Martha Stewart Surprised by ‘Harsh’ Comments About Her Living Room Makeover

Martha Stewart has responded to “harsh” comments she received about her living room makeover in her Maine home.

Stewart, 82, responded to the comments in an Instagram post on July 4, saying she was “surprised at the harsh judgment displayed by so many.”

“I rarely read every comment that comes in after I post a post,” she said. “But because I was so happy with the transformation of my Maine living room, I read a lot of comments.”

“My assistants from Maine (and I) spent three hours moving the old furniture and installing the new (items),” she continued. “We were delighted to see that the pieces fit perfectly in the room and were proportionate to the large size of the space.”

Stewart said the change was not carried out by “professional decorators” but was an “attempt to make a change quickly and efficiently.”

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Stewart originally posted the living room transformation on Instagram on July 3. She shared that she “changed the upholstery in the living room from a gray blue to a creamy pale butter yellow,” which she noted was from a home she previously owned on Lily Pond Lane in the Hamptons.

The lifestyle expert concluded her post by saying she loved “the rustic yet elegant charm of this lovely 1925 home.”

Many reviews criticized the design Stewart ultimately chose for the makeover and the “lack of color” in the living room. Some found the space to look “cluttered” and “sterile,” and one reviewer said the room “looks like the living room of a 1987 Marriott suite.”

One commenter even said the transformation “looks more like a furniture showroom than a home.”

“Transforming a house into a home or a room into a beautiful living space takes way more than three hours,” she added in her July 4 post, responding to comments. “Of course, there will be color, plants, mirrors, a new rug or two, and other art and objects. Stay tuned!”