5 top tips on setting up a room.

I've been trying to figure out my livingroom seating situation forever. And with no budget, it's been tricky at best.

Back in May, I scooped up this partial sectional for $30. Score!!

Loved  the colour and did tricky things to the one end where no arm existed. No one even noticed.

I just really loved how it fit into the room! It provided acres of extra sitting room plus the creamy lightness added the perfect pop against the woodsy surroundings. It truly felt right!

And then...

... it became this. Do you have one of these?

It's called a laundry-cat couch. No home is complete without it. Ever so handy to help with your chores, keeping riff raff off cat/dog hair infested hardwood floors. And it's the best pit stop EVER for projects under construction!

And do you know WHY it became one of these? Because quite frankly, the couch hurt my back to sit in.

I honestly tried the thing before I had 4 guys haul it in. I thought it was great out there in lah lah land. But for some reason, it sat different in my house. So, the laundry-cat couch ate up alot of my living area. Not good.

I even stopped watching TV because my OTHER couch hurts my back too. (more on that another day)

Anyway, in enters my UP chair. I first talked abit about it HERE. 

I'm happy to say, this here little chair dramatically changed my entire livingroom. For the BETTER this time. Out went the laundry-cat couch, and in came...

... the UP seating area.

I mean, tell me you think of this when you see that picture. :)  Two VERY different chairs serving two VERY different personalities. Yet looks wise, it kinda works in an eclectic kinda way. I mean, even the colours are fine!

In a perfect world, I had envisioned two identical slip covered wing backed chairs. However, as always, my finds lead me to where my room takes me. I work with what I have, and modify my plans to incorporate the new more productive find.

We now use the room to it's fullest potential and LOVE it!!

The reason for my couch story? It's to portray how I personally set up rooms.

The 5 best tips EVER on setting up your rooms

Ever make a purchase blunder? Try these steps the next time you think you need something new for a room and see if you can't save yourself alot of future grief, AND money.

1. Figure out what you like.

2. Function first.

3. Mimick the trial run.

4. Try using what you have first.

5. Buy price efficiently and morph.

1. Figure out what you like.

Getting inspiration from books is helpful so you can grasp what you like. And someone else already wrote the book on this one, so please go visit Cottage Instinct's amazing post HERE on finding your loves. Best advice EVER.

Just keep in mind, books offer you inspiration, but not necessarily the end result. Why? Because, your home will not look like what's in the books. Just like a hairstyle from a magazine can't be exactly yours. But it can indeed be a variation of that. Good news is, in most cases, your version will be BETTER because you'll have made it work for you own home's requirements.

ie: I wanted a kitchen office. So I figured out what I liked and at the time, it was all about antique white. So I scooched the kitchen table, chairs and hutch out of the way and tried this variation with stuff I had on hand. I really liked it! So now I knew what to build on.

  

2. Function first.

We all love pretty things and we want our surroundings to reflect our taste. HOWEVER, pretty doesn't equate function. They are two separate categories.

Function allows you to use every square inch of your home. All pretty does alone is create a museum. Your house cost you alot. Don't you want to use it? 

So, allow abit of ugly in until you can make it pretty. I live with all kinds of odds and sods for a long time until I know without a doubt that my environment will function well. And only then do I bring out the paint and smarten the place up. I never NEVER finish up until I know the pieces work their best first.

ie: As for the kitchen office? The new setup functioned MUCH better than the kitchen table and chairs for eating ever did. Hence, the new kitchen office was born.

3. Mimicking the trial run

Mimicking a trial run will allow you to better define just how well the space functions. You can generally mimick a new function in a new room with things you already have on hand. This is a hard phase, as you have to look past what your eclectic mix really looks like. Don't think pretty. Think pretend pretty. :) 

ie: By mimicking this trial run with a headboard, desk, chair and chunk of pegboard,  I was able to create a functional pretend office within 5 minutes of scrounging around in the garage. While using the space, the mimick time allowed me to quickly figure out I needed more desktop and storage than what these pieces allowed for. Now wasn't this awesome to find out before purchasing anything?  

4. Try using what you have first.

Any DIYer knows, in many cases, you can morph objects into uses other than what they were intended for. So try it out with your own stuff before purchasing.

ie: When I  moved the hutch, table and chairs all back into place until I could land some decent office decor, I realized I could create the office I needed with everything already there!

Kitchen office today, HERE.

This area is one of the most used places in the house today. (thanks to ahem.. blogging)  Had I not done a trial run with the office idea, I don't even think I would have been able to think of these components for office use. Much like the couch story, the trial junk saved me many dollars in potential costly mistakes. Only thing left to do is bring some of those beloved antique white highlights in. And I will. Soon!

5. Buy price efficiently and morph.

Rather than running out to get that high ticket item, try your local thrifts etc first. Because again, you can morph a sweet find into a must have.

ie: I purchased one thing for this kitchen office, and that was the chair on the right. This one small $20 investment took my eclectic look to the next level. By having two different chairs, it created a fun and casual look, rather than everything higher end 'matchy matchy'. (nothing wrong with matchy matchy, btw! I was just going for something more casual)

Here's another story. This is a shot of when my kitchen was being built. Take special note of the island to the left. See the boards on top?

When I was trying to figure out how large to make my island top, I cut out a 4x8 piece of corrugated plastic (coroplast) in the exact shape I had in mind. I also then cut the entire board in half so I could make it smaller and larger upon will to grasp the reality of what was to come. I lived with that sample for nearly 2 weeks before committing.

And I'm so glad I did! I was able to give my idea a trial run before running out with money in hand, which could have led to a  VERY costly mistake. As you can see, this is a very customized metal topper. Extremely heavy and there to stay. I did NOT want to make a mistake on this one!

See the curvy shape? I did the shape in the trial run with the coroplast too, right down to how large I desired the radius corners.

Try it first.

Efficient trial #1. BLEEP. (sorry Teddy)

Efficient trial #2. DINGDINGDING!

I only have one small issue left unsolved.

Getting a turn in the Up-Cat chair.

How about you?

Tell us about a purchase blunder you've made.  Could trying out these tips have saved you alot of grief? How do you trial run new ideas when setting up?

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