Typical living room decor for simple non-gashmius oriented

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Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Lakewood, Toms River & Jackson related Inquiries

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amother

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:14 am

Please tell me what typical living rooms look like for non-gashmius oriented, simple people living in Lakewood. My teen daughters and I disagree about this. They would love a fancier look than what I think is appropriate for us. We are mid 40s with older and younger kids ka”h. Thanks for weighing in. Smile

amother

Slateblue

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:16 am

Comfortable couch
Lamps
Coffee table for newspaper and magazines
Family photos on walls

amother

Chartreuse

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:17 am

I'm not in lakewood, but here's my guess

Couches that aren't falling apart
A rug, if that's your style, that looks clean
Seforim shranks with seforim
Walls that are clean and not peeling or chipped
Paintings or pictures of gedolim and or family on walls

amother

Cyan

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:20 am

Leather couch. Dark color. easy to clean
Practical colored rug over wood floors (optional)
Maybe a coffee table
Sefarim and book storage.
Maybe a piano
Some prints, pics gedolum, painting by kids at clubs (look amazing)
Great lighting

(The look of every member of DHs large family including mine)

amother

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:22 am

What would you consider great lighting?

amother

Cyan

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:23 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What would you consider great lighting?

Lots of spot lights.

amother

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:25 am

Do you agree with me that lamps you bought 2 decades ago that still work fine shouldn’t be replaced with lamps that have a more up to date look? Ditto for blinds that still are in great condition but teens feel are dated?

amother

Gold

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:27 am

With all due respect why is your teen dictating how you decorate your home?

amother

Chartreuse

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:27 am

Recessed lighting brightend the room. Makes it lechtig

amother

Gold

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:28 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Personally I agree with your daughter. But it’s your living room and your checkbook.

amother

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:29 am

I like the look of recessed lighting but feel it’s silly to spend on it if you already own perfectly good light sources! The purpose of lighting is to enable you to do things at night, zehu.

amother

Khaki

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:31 am

If you have the money updating could be fun. We are in the middle of doing some construction and the whole family went shopping together. Each purchase has been taking a long time because the whole family weighs in and we go with what everybody likes. At the end it's really been a great bonding experience and our home is looking really nice. But we are not spending more than we have designated in the budget. I'm in Israel and there is a very large difference of prices and things.

amother

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:31 am

My daughters don’t dictate what I do at all!! I’m just curious if I’m really as out of it as they seem to think (they’re polite about it but still...).

amother

Slateblue

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:32 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Teens should grow up, get jobs, marry, move out and then they can pick their own living room decor. Until then they can keep their decor opinions to themselves

amother

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:35 am

So I will say for me updating sounds like a waste of time and money, I completely respect anyone who finds this stuff is important to them, and I totally hear that it can be a fun thing to do with family. Just I don’t know, I mean for me personally I feel like I would rather be doing other stuff, not to be weird but this world really is just a prozdor.

amother

Slateblue

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:37 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I’m not someone who enjoys decorating nor is it something I’d ever do for fun . Sounds the opposite to me. I’m also very much of the ‘of it ain’t broke’ mindset. And I’m not even a Lakewood resident .

ra_mom

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:46 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If they really want new lamps, let them surprise you for your birthday.

Allow them to have more freedom to design in their bedrooms if you don't want the house touched.

amother

Emerald

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:56 am

Some people are more sensitive to their surroundings than others are. Sometimes it's just a question of keeping up with the Joneses, but sometimes, living in harmonious, beautiful surroundings really has an impact. You can tell which case you have by seeing whether your girls want exactly the same things as everyone else or whether they gravitate to fabrics, textures and colors that resonate with them.

(Also, I'm not in the Lakewood world, but could some of the concern about decor have to do with impressing future in-laws?)

SixOfWands

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:56 am

When my parents got married in the 1950s, they purchased a pair of marble lamps. They later inherited a pair of figurine lamps that they preferred, and retired the marble ones. I took them from the garage, and have been using them since I got my own place after college, and through my marriage. I've rewired them twice, and gone through countless sets of lampshades. I LIKE them. Why replace something I like even if its out of date?

So if OP likes her 20 year old lamps, and they work, she should keep them. If she's over them, she can replace them.

amother

Firebrick

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:59 am

It is hard to answer this in the abstract without seeing exactly what the "things" are.

There are items that are classic - vintage can be highly sought after. I have lamps and chandeliers that are 100 years old or even older. I have Art Deco lamps that are older than two decades.

While it is silly to update for the sake of updating, it is also true that some furniture styles just look "off". Wall to wall shag carpet; striped upholstered furniture in earth tones; fussy floral patterned sofas and chairs.

A teenager generally wants what is new and trendy and paradoxically what she wants will probably look extremely dated ten years from now because most teenagers have no sense of historical style and are just developing personal style. Even young adults generally don't have a well developed personal style or taste.

I cringe when I think of some of the furniture I bought for my first apartment as it was what was in style during that time - and to paraphrase Frank Sinatra - it was NOT a very good year for timeless style. LOL

If I still had the couch and some of the other stuff that I bought back then it would definitely look a very "off". There are a few things that I got in that era which I still love - some of them are antiques because I loved Art Deco even then and my mother found a beautiful Deco chandelier for me on Coney Island Avenue and some of them are classic like the lucite end table I got from Plexycraft. But OY that sofa LOL

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