5 Steps to Conquer Your Fear of Decorating

Are you afraid that you’ll make a mistake when you decorate? It’s a totally normal feeling!

a variety of colorful accessories on a coffee table in front of a beige sofa in a new traditional style living roomPin

So often I hear – “I’m so afraid that I’ll make a design mistake when I decorate my home that I freeze and can’t do anything.  Where do I even begin?”.  Guys, I so get it!

Honestly, I think that most people feel it to one extreme or another, but these practical tips will help you overcome those fears and get you on the road to creating a home that you love.

True confession – even though I have confidence it my decorating abilities, the first thought in my head is often “What if other people don’t like it?”.  Or worse yet, what if I don’t like it?  What if I have to spend more money and time making it right?  

My most recent inner battle with myself was over the decorative screen that we added to the behind our sofa.

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It’s a bold choice that I was really afraid to make, but in the end, I’m so glad that I did. Does everyone like it? No. But I like it and my hubs likes it and that’s all that matters.

START SMALL

The major hurdle in overcoming fear of anything (except spiders!) is to build up your confidence and that will happen naturally over time.

If you aren’t experienced with doing full room makeovers, it’s probably best if you start with a few small home projects first.

Select something small within a room to work on first. You’ll be able to build your confidence and gradually take on bigger projects.

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Try your hand at simple projects such as creating a vignette or centerpiece or rearranging shelves.  If it doesn’t turn out right the first time, take a deep breath and try it again!  

Maybe you need to walk away for a while and come back to the project at another time.  Taking a step back for a bit almost always helps me when I’m feeling stuck.

Experiment with a new arrangement for your coffee table. Start by removing everything before you add any different decor items so that you’re working with a clean slate.

  • Choose a decorative tray to corral items.
  • Add one or more stacks of your favorite coffee table books.
  • Top the books with a small object, such as a candle, decorative box or a small vase.
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After you feel good about the new look for your coffee table, move on to something a little larger.

By tackling these small projects, you’ll gain the confidence and experience you need to move on to larger decorating projects!

TAKE THINGS ONE STEP AT A TIME

Maybe you can’t visualize everything that you’d like to change in one of your rooms, but I bet you can think of at least one or two small things.  Go ahead – try one!  Then sit back and live with it for a while.  Try something else and live with that.

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Sometimes just getting started will give you the inspiration and confidence boost that you need to tackle redecorating that whole room.  

GATHER INSPIRATION

Inspiration is everywhere! Just focus your mind on finding it and you’ll be surprised at all of the things you’ll find inspiration in. It even might be something that has nothing to do with decorating.

A few other places to find inspiration are:

  • If you haven’t already, create your own Pinterest account where you can save images that speak to you.  
  • Tour showhouses in your area. If no photos are allowed, take notes.
  • Online isn’t the only place to find inspiration – don’t forget about magazines!  I can’t tell you how many hundreds of pages that I’ve torn out of magazines and added to my decorating inspiration notebook.

Once you’ve gathered your inspiration and are ready to move on, I highly recommend creating a mood board.

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You can do it for free and they’re so fun and easy to make! 

I do this with every room makeover before I make the first change in the room.  You’d be surprised how often giving yourself a virtual image of all of the pieces you want to combine in the room will pretty quickly show you any glaring mistakes.   

ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU WILL PROBABLY MAKE MISTAKES

You may as well just accept it – in all likelihood, you will make some mistakes along the way.  A mistake doesn’t make you a failure or mean that you can’t do it. 

Even professionally trained interior designers admit that they make mistakes.  When it happens – don’t be hard on yourself!  At least you tried and learned something in the process.

If it’s the wrong paint color, well…it’s only paint and can be repainted.  If it doesn’t look right in your home…return it and try something else (make sure to familiarize yourself with a store’s return policy before making purchases and to keep all receipts).

I’ll be brave and show you one of mine.

In our former home, I made the big mistake of painting our entire basement a dark gold color.  What was I thinking? It was so bad, y’all. 

We won’t even talk about the rest of the room. Yikes. 

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Or how about the time that I tried filling up a large blank wall in our former master bedroom?  Or that time that I decorated the whole downstairs of my previous home around my red couch.

I’ve made lots of decorating mistakes and I’m sure there will be more in my future, but all those mistakes (and successes) in the past taught me a ton.

It gave me the courage to purchase our very dated home and tackle a whole house remodel, even though I’d never undertaken a project of that magnitude before.

ABOVE ALL – DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING

I bet you’ve heard that saying many, many times in your life.  Just think of all the fun that we miss when we’re are so worried about what other people think! 

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If you truly do dance like no one is watching, you aren’t worried about having the perfect dance moves – you just want to enjoy yourself.  Right?

Well, the same thing can be said about decorating your home.  This is for YOU, not for family members who don’t live in your home, not for your friends and not for any other visitor.  Period.

Remember – you know what’s best for you and your home.  No one else is living your life or living in your space.  Accept that people will always have an opinion, that it won’t always agree with yours and that’s okay!

Finally, celebrate your progress. Every step you take, no matter how small, is a step towards creating a home you love. Give yourself credit for your efforts and enjoy the process.

So, I’m really curious to know – has your fear of making a mistake kept you from decorating your home?  Do you have any tips to add for how you overcame that fear?

If you truly want to learn how to decorate your home, follow along with my Simply Decorating series!

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40 Comments

  1. i think taking baby steps is key. and also getting past the mindset of getting rid of what you have and buying everything new. you have shown us time and time again how to “re-work” what we already have to fit our new style ideas. not everything has to be a financial splurge! thank you for always being an inspiration, i look forward to your posts!

  2. Anne marie says:

    Great ideas here – I agree baby steps are the way to go.

  3. Agreed small steps when contemplating decor changes. Currently that is my thoughts on redecorating my living room. Which continues to.be a work in progress. I am inspired by your blog!

  4. I remember getting my first apt at 18 yrs old and people would say “did a decorator do this” of course not but I’m 60 years old now and still love changing and decorating! I return so many things and still make many mistakes! But it eventually turns out the way I want it! Thanks for all your tips!

  5. Nancy Carroll says:

    If you don’t “love” a change from the get go, definitely live with it a day or so before proceeding. Tweak, tweak, tweak until you love it! Surround yourself with things you love and you will love your space!

  6. Jacki Salinas says:

    I enjoy decorating so much, mistakes and all, that it’s hard for me to believe anyone is afraid of it. But when my daughter got her first apartment, she was nervous and intimidated about making mistakes. And today there are so many helpful tools! Thanks for the tips!

  7. Thanks for giving me inspiration to try new things. I look forward to reading your blog every morning. Enjoy your day.

  8. I am new to your blog and really enjoying it. Thank you!

  9. Candy Walsh says:

    Thanks for the inspiration! I sometimes have difficulty visualizing things and Pinterest boards do help a lot. Also scrolling thru blogs and seeing beautiful homes like yours and how you make everything flow is very helpful. It does tend to hold me back sometimes but I am working on overcoming that!!

  10. Another inspiration is the HGTV network. I am constantly looking through magazines and Pinterest apps. Your home is always a work in progress and don’t be afraid of it. Mistakes happen.

  11. Yeah…I have to agree on the baby steps. I can have a vision in mind, and sometimes executing it is difficult. But I’ve found that if I take one thing at a time….and shop my home first…I will be successful. Besides…you’ve taught us well…to redesign, reenvision, and remake just about everything. Enjoy your weekend! 😉

  12. Decorating can sometimes be paralyzing. Small steps are best. Thanks for sharing.

  13. I do admire you for all the projects you take on! I have done several with my husband’s helping hands! I love your decorating style!!

  14. Such great advice here! Thanks for sharing!

  15. And I thought I was the only one who had a fear of decorating! Truth be told, I’ve made big strides in the last few years .. a few more hits than misses helped me to gain some confidence. I’m still not a fast decorator … I definitely take my time and think (and sometimes over-think) when it comes to decorating. I’ve had to make more than my share of course corrections … but at least I’ve kept moving forward! Blogs such as yours have helped me to discover my home style and have been such an inspiration.

  16. Fears of making a mistake have definitely held me back before. I’m pretty slow to catch on to a new trend. I tend to wait a while and see if I really like something before I purchase anything or add that style to my home. Thanks for the encouragement not to be afraid to make a mistake. You are right. Making mistakes is a good way to learn.

  17. Barbara Jensen says:

    I know the thought that “it’s only paint” but when you add the cost of paint, trim tape, brushes, roller, roller tray, spackle, sandpaper, drop clothes, etc., it all adds up! Plus all theme it takes to do it! I picked out a dark purple for my dining room and now regret it. Because it was painted only two years ago, I feel guilty about repainting already!

    1. Barbara, Boy do I understand the feeling of remorse from painting a room an off color, and then feeling guilty about the cost to repaint. I did this same thing in our master bedroom a few years ago and never did like the color but lived with it because of the cost and work involved. I finally decided I can either live with it so as not to feel guilty or I can repaint it and find joy and peace each time I walk in our bedroom. For me it made more sense to create an atmosphere of peace in my home than the atmosphere of guilt and remorse. Just go for it!

  18. The biggest mistake I made was picking the wrong color for my open area living-dining-kitchen area which has vaulted ceilings and 2 halls. That is a lot of walls to look at. I wanted a tan but when I was at the paint store I forgot which one to get. I had consulted a decorator and she was not available to ask and my husband was adamant that we buy the paint right then for the painters to start the next day. I totally missed the color and ended up with a light peachy/terracotta color. By the time I got home from work it was too late….they were half-way finished and I could not make myself tell them to stop. We do not have a paint store in our town and it is an hour to the nearest city..sooo I told myself to suck it up and deal with it. It’s odd but at different times of the day the color changes and it grew on me. Well, not really. I just had to get over it. That was 6 years ago and we are finally repainting that room. I can tell you it is worth every dime to buy samples of paint that you like and slap them on the wall in different places of the room to see what you are really getting. I use the samples to paint other things like lamps or candlesticks so I feel better about spending the money. When choosing a paint take it slow but go with what you really like.