Talking from perspective of a bum filmmaker (me
) if I use wide angle in my room it will look like a very shitty room - because it is. So unless I spend a lot of time/money on set design/props my wide angle shots will look quite meh. While if I use 50mm it will be a face of an actor and a bit of background which is much easier/cheaper to control.
So you're taking a bad looking set, and then choosing worse shots because of it? Seems to me like you're going in the wrong direction. Here are some better options:
Light to create shadows that can hide the emptiness of the room. Use gobos on your lights to break up large flat sections of empty walls with some texture. Or... wait, let me guess, you're not using lights either?
Ok then, set design it is. Go to a bookstore and pick out a magazine or two full of cool interesting photos, maybe something about southwestern architecture or gardens or surfing, just as long as it has lots of cool photos. Cut a bunch of the photos out, and hang them on the walls. Or hang a pice of string on the wall between a couple thumbtacks and clip the photos to it with wooden clothes clips. Or for a slightly classier look, spend $20-30 on one of those sets that comes with like 10 frames in different sizes and put the photos in those.
Go to a fabric store and look for remnants of interesting looking fabric, you should be able to pick up a couple yards for just a few dollars. Hang them on the walls with thumbtacks, either flat like a tapestry or draped to create a curtain effect. Alternatives would be shawls or large scarves found in a thrift shop.
While you're in the thrift shop pick up a few interesting looking knick-knacks, and maybe a big ugly painting in an ornate frame. One old snowshoe or a wooden tennis racket to hang on the wall. 10 random spoons. Maybe an old vase or two as well, and pick some flowers from the side of the road on the way home.
Also might be worth hitting a couple garage sales on the way home to see if you can find an ugly/interesting looking lamp. If you're really lucky and come across a cheap rice paper panel room divider thing definitely grab that.
If you've got a wood yard in your town swing by and see if you can get some old weathered scraps. Tie them together with wire or twine and hang some dead flowers in front and you've got wall art worthy of regretsy.
Now you've spent half a day and just a few dollars and you've got a whole selection of things to make your shitty room look a little more interesting. Throw in a couple lights, even shop or clamp lights with punctured foil in front to create some uneven light, and you'll be well on your way to winning the academy award for production design.
And if you need more ideas, watch some HGTV or browse some home improvement magazines for segments on 'design on the cheap'. Most of their ideas look great on tv or in a magazine, but pretty crappy in real life - but hey, lucky you, you're not trying to impress your guests, you're making a movie!
I.e take a look at Tarantino's first feature where he literally crams 3 actors in one shot and focal length is quite tight.
Reservoir Dogs? You might want to take a look at that again. Sure he crams a few actors into a tight shot - with a warehouse full of visually interesting space behind them. We've already established that you don't have that.
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