in our bedroom. It’s like this grown up luxury, because it was forbidden when I was a kid. :) Plus, I find that we sometime end up going to be carrier because of it, which is always a positive!
Samantha says
My Jon and I have a tv in our bedroom. It doesn’t get much use and we don’t actually have cable in there but with this cute little pink dvd player (that he actually got me for our anniversary a few years ago) it is perfect to sit and watch late night movies. Even if I make him sit through Pride and Prejudice while I bawl my eyes out. :)
Misty says
I’m a no for a bedroom tv. We have many children (8) and we like to have a bedroom just for us… I think it would take from the closeness we have in getting to bed at a decent time and talking without any little ones around. Plus, I’m a romantic and don’t go from Law and Order to intimacy very well :-)
Emily says
I cannot get enough of that dresser! I have an old dresser that needs some loving and this makes for some great inspiration! And I think there is nothing wrong with a tv in a bedroom! There just needs to be a “shut off” time where other “activities” can take place! Like a good ol’ conversation! ;)
Kara says
So, I’m curious… After 500 comments (whoa!!!) and your Facebook poll, what are your general thoughts/reaction about everyone else’s comments? I’m thinking that a lot of them were pretty hilarious and the topic is as as hot but less sensitive than politics! Ha!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yes it was hilarious and fun! We love hearing from everyone!
xo,
s
Ashley says
We have our TV mounted on the wall in our bedroom and then one in our living room. We really don’t watch the bedroom TV often at all. Couple times a month? We’ll move from the couch to the bed and flip on the tail-end of SNL, maybe, and put the sleep timer on. Ha ha.
Kara says
Guilty of breaking that no TV in the bedroom rule myself. I don’t use it a ton, but when I do, I love it! Laying in bed on a lazy Saturday morning or watching a movie in bed… enjoy!
Ashley says
I am catching up with my blog reading and I have to tell you I LOVE that ombre dresser!!! I just made an ombre desk this weekend with stuff I had laying around the basement. I was desperate for a work space and the ombre effect just makes something ordinary so much fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds so pretty!
xo,
s
Bree says
We have a TV in every room. Husband and I have movie night in bed every sat. night. Comfortable and great bonding time :).. i also click it on when im folding 6 peoples laundry on the bed ;)
Venia | Organized Bites says
This was the hardest issue for me and my hubby to overcome. I love, love, love having a television in the bedroom…hated having one in the living room. He’s the polar opposite. We ended up having more television centered company after we were married, so he won. Glad to say that my iTouch has given me my own small victory, and kept the peace. I can watch a video with earbuds, or read without the light on. I still miss having a social space without a telly…maybe in our next house.
grace garland says
WOW……love, love, love the dresser and gradiation of colors. Genius ideas. Love the knobs too! Ya’ll are so fun! Thoroughly enjoy your blog…sorry I never comment…..LOSER!!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Grace! You’re so sweet.
xo
s
Sally says
No TV in the master bedroom for us – I banished it when when moved in together. But, we do have one in the guest room for those sick-in-bed days or to curl up and watch a movie. It’s grown on me. If we didn’t have a guest room, I’d put one in the master bedroom now.
Sally says
Oh and…we have a Roku hooked up to the guestroom TV – no cable. So, we can only stream handpicked shows and movies – no channel surfing.
Anastasia says
okay so i never really comment unless it’s to win something i must admit but we have a 50inch television in our bedroom and six kids later and we all seem to still be happy so it seems like its either a love it or hate it thing. sorry for such the late comment though i am a loyal every day reader, i thought but somehow i missed this one….
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Anastasia!
xo
s