Martha Stewart’s Furniture Shuffle Got Roasted, but Her Decor Hacks Could Save Your Space

Martha Stewart was the first to ever build a lifestyle empire, and even she isn’t immune to unsolicited criticism about her decor. Last year, Martha shared a photo of her living room in her Maine estate, Skyland, after spending three hours rearranging furniture. She and her team mixed in pieces from her recently sold home and proudly posted the makeover to Instagram, expecting praise. Instead, the internet pounced.

Even Martha Stewart Gets Nitpicked For Her Decor

Of course, the Internet had a lot to say about the amendments she made to her living space. Commenters couldn’t resist criticizing the ambience of Martha’s furniture rearranging, calling it “old and stuffy” and “empty… like no soul empty.” Martha rarely reads the comment section, so she was shocked to see how brutal it was. These haters likely only have one living room to maintain, while Martha has three main ones in one of her vacation houses — so who’s the real winner here?

Martha could really only do so much in so little time to overhaul her living rooms without any professional interior designers in the mix. However, she still has some amazing tips for enhancing your living room. Who wouldn’t want tips on how to maximize the potential of your living space from a woman who famously placed second in her prison’s annual Christmas decorating contest? Martha’s publication Martha Stewart Living recently revealed the biggest faux pas people can make when curating their living rooms — and they’re more common than you think! From disproportionate pieces to superfluous odds and ends, these mistakes may not be noticeable at first, but can be easily altered — sometimes even for free! With that being said, many of these can be easily fixed to make your living room way more Instagrammable.

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Master Martha’s Top Living Room Design Fixes

Martha Stewart Living interviewed the veritable who’s who of the interior design world about how to take a living room from an eye-sore to a space worthy of an Architectural Digest cover. Experts say a rug that’s too small or too big compared to the furniture is a major design no-no. It makes sense if you think about it: it’s tantamount to have a welcome mat or red carpet as a rug, and it’s off-putting. A rug is supposed to pull the room together and harmonize all the different pieces of furniture and art, so it feels like it was thrown in there at the last minute if it’s disproportionate. A quick fix would be having at least the front legs of the furniture on the rug to feel more aesthetically cohesive.

Proportions appear to be a common theme among interior designers and lifestyle gurus like Martha, as there’s also a placed emphasis on hanging framed photos, art, and mirrors so it can be centered and congruent with the furniture and walls. A good rule of them is hanging pieces six to eight inches from the top of whatever piece of furniture it’s being hung over. Ensuring that the art pieces are about two-thirds of the span of the furniture beneath them, and that they’re centered at eye level.

Another design faux pas is having furniture that’s too matchy-matchy. Have fun with mixing textures and materials instead of buying out the entire page of a Pottery Barn or West Elm catalog and calling it a day. Additionally, an abundance of tchotchkes such as coffee table books, figurines, and small decorations can make the space more personable, but too much of them overwhelms the energy of the room and just feels like clutter.

Lastly, and most importantly, lighting is key when cultivating a warm and inviting space. Overhead lighting can be too abrasive and is a better fit for interrogation rooms, which obviously Martha historically is no stranger to. Various pieces of lighting like lamps, candles, and sconces can help you find the perfect lighting to entertain and make your guests comfortable.