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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Great tips Suzy! I have to admit with the new house I am very very cautious unlike I was with our last home. It has really slowed me down but thankfully things are starting to fall into place. Always love stopping by for a visiting and viewing your beautiful home!
Your posts always show such beautiful decor. I think one of the factors that enters into a fear of decorating is that a large monetary investment might turn out to be a mistake. That’s where the “baby steps” idea comes in handy — minimizing the possibility of making a big, expensive mistake. Thanks for these decorating tips.
These are wonderful tips! Even though I love decorating, there are times when I feel stuck – pinning your post so I can refer to it when that happens 🙂 Thank you for linking up with our Merry Monday party this week!
I don’t have any tips to add.. yours are great! My greatest fear now is starting a project and not finishing it. I STILL need to finish a dresser-turned-media-console I started several months ago. Ugh!
OK I have gathered inspiration and that’s where I stopped. I think I’ll take your suggestion and start small to see if that helps me get going 🙂
This blog really speaks to me because I have the fear of making mistakes that will either cost a lot of time or money to redo. Thank you.
I get overwhelmed at the size of a project. Breaking it down definitely helps. I would love to go to the Farmhouse style. I have traditional style throughout my house now. My biggest problem is a large front entry with one huge area with 20 foot vaulted ceilings! You walk into the front door and it’s like walking into a gymnasium that contains my front foyer, living room (now dining room), dining room (now sitting area or just open spot because I moved the dining room to the living room), a full view of my staircase on the back wall AND no lightning available on the vaulted ceiling!!!!! So many dilemmas in one area and a goof affects all so I definitely need to break it up!
Wow!!! These are great tips and thank you for sharing with us
Thank you for your post. I enjoy them so much. Question, I can’t find the drapery rods that you have in your dining room or living room. The short, smaller ones. Do you know if I can still find them?
Hi Irene. I just cut down regular curtain rods to the length I need. For example, those shorter ones of mine are probably 18″ long, so I just purchased the shortest rod I could to cut two of them out of. Hope that makes sense! Just don’t try doing this with metal rods though.
I love Pintres,t and frequently take advantage of so many awesome ideas. However, before Pintrest, other than magazines, I was left with my own creative imagination both in home decor, and fashion. I’ve learned over the past few years that Pintrest sometimes boxes me in and prevents me from just going with my own instincts. I think sometimes we just need to trust our heart, and our eye in order to make a space our own. I love the picture of the aspens hung above your fireplace. Would you mind sharing where you found it if it’s available for purchase? Thank you.
I found the artwork at At Home, but unfortunately they don’t offer the ability to purchase online. 🙁
I so love the soft gray colors and textures in the photo above. I have gotten some fabulous ideas from you in the past on organizing areas in the kitchen. I loved following your kitchen redo and SO wish I could manage something like yours. I’m thinking!! Thanks for all your tips and wonderful printables!
Martha
I found your blog on Jennifer at Town and Country this morning, and it was just the inspiration and advice I needed! I am in love with the older style French Country, with the rich reds, yellows and blues, and gold/brass/bronze metals…definitely not in style currently. I have a basically neutral home now, so I am taking baby steps with some red toile, other “french” looking throws, pillows, decorations and whatever else I can find thrifting, to see how it goes.
Thanks so much for the encouragement!
Great timing! I’m about to embark on updating our MBR. I’ve created my design board and cannot wait to get started. I also decided it was time to recover a chair instead of decorating around it🤗 Thanks for the tips.
I’ve always loved your front porch lights with rain glass! Would you share a link or source for something similar? I’ve looked all over the internet!
Your porch looks so welcoming!
Thank you so much! Here’s the link to them: https://rstyle.me/+onsZPMg6TffesXHvUNd_ew
Love this post. Especially the last tip; it’s like I needed permission!! so thank you for that! haha
I am just stuck. I live by the beach and love my house. I have new blinds, new carpet, new windows and a fresh coat of paint! It took forever to pick out those three “modern coastal” options. BUT NOW! 😳I am stuck!
I need pictures, lamps and cute stuff! I will pay someone to help me!
THANK YOU!!!! Irene