Nearly four years ago, my family moved from a one story home to a two story home. With this move came a space that I had absolutely no idea how to decorate: the landing at the top of my stairs. It’s a fairly decent-sized space with no natural lighting, and it’s outside of the hallway where all the bedrooms are. We walk through it and past it every day, and what it mostly had become was a dumping ground for things we carried up the stairs before putting them away. The chair would hold piles of clean laundry waiting to be sorted, and the pack ‘n play lived awkwardly in that space for when baby cousins came to visit and needed a nap. It was a space that always gave me a slight sense of dread – the way things piled up felt overwhelming, and I could never quite figure out what to do with it.
Enter ChatGPT.
A couple of weeks ago, while on a FaceTime call with my two sisters, one of them shared a picture that she had created using ChatGPT. She uploaded a photo of her hallway that she wanted to redecorate, and it gave her a picture straight out of a TV home renovation show. My other sister and I were so excited and inspired, we immediately had her upload a picture of each of our awkward spaces in our home. For my one sister, it was her entertainment area; for me it was the landing at the top of the stairs. The picture it came back with looked so peaceful and lovely – it took my breath away! It was exactly what I would have wanted for that space if I could have put it into words. We all went to our respective Hobby Lobbys that very day and were able to nearly complete our individual spaces by end of day – and it wasn’t expensive! ChatGPT took the pieces we already had and decorated around them with decor basics that you really could find anywhere. I bought most of my stuff at Hobby Lobby because it happened to be on sale that week and cheaper than Amazon. Shockingly, nearly everything ended up being cheaper to buy in my local chain stores than online.
Now, when I walk up the stairs and pass that space, it brings me joy!
Sometimes, I even pause for a few minutes, sit in that chair and grab something off the bookshelf to read. My hope is that as my children grow, they will also enjoy it as a calm, quiet reading space free of screens and distractions. The other upside is that the cute decor keeps me from dumping stuff there when I carry it up the stairs and don’t have time to put it away, so it helps my house to feel less cluttered.
Since that project went so well, I used ChatGPT again last week to organize and decorate my entryway table, which always seemed to pile up with junk mail, books, and whatever other random items made their way in the door. I took the suggestions and tried to use items I already had, only spending $5 on one item from Hobby Lobby. The result is the same: it brings me joy and I take care of clutter quickly because the space is so cute now. It’s funny because I had resisted decorating this house too much these first few years out of fear that it would make it look more cluttered with all the kids, toys, books, clothes, etc. I didn’t realize that decorating could have the opposite effect and make a space feel warmer and like less of a drop zone. Visualizing decor doesn’t come naturally to me, and Pinterest helps, but sometimes it’s still hard to see how something would work in my space. I’m still resistant to and wary of AI in many ways, but this has been a fun and interesting use for it.
I’ve included item information below. If you’re anything like me when it comes to decorating, and you have a space you just can’t figure out, this might help you, too!
The original space:
The ChatGPT design:
The Finished product:
- Faux fiddle leaf fig tree: Hobby Lobby
- Tree Basket: Hobby Lobby
- Shelf baskets: Hobby Lobby
- Little shelf lamp: Hobby Lobby
- Frames, mats, prints: Hobby Lobby
- Faux Pothos plant: from Hobby Lobby a long time ago
- Gold Clock: Hobby Lobby
- Rug: Home Goods
- Table Lamp: My grandma’s house
- Vintage Boots: My grandma’s house
- Faux leather pouf ottoman: Amazon
- Chair pillow: Walmart
