Martha Stewart Defended Her Maine Summer Home Update After the Internet’s Harsh Critique

Theo Wargo

No home renovation is safe from the brutal judgment of the internet. Not even Martha Stewart, whose summer home in Maine apparently did not pass muster with Instagram commenters, is immune.

On July 2, Stewart posted to Instagram with photos from her newly rearranged living room, writing, “We switched the living room from grey blue upholstery to a creamy pale buttery yellow (all the yellow came from Lily Pond Lane which I sold two years ago!) the library is much more comfortable now and the faux bois table is now the card table. I love the rustic yet elegant charm of this lovely 1925 house.”

But I guess her social media followers were not that charmed.

Comments from unimpressed Instagram users included, “Looks old and stuffy,” and, “Going to be honest...you could hire a better decorator,” and, “Doesn’t look homey and inviting,” and, “Yuck. It looks like a Marriott suite living room in 1987.”

But if you were expecting Martha Stewart not to respond to all this criticism, you’d be deeply mistaken.

“I rarely read all the comments that come in after I post but because I was so happy at the transformation of my Maine living room I did go through many of the comments and was surprised at the harsh judgment so many displayed,” she wrote in a follow-up post on July 4. She continued that it took her and her helpers three hours to replace all of the furniture, and that they were pleased with how well everything fit, adding that it was not a professional installation from a decorator, just a quick facelift. “Making a house a home, or a room a beautiful livable space takes a lot more than three hours. Of course there will be color, plants, mirrors, a new rug or two and other art and objects. Stay tuned!!!!”


Originally Appeared on Glamour