Last week when I was interviewed with on Blog Talk Radio, I had an online question from someone who was "terrified to paint her walls". I regretted not asking the question: "terrified of what?". In my head, the worst thing possible thing that can happen when you paint is spilling the entire gallon. All over the floor. Which I have lived to tell about. Is the fear of painting the wrong color that debilitating?
My sister had a fear of making holes in her wall but after much counseling, she is over that.
What was or is your biggest decorating fear?
Fear of Decorating?
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My biggest fear is spending too much time on it!! And making our house look decorated instead of naturally lived in & nice. Oh, and liking stuff that costs too much money! And, one more thing, running out of ideas on where to place things.
Having just purchased our first house, I don't have much experience ... when we get to painting, I think I will be afraid that I'll choose a color and then hate it on the walls ... and then have to wait a long time to be able to redo it!
I have a fear of buying things and they won't all go together. yet I have a fear of matching everything. It is debilitating. So, I never get anything, and the house goes undecorated.
I have two decorating fears: one born out of laziness and one born out of perfectionism.
I'm afraid that it will be terrible, and I'll have to do it all over again. For someone to whom decorating does not come naturally, this is a big one. It takes a LOT of energy for me to decorate anything...the thought of having to do it (all over AGAIN!) is debilitating.
Secondly, I look at pictures (on websites, in magazines, in catalogs, etc...) and I get an idea of what I want. Then, I become afraid of the fact that there's no way I can actually create what I'm envisioning...and that discourages me from even trying.
Sad, isn't it??
I am afraid that I will start a project and then run out of money to finish it 100%! OOPS! That is exactly where we are at the moment! If you see my blog, you can see the walls "almost done"...the floors" "almost done"...the window treatments "almost done". I guess I am learning to face my fears since I at least started to get things done! I LOVE this site. it is keeping me motivated. I adore fall and winter decorating and I am looking forward to more ideas :0)!
I can relate to the fear of painting walls. But I am happy to say that after 5 years of being in our house and disliking the paneling in the family room, we are going to paint it!
I also have a fear of buying decorative items - that they won't look right. That instead of having an eclectic mix of items that reflects our life, it will just look like a cluttered mess. And fear that I will just blow our budget on buying things!
Why must it be so hard?!? I'm tired of living in undecorated spaces but I'm too afraid to make changes.
my biggest fear USED TO BE criticism. I have always done things the way i wanted and not necessarily by the "design text book" and if i thought it looked good then i felt like everyone would think the same. I had someone criticize something once....and typical me, I took it to heart. it didn't take me long to realize that it was MY HOUSE and who gives a crap what some lady that i was never going to see again thought!! But being fearless when it comes to decorating is the only way to go. Nothing is permanent, unless you are tearing a wall down...even then, it still isn't necessarily permanent.
I have a fear of changing my mind too much. We have been in our house a year now, and I have almost completed decorating every room. (I'm crazy that way, everything has to be done right away!). But just as I am finishing the upstairs, the downstairs, which i did first, is starting to bore me a little. Or I look at fantastic blogs, like yours, and suddently want to change everything. It's a disease I think. This desire to constantly be changing everything. Oh, and I'm going to be painting my kitchen island in the next week or two, so I will send pictures. Your advice was so great, I just had to choose a color. I think I pinned it down to something I can live with, at least for a little while:)
Y'all are a plethera, pleathera? bunch of great information, this will help guide the topic of future posts.
Keep it coming!
not liking it when it's done. it always looks better in my head before i do it :(
i think not understanding how colors work together is my stumbling block. i have discovered my NEIGHBOR robin is a great color person. so now i just take her along to look at things. she helps me. and now i am ready to look for the right color for my living and dining room walls. currently, we have a "mistake",but it is only a mistake because of how the room has evolved. i didn't know that this could happen. of course, i didn't do the rooms like candice olsen, starting with an empty room and a sample of all the new stuff going in the room. i don't do a room all at once. that is a different animal! i use what i have, and get what i need/can afford and go from there... but it is only paint, and that's just a nuisance to correct, not undoable. jkj
ps. another decorating fear is fear of making a choice. the available selections are so vast that it is paralyzing. (sp)jkj
My biggest fear is that my decorating ADD will kick in and I will not even be finished before deciding to go in a completely new direction. This happens alllllll the time! I just live with it and listen to my husband grumble a little about how that I should have thought it through a little better. Big things never change, however fabric and paint are constantly being persuaded to become something different. I'm trying my very best to remember "to thine own self be true," but when I see a contemporary room with great style it makes me want to throw everything out and start again. Arrrgghhh, that darn ADD....
I don't really have a fear so much as a road block. I can see all the 'ingredients' at the store but then I can never figure out what to do with them. My Inner Nester becomes quiet and I used to just give up. But thanks to my newly found Inner Nester, now I just start doing something and see where I end up. It's never perfect and sometimes it isn't remotely beautiful but I can always change it. I am in love with fabric, it is so noncommittal and forgiving. So I guess all this means that I fear lack of perfection.
Oooo, such a good question. I think my biggest fear is committing -- if I paint the bathroom green, then it can't be blue. If I go red in the kitchen, then it can't be yellow. And it takes me FOREVER to commit to a course of action because I have to be ABSOLUTELY SURE I'm going to love it for a long time. Of course, that's alot of pressure, so sometimes I get so freaked out I'm just paralyzed. And of course, there are the mistakes that haunt me, like spending 6 months looking for the perfect couch and chair and then realizing after they arrived that they were just awful. Such an expensive lesson...makes me so nervous when I shop for furnishings now that I literally break out in a sweat. This is why I have a living room with nothing in it but a piano. The prospect of buying furniture for it makes me dizzy.
And yet, I read design blogs and magazines and just long to have that pulled-together, completed look where it all works together and looks great. *Sigh*
I do not fear painting the wrong color - I've done that twice. Though it requires more work, it's not scary to me. My real fear is getting confused between styles. I have a primitives shop ... and while I love it, it's not my home style. I love antqiues, but I want function and coziness for kids. I love cowboy chic ... so it's a mix I'm struggling to perfect without looking ridiculous!
I guess I am fearless. I just knocked down a wall. We'll see how it goes. :)
My biggest fear is that it will turn into a costly and long project. For example, I just decided to strip the wallpaper from a tiny bathroom and paint the walls. Sounds simple enough, right? The paper had been there for at least the 20 years we've lived here, so it was due to be changed. A considerable amount of time was spent scraping and washing walls. Well, when we stripped we found large holes behind the cabinet and under the toilet paper dispenser. So, patching, plastering and sanding followed. I was getting claustrophobic working in such a small space so dh kindly removed the door. That helped a lot. In order to remove the fossilized glue from previous wallpapering jobs, we ended up having to remove the toilet tank. That in itself was much easier said than done. Problems removing ancient bolts necessitated additional trips to Home depot and the did not improve my dh's mood. At this point in time, my pedestal sink is in the living room, parts of the toilet are in the garage with the bathroom door and wall cabinet. It's been many days and I still have to sand, prime and paint before we can put anything back. Sigh. Thank goodness we have more than one bathroom! BUT, I have my new towels and artwork all set to go in it when it's done. :)
I think it is the money for me. I am afraid to spend money and buy andything because I am afraid it will be the wrong thing and we, too, are forever renting. I also have a fear of making marks on the walls.
Now that we've talked about it I think it is the commitment.
I'm afraid of commitment.
Thank you, that was helpful.
That it will look worse than it did when I started! I don't feel like I have much taste...
I'm afraid of decorating my house too personally, and hurting our chances of resale!!!!!!
All my walls are painted. Theres yellows and reds and greens and taupe and lavender and grey and on and on but I need to paint my bathroom and sons room and Im procrastinating not because of fear but because I hate the mess it makes of the house with furniture all pulled out and all that stuff. And how I hate the taping off!
Biggest fear? That I'll spend time and money on a project and then hate it. My tastes seem to change faster than I can keep up with so I usually just don't bother doing anything. I'm another one of those weird perfectionists you hear about who doesn't want to even attempt anything unless she can be guaranteed that it will turn out perfectly.
And I've spilled a gallon of paint before, while painting at my friend's house. I also lived to tell the tale.
I want "color", but I chicken out everytime and end up with beige toned furniture and walls. I would love a wing chair upholstered in a big bright colorful modern floral pattern, but I fear that in 6 months it would look dated.
My husband wishes I had a fear of color and a fear of nail holes. Oh, well! My biggest fear is that I will never get around to doing all that I want to do. The other problem I have involves $$ - plus I am frugal, so I have a fear that I might spend big bucks on something I no longer like after 5 years.
I used to fear picking the wrong color to paint, but now that most stores offer those little cans of paint I buy those and use paint the colors on sheets of posterboard and hang them in the room before I buy a gallon of paint. My stepmom taught me when I was growing up that rooms and decorating are always works in progress and they need to evolve. I think that this idea has followed me into my adult life. I realize that if I don't pay much for an item and then that item doesn't work where I thought it would, it isn't a huge loss. It may work somewhere else or it might not work at all. That's ok too. Your blog has helped me overcome quite a few decorating phobias, Nester!
Purchasing fabric that I will hate.
Been there, done that ... and it's no fun.
BTW, I ordered 2 prints from L.Herbert designs and LOVE them!!! Thanks for the idea! I'll let you know when I post pictures =)
I love color. I have bold colors in all of my bedrooms and guest bath, but for some reason I fear putting color on the walls in the living area. I've been here for 5 years and the living area is so brown/tan/boring. Sad when you would rather spend more time in your guest bathroom than in your living area. ha! :)
I just want to encourage all of you who fear any aspect of decorating that most of what you do can be undone if you really hate it. Check out my blog for more great decorating tips. Be sure and check to the older posts too.
I have a fear of painting, too. My family lives in military housing, which has recently been privatized. There's this scary rumor that if you don't repaint things back to the original color (which is apparently a State secret that you have to figure out how to match all on your own), you'll be charged lots and lots and lots of money to repaint once you've moved out. We painted the living room and dining room real quick when we moved in, before I had too much time to think about it and change my mind, but I've been reluctant to paint anywhere else. No kidding, I bought paint for two of my tiny, weird 1940's bathrooms and they've sat untouched for a year.
For similar reasons, I also have a fear of putting holes in the wall. :)
I used to be afraid of painting...afraid I'd pick the wrong color and everyone would hate it. Then I realized that it was my house, and there could be no wrong colors.
My son, when he was twelve years old, decided he would paint a chair in his room red, using paint left over from a front door project. He spilled the paint all over the carpet in a corner of his room. Instead of telling us, he hid it, and we didn't discover it until weeks later. We all lived to tell about it. Even our son!
I used to be afraid of adversely affecting my homes value when decorating...would someone else love what I did when it came time to sell? I'm over that now. Also, I used to be afraid of purchasing items I completely loved, if it was a big different, not knowing if it would fit in with the rest of the house. Now I know if you love it you can make it work.
Janell
Buying Beautiful Fabric and having it not be the look I was going after when the room is finished. Paint=Cheap/ Fabric=Not so cheap
I would say my only "fear" would be getting into a project that was over my head and having my husband give me that look like "I told you we should have done this my way"
I'm pretty fearless when it comes to decorating. I'll repaint a room 3 times until I like it (seriously!), and I'll put up molding and change hardware.
One thing I'm oddly timid about when decorating is accessorizing. I'm not enough of a risk taker in that department. I'll find one combination I like and it will stay like that for years because I'm afraid of changing it. In fact I'd love more wise advice from you on accessorizing like a pro :).
I think my biggest fear is investing a lot of money into one look/style, and not liking the finished result and having to start over. The process is fun, so I don't mind the time, almost anything is reversible (I live in a rental, so it's not like I can knock down walls anyways!), but money is limited, especially these days
I have many:
Ideas in my head are executed badly - like how I painted my 1st apartment to look like a baskin robins instead of the nice green and cream colors I was hoping for.
And that I will bite off more than I can chew... especially since I don't have a knack for decorating.
My biggest fear comes from something I did in the past - I spent a big chunk of money on a dining room table that was never quite right. Every time I looked at it, I knew it had been a mistake - a costly one at that. Now I know I didn't pay enough attention to what I liked in magazines and online so I picked the wrong style but I still live in fear of doing that again. It struck me today that I will drop $200 on a dress that I know is something I will love but I'm scared to do the same for a piece of furniture. That realization struck before this post came up today but this is making me think about it even more. Need to do some soul-searching I guess . . .
Laura
LEFThompson @ Hotmail . com
Great question! My biggest fear is buying a sofa. I never can seem to get it right. Either I go really unique and interesting (my "dream" sofa of the moment) and it winds up looking "trendy" and outdated in a few years or I go too bland and conservative and it just looks...boring. I'm gearing up to buy TWO sofas - one for the livingroom and one for the family room. Any tips on making sure I'm picking out something that can withstand the test of time but not be too boring? Ack! I have the fear!
My issue isn't as much a fear as a huge stumbling block. I am afraid to spend money. I have no problem with color or going out on a designing limb, but parting with the cashola makes me so anxious.
I will redo, refinish, do whatever it takes to work with what I have before I spend more money on things. I need to get to the point where I realize that I am worth spending the extra money on that perfect piece, instead of making do.
Someone else mentioned this, but my biggest fear was, still is sometimes, criticism. I have found that I am only going to love something for longer than a few minutes if it comes just from me, not from me trying to do exactly what someone else does. I guess the fear is in knowing that it looks different. The thing I've learned is that when I go to other people's homes I am affected more by the atmosphere they have created than I am the things they used to create it. I still love to look at the things for inspiration, though!
I have a challenge similar to Audra Lynn's - we are renters and the owners will let us paint - ONLY if we return everything to white. So far, we've painted two bedrooms and an accent wall in the kitchen. I would dearly love to paint our bathroom, libary/schoolroom and the rest of the kitchen as well as the BIGGIE, the living room (huge - it's a converted two car garage - and the white makes it look like a "sickly" huge room). My nightmare is that we'll have to move in a hurry (like our last move) and will be too exhausted to add in a bunch of painting to the already big jobs of packing, moving and cleaning two homes. Not to mention another fear - what if there's a money calamity and it's a real hardship at the time to buy one or two five-gallon buckets of white paint?
It's not fear of decorating - it's fear of un-decorating.
Blessings,
Michelle
My fear is that I love what's in my house and the way I've decorated it and other people walk in and think to themselves, "What the heck is she thinking? That doesn't go, that looks cheap, that looks dated..on and on." I guess I need more confidence in my style.
My greatest fear about decorating doesn't have anything to do with decorating at all. I fear that I will get the room or house perfectly decorated and then... in the blink of an eye... 5 crazy kids will run through the house putting dirty, smudgy fingerprints on the wall and knocking over hand-painted furniture. Yes, I fear what my children will do to the room I spend the time decorating. I think that is why I try to buy so much on craigslist or thrift stores: if they destroy it, it isn't a big deal because I got it so cheap anyway. That's OK. I love them more than furniture... but it sure can get frustrating!! :)
For me I think it's time and money. I really want to do something I like and all too often don't have tons of time to do it. I need to be very careful about money, so buying paint and supplies (since I'm a new 1st time homeowner) can feel like a lot...the to repaint it if I don't like it?? Plus I live alone and when the mood strikes me, I usually don't have any help and when I do get help, I also usually get a LOT of opinions and then I waffle... It's a vicious cycle.
I'm also afraid of altering my homes value. We have the basic builders oak cabinets from the 90's and I know I would love them cream colored, but I also know that we won't be in this house forever and we can't afford to replace them before we sell.
I fear window treatments - or (mis)treatments as the case may be. I am not confident in picking out material that will work with the existings furniture, colors, patterns, bedding, etc. As a result my windows are naked, with only blinds or shutters. Good for privacy but not so decorative.
If I could start from scratch I think I would find material for the windows I love and build from there.
Just wish I OWNED a house I could paint the walls, put some holes, or whatever. As a renter, you fear those things because either the owners want to do the work themselves or, in the end, you pay for having things put back the way they were. You are blessed. We've never owned and don't know if we ever will. That's my dream, but I'll take what the Lord gives me.
Hiring a contractor!!! I'm not afraid of anything I can do myself when it comes to home decor and improvements. But having to hire outside help for things like shower tiling and plumbing and electricity that have to be done RIGHT freezes me in my tracks! What if they do it wrong? What if I don't like it? What if they don't "get" my "vision"? What if they don't like me watching over their shoulders so none of the above will happen? That's why my master bath has been a non-functioning nightmare for three months!!
I have issues with combining the styles that I love('natural wood look' and also elegant, more feminine). I am frozen when it comes to painting my living room(don't want it too bland or too trendy-just timeless beauty). Also I have a fear about decorating to match a home's architectural style-what if a home doesn't have a particular 'style'?
What a great topic!
I have a terrible time picking paint colors, and I have several full paint cans to prove it. The little sample jars have really helped, but my friends and family know that when they drop by, they WILL be invited in and handed a stack of paint samples. We actually have lots of fun.
My den doesn't feel quite right yet. I'm going to have to have a party soon and get lots of friendly advice.
I don't know if it is a fear exactly, more like a decorator's dilemma and that is that I don't know my style. I like so many different styles. Every time I see a beautiful picture of a room all nicely put together I think yeah that's it, thats's my style! And then I see another picture. Mix in my love's desire for very modern design style items (which I am sure is not my thing!). And I guess my greatest fear is never finding my true self in my home and ending up with a hodge podge of things that look great on their own, but not together. Can you fix that too? lol
I am currently battling My Fear right now, as I've got T minus 4 days before I begin painting my kitchen cabinets. The fear is not painting them but rather choosing the color--deciding b/w Architectural Cream (Ralph Lauren) & Svelte Sage (SW) with walls that are Benji Moore's Golden Straw....in a huge room (kitch, LR, DR, stairwell and hall are all in one). A whitey cream or a warm sage?
The only reason I fear this is b/c I know, w/ a 2 year old in the house, once it's painted, it's *done* for a few years!!
I guess I too have a fear of painting...but not a fear of color! I hate the "prep" stuff...like wanting to paint a room and then having to unbolt shelves from the wall, uninstall custom drapes etc. This has DEFINITELY kept me from painting at least 3 rooms in my current home! I mean...I love those big huge IKEA shelves and beautiful 110" long panel drapes and cornices...but if you decide to paint after you install...it sure is a pain!
My decorating fear is painting. I have been married for 11 years and lived in 5 undecorated homes. We are military, so in the beginning it was mostly about knowing that we wouldn't be in one place very long. Plus I was a young mother with 3 kids under the age of 4, I just didn't think about decorating very often.
Since buying a home last year (we are planning on staying put this time) I desperately want this house to feel like home. I'm just stuck on the color choices. There are too many. I keep changing my mind and I'm afraid that after all the hard work either my husband or I won't like it. And making holes in the wall is whole other complex....SO, is there counseling for this? I need it.
Wow, you have opened a whole can of worms. ;) I think I need a therapist for my decorating fears...how much do you charge for email decor therapy sessions? ;)
I think most of all, I fear putting things together only to realize (or have someone tell me) that it just doesn't *go.*
I don't really know my style...I know what I like and dislike, I just can't pinpoint what I would call my style.
I fear starting a project and not being able to finish it b/c the kids, the husband, the obligations distract me and I lose my momentum.
I fear what other people think. It was a HUGE stretch for me to post my rooms in your Price My Space parties b/c I am clearly not a decorator. I am loving my Decorating Dilemmas parties b/c I can at least get some input from friends before I decide. ;)
I fear the end result just not being good enough. Some of my friends have lots of money and the *perfect* home...it's hard to keep from being envious. I need to learn to find contentment in what I have right here, right now.
Okay, send me the bill for this therapy session. I might have to pay you in cake though. ;)
My biggest problem is that I just don't know where to start. It seems so overwhelming. I look around the house and am not happy with any of it. I just don't know where to start...
I will admit there are two rooms in my house that I've painted twice. After living with a color for a few months if I don't like it, I try again. Thankfully I haven't had to paint any rooms three times.
Biggest lesson I've learned - neutral is good, something warm but not too white, and bring in color in furniture or decorations; it's easier to change the pillows when you want something new than to paint the whole room.
Also, I spilled about a 1/2 gallon of paint on my hardwood floors. I was coming down off a step stool and instead of putting my foot on the floor, I caught the lip of the can and spilled it. About half went on the drop cloth, and the rest on the wood floors. I freaked. But a lot of paper towels later and no one will know the difference. I can still see a little bit of paint in the cracks of the wood, but it's a light wood floor and light paint.
my biggest fear is clutter.
I won't allow myself to spend money on an item that is absolutely perfect and I love... but then I go and buy tons of cheap little crap that end up to be the same price as that ONE PIECE I wanted to badly.
I do this all the time.
My biggest fear is that because I spent hardly any money on my decorations that it will look "cheap."
We HATE our wall colors because my mom convinced us to stick with 'neutrals.' She is so afraid of color because, 'You have to think about resale!' What if a potential buyer ten years down the road doesn't like your choice? She was helping us remodel so that's why we listened to her but good grief. I would rather love my house for ten years and have to repaint for a color hater than be paralyzed by 'what if?'. We wanted rust reds and golden yellows and, since painting is so easy, we are going to redo it soon!!! And she'll probably love it.
The time and effort it takes to paint is what discourages me. I hate messes. I hate living in a mess. And with little ones, you have to squeeze painting into nap time and after bedtime, which usually means living in a mess for awhile. Then there is the clean-up afterwards.
Laziness. There. I said it. I am lazy.
that dust and spider webs are only "in" at halloween and i leave mine up all year long.
Umm, YES. Right now I am overwhelmed with OPTIONS in my builder-beige house. I can literally start from scratch -mostly for the bedrooms- and I have no idea what in the world to do. You should totally just come over and handle it for me!
biggest fear? that I just don't know how to do it - that it'll look awful - I guess I think blank looks better than bad.
"after much counseling" - LOL!!! I have no fears with decorating, I don't suppose, but I don't have a lot of confidence either. I've painted and repainted the same room 3 or 4 times trying to find the right color.
My fear is the dominoe effect--once I paint my cabinets cream than I have to paint my railing and mantel too. And then the white tile floors have to go, and the white appliances...and then the walls need to be painted...and well, the countertops..and backsplash.
So I sit here and stare at my ugly oak cabinets that match the ugly oak railing and fireplace and don't do anything.
Just typing this makes me realize how dumb it sounds!
I hate the idea of having a jumbled, junky-looking mess.
But I'm learning to DE-CLUTTER FIRST! That way the pieces have a simple, more organized flow.
**Until this weekend, I was scared to put holes in the walls. But who cares? I need a beautiful home!
OH! I am afraid of MIXING PATTERNS sometimes. Like, I don't know which ones compliment each other well?
And I NEVER know which kind of lamps to buy. THAT is a quandry to me.
I am fearful of many things. Many. At times gripped with fear. But decorating is one of those areas where I feel fairly free and creative. The perfectionist in me, however, tends toward indecision. The unskilled me thinks I can't have something because I can't sew or refinish furniture. But you have changed all that. Who needs to know how to sew when hot glue and tacks are so accessible? As for refinishing, just paint it. If I fear anything, it's that I won't like it when I'm done. That my vision won't turn out the way it looked in my mind. And that's happened. So I just try, try again until I either get it "right" or give up and move to something else.
I just can NOT make up my mind about what colors I like, what style I like, etc. I want to decorate, paint, move furniture, etc, and have it looking pretty for at least 15 YEARS and NOT be out of style!! HAHAHA!! Add all that together and I am one impossible person to please!! So what do I do? Nothing!! OH MY!! And my house is in DIRE need of help!! OH MY!!!
I did recently paint my kitchen Tobacco Road, though!! Why? Because my sister told me to! HAHA!! I could NOT make up my mind and my sweet sister took charge and told me exactly what I needed to do- even down to the paint color. Gotta love my sister!!
His,
Mrs. U
My biggest fear was that you would see my house in all it's non-domestic glory and disown me. I'm so glad I faced that fear and you didn't flush me after all.
Really, I think the overwhelmedness of it all is what I fear most. Where to start?
My only mistakes were when I listened to my husband. I have to tell myself not to do that again.
What paralyzes me is "the next best thing". Even as a photographer I have no photographs on my wall because I am always afraid to invest in the "big one" and then have the next one be 10 times better.
My other issue is like your mother used to say when you would fill your plate with too much food you had "eyes bigger than your mouth". I think in decorating and "doing" things I have eyes bigger than my abilities! I bite off more than I can chew and rarely finish it all!
My biggest fear? (The one that makes my chest a little tighter) and I find my palms getting a bit sweaty? Never knowing where to begin!
I have ideas swirling about 24/7 in this little noggin of mine, it's just putting in the time and effort to do and hoping that it doesn't come out looking hodge-podgey instead of the intended eclectic.
http://www.bargainbex.blogspot.com
P.S. Your blog always makes me happy when I read it. Just needed you to know :)
another one for not liking it when i am done. i spend SO much time (over)analyzing what i am going to do before i do it, that it pains me to think i'd spend money or time on something i don't love.
I have a lack of visualization. I have a hard time seeing what a room would look like in a different color, how a piece of fabric will look as a window treatment, what patterns/ colors combine well ect. Big hurdle, and I really want to get over it.
Decisiveness is a biggy. I dont' know what a I like.
My fear is wasting money. I hate spending money on decorating as it is, and if it doesn't turn out, I've squandered our resources and left ugliness in my wake. I realize decorating is an important part of making a home, but I just can't cross of the hurdle of spending money to put something on the wall. What you post as a great price leaves me gasping, and yet I know it is.
My heart races just thinking about the fears I have. My fears center around spending money on something whether it be paint, furniture, curtains etc....and it not turning out (looking the way I had invisioned). The loss of the money spent is the root of the fear.
Thanks for letting us voice our fears. Just saying them made me feel better.
~Rhonda from Minnesota
all of it! i am afraid of messing something up so badly that it will cost a fortune to "fix". i think it is because money is so tight right now that i can't afford re-dos????
Trying something and having it not work out and be irreversible - especially if it cost more than $20 or took more than an afternoon of my dh's time. I am still living with a dining room color I can't stand after 8 years because it doesn't bother him and I am too busy to try painting by myself. Sometimes I prefer nothing to something I don't like. There is no time or money to waste on bad decisions and sometimes decorating itself seems like vanity or coveting and it makes me feel guilty! Should I be so attached to worldly goods that how they look bothers me? Just a little moral decorating conundrum that grates my conscience.
I think my biggest fear is having to take everything down when we move (AGAIN). It feels difficult to commit when you know you're only going to be living somewhere for a maximum of 3 years.
Also because we are in military housing I am terrified of accidentally destroying things that do not belong to me!
Although I *shouldn't* let it stop me, I am afraid to paint the walls in our rental. I LOVE color and these flat white walls really depress me! I'm about *this* close to just going for it, though :)
Enjoy your day!
~Michelle :)
(Treasure the Moment)
I haven't taken on any major decorating projects yet because I've been waiting for a house to go crazy in (as opposed to apartment). But I'm very indecisive and not independently wealthy so most of my fears center around spending a lot on something that I won't like after a month.
And I don't fully trust my coordinating abilities either, but I'm working on that.
My biggest fear would probably be spending too much money on something. I usually settle for something that I don't like as much because it is less expensive, and then I end up replacing it later. I should just get over my sticker shock and buy the things I really love once in a while, instead of just trying to go the cheap route all the time. Another fear would probably be "is that gonna look good with everything else"? I fear not choosing the right thing, and having to replace it later. But I guess that goes back to the spending money issue. I want to get nice things for my home, but I also don't want to be wasteful.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I don't seem to have any decorating fears! Maybe spending too much money, although I seem to be able to overcome that one whenever I need to! :)
I have gotten better, but I'm still afraid of messing something up. Or not knowing how to do something. I guess I just have to try!
Painting used to bother me- bad, the issue of picking "THE" right color. One time I swear I must've had 5 or 6 diff colors on the wall and we never did end up painting it.
Solution- Buy the little sample paints in the color you want and at Sherwin Williams, if I put it on the wall and it needs a little lighter or a little darker- they will change the sample and I try it again. Then when happy- Paint.
I fear that it's going to look amateur or homemade. I dont want people to say "Wow she totally did that on her own and was too cheap to get it done right."
Who cares right!?! We are buying a house now so we'll see if I say who cares:-)
Arggg...I'm my own worst client - I love everything, can see the beauty in almost every style, and don't object to any of them. I can tell other people what to do all day long, but I'm a terrible self-manager when it comes to making decisions for myself.
I'm afraid that it'll turn out LAME-O. I'd rather have stark and empty than something lame. :)
My biggest fear is hanging things on the wall. My walls have nothing hanging on them. I'm scared it won't be at the correct height. It won't be the right proportions for the wall size. That it will all be hanging crooked. I'm a mess!
my biggest fear WAS window coverings... until you! : )
I guess I fear that I'll spend the $ and the time and I will hate it. If I put time and energy and $ into something, I want to know that I will love it. Ugh. You have a post that I read a long time ago about just doing it! I loved that post. I need to re-read it again.
I fear spending a lot of money on an item and hating it. That's why I just don't spend money. =)
But scared of painting? I just don't get it.
Ouch! We have lived in our house for eight years and the only pictures I have hung were where nails were left in the walls.
The only room I have redone was my sons' because growing up in Victorian roses would have been cruel.
Why don't I do more? I guess time and $$.
Blogs like this give me hope. I recently garbage picked a large mirror which now hangs over our fireplace. I plan to paint the wooden frame someday. Baby steps, people, baby steps.
Again, your blog really helps. Keep it up!
Hi, Nester..I am hoping you run another series of the 10 Minute Makeovers...that was so much fun and I learned a lot from it....:)
I fear nothing...that is my problem. I am spontanious...is that spelled right? I do insane things in my house like trowel venetian plaster all over my kitchen walls and then stand back and look and go...huh, wonder if I should have done that. So I guess you could say I fear stupidity..i have issues.
Painting my kitchen cabinets!
A) What if they turn out badly? Then I've just ruined something I can't afford to replace.
B) Knowing how long it takes me to finish a painting project, how long will my kitchen be a disaster zone?, or
C) What if they turn out well, but I hate them anyway? Then I always have to have painted cabinets because the old wood finish is toast!
...but then again, I hate the finish...
my biggest issue is with the trim and how to get the lines to look crisp and straight w/o the slight drips. I guess the painters tape I have tried doesn't work very well.
I just listened to your blog-cast. You are so darn cute. Your personality comes through beautifully!
And what am I afraid of? My walls caving in from the weight of too many layers of paint!
Hugs,
edie
You very well may not let me leave comments after this...but I am afraid of-FABRIC!!! Yes it's true.
My biggest fear was when committing to a color and painting it that it would be the wrong color. But so far, things are looking good here at Casa de Domestic Extraordinaire. Loving the warmer & darker colors, can't wait for the kitchen to be done so I can start on the living room!
Screwing something expensive up b/c I measure wrong. Fabric, wood, whatever....
Perhaps my biggest fear is falling in love with some idea or trend and by the time I get around to implementing my version of it, trends and updated looks have moved on. Due to budget we work slowly and methodically. What I think is updated and great, books, tv and blogs talk of being old, yucky and outdated!!! Example. For the past few years all metal had to be silver colored and wallpaper a curse. All the mags are now showing most metal dark bronze or black and wallpaper is hitting every page! Its mind boggling and crippling.
My biggest fear is painting something too dark and instantly regretting it. It's never happened because I won't do it! :)
my biggest fear is our master bedroom. I can do all the other rooms in the house with no worries...
yet our bedroom sits there with bare concrete floors, sad window treatments, no color on the walls (well what was there when we bought it) and not much in the way of furniture. lets not mention the total lack of art work, ugh.
in my mind I see great things.
great things that change daily or cost way too much or require Hubby to built/destroy something...
oh how I long for a romantic put together place. sigh
I, too, spilled the gallon can not once but twice in a room I was re-doing :) Stepped off the ladder the first time right into the can. (someone move it, while I was ON the ladder). The second time I bobbled and there was no where else to go BUT into the paint. argh.
But you know :) things clean up. My grandmother used to say, "If it can be cleaned up, patched up, or picked up, don't worry about it. Life's too short." She was right, so I don't.
Oh, and the room? Turned out perfectly beautiful :) and no one was the wiser!
My biggest fear is that I will somehow lose touch with reality, and think my house looks great when in reality, it looks horrible! Oh well, I guess if that happens at least I will be oblivious!
My biggest fear is that I will put all of this time, money, blood, sweat, tears, etc...and it won't be perfect. Or just what we like. I am so scared of that.
Color color color....I painted my dining room 3 times (made my husband crazy right along with myself) before I settled. Settled!!! I may changed it again..."shhhh, don't tell him". I question myself way too much. Hmmmm...sounds like I may have something going on a little deeper, nah....just bored. Love the Blog!!! THANKS!
My biggest fear has always been trying something...anything for the first time. After that, I'm good! What is it about trying to do something we've never done before...that's so scary. Right now, I want hard wood floors in my living room...but I don't want to pay someone to do it...so I think I'll learn myself. That's scary to me.
Wall paper that I cannot stand looking at one moneht later.
Paint is easier to change, gratefully...
My biggest fear has always been wasting money on something that doesn't end up look anything like what I had planned once it's in the room. Part of this fear has been conquered by your suggestion of "shopping the house." I love finding new ways to use old things or forgotten things around our home.
Also, the fear of wasting time doing something that doesn't turn out right.
Wow! Look at all these comments. You go girl! I loved seeing you this weekend!!! You and your sister are just precious together. I would love to hang out with you all more often. Blessings!!!
Oh...I have no fear when it comes to decorating...but at the moment I have no money either. LOL! But, I do have loads of ideas swirling around in my head for future use, after I finish this MT course, and actually have money to play with again.
Stop by and check out my funky footboard project when you have a minute. I finally did something creative!
~Misti
right now I am debating on painting an interior door black...fear is not being able to change it, f I decide to go back to a beachy decor.......
Nester, may I recommend a peek at Design Intervention? There's a girl who's not afraid.. http://charishumin.blogspot.com - she's my dear friend in real life and just did a post on decorating with fabric in a new rental house... love her creativity and thought it tied in well with your themes recently.
This might sounds crazy, but I'm really afraid of spending a ton of money on big furniture items, and then deciding in a few years that I'm sick of it. There is not enough money floating around here to replace big furniture every couple of years, so I am paralyzed by indecision and end up not buying anything. And we desperately need some new pieces!
My fear: "What if I find an idea I like better because I haven't found the perfect (fill in the blank)?" We also rent our home which adds to my anxiety.
That nagging thought has kept me from decorating and painting in the past. But I decided a few months ago to kill those "voices" and go for it. My hubby and I have painted our chldren's rooms and the living room, and can't wait to tackle the other rooms. It's just paint and can be covered.
Making a wrong purchasing decision on a major piece of furniture. I change my mind so easily - I'm afraid I'll hate it after 6 mths.
My biggest fear used to be patterns (and somewhat still is)! I tend to think that neutral, solid, colors are the way to go because I can coordinate anything and yada, yada, yada. But, from reading your blog and a few others...I have realized that pattern brings in character, style, and pleasingness (is this a word?) to the eye! Thank you for making me see this:)
i too have a fear of decorating. i can identify rooms that i love in photos, but i can't pull them together on my own. This past weekend has been stressful. i have had to make decisions on siding color, bathroom tile, and deck stain. I am worried about making the wrong decisions and not loving the outcome. it has happened before. I worry about the money spent on home repairs and improvements because some things can't be changed so easily.
I have lived in my townhouse for 11 years and now I have to paint just to fix up, patch up and clean up the walls. I had a disaster in my kitchen last year when a water pipe burst. It took one month for the contractor to tear down soaked wallboard and insulation and replace everything. When I was asked what color I wanted the kitchen to be (it was the original pale yellow) I said I wanted CRANBERRY! And guess what, nothing bad happened! It looks beautiful and I love it as does everyone who has seen it! I just have to hang a few copper molds and that is my hangup! How to do that and not have it look amateurish. I want to hang them on the soffet above the sink, range, countertops and cabinets.
Will look for ideas in your great future blogs. Love your fearlessness!
Ok...I'm afraid of my mother critizing me (she's the decorating queen.) I'm afraid of what my friends with FABULOUS taste or lots of MONEY will (and do) say. Right now I'm a wreck because I don't know how to decorate the top of my kitchen cabinets. Why does this all have to be so HARD? And as to PAINT, I have spent hours at Benjamin Moore. They are like my second family. Yet I still make mistakes and had to have my bedroom repainted because I HATED what I chose. (I feel like I should be paying you a fee for psychotherapy!)
Creating Clutter!
I've been lurking here for a while and I originally came here seeking inspiration but I've also found that I come here for courage. Something I'm seriously lacking. What am I afraid of? I'm kind of lost in a sense. I am the most indecisive person ever and I'm having such a hard time determining what my "taste" is and making it work for my family. Any decorating I do also has to be something my husband can feel comfortable in and is "Toddler Proof". I just feel like I can't have nice things with a toddler. We have lived in our home for 6 years and not a single thing is hanging on a single wall because I cannot decide what to put there! How sad is that? I find things I adore but I freak out at the thought of purchasing it... what if I hate it 2 mths from now and I've wasted all of that money? As a young adult I had a fabulously decorated apartment but now that I have a HOME and a FAMILY I'm just stuck... somehow. I didn't even realize it until you asked! The 1st step is admitting you have a problem... right? :) Thanks.
Actually, yes, choosing the wrong paint color does make it debilitating for me because I'm the real kind of lazy and once I paint something, I don't want to have to do it again right away--and we can't afford me to make lots of color mistakes. Oh and pretty much all the reasons everyone else that I've read so far have said. I hate thinking a project will be easy only to find it get bigger and bigger and bigger. And I live in a grumpy old man house that resists change (and improvement!) like the devil resists good. And can I say how annoying it is to want to spray paint 50,000 things but be pregnant? The grh-ness of it. The weather better still be kind of nice in four weeks.
I used to be afraid of putting a color on the walls--then my teenaged daughter found her dream bedroom in a magazine. I was on board except for one thing--the wall color was AQUA! We bought the paint and prepared to do the deed. I distinctly remember going up to the wall with my paintbrush at least three times before actually putting brush to wall. I just couldn't make myself do it! What if it looked awful?? Finally, I just closed my eyes and swooshed--I was committed then. We finished the walls and the room and she was so happy. And I was happy because she was happy. It was worth it!
My fear is choosing items I "love" but they don't go together well. We found wall color we really like and it makes a great background for any color scheme but I'm scared to just DO it!
We've lived in an undecorated house for over 5 years.
By the way, how is the best way to handle "gifts" given to you that you hate. When we first built our house, people gave us pictures, mirrors, etc to help us decorate...most of them, I can't stand to look at! LOL!
I am afraid of the time commitment. It will take me FOREVER to finish with 4 little kiddos so why even start?
And where would I start?!! We are in a new house so every room is a blank slate! Every room needs paint, blinds/drapes, things hung on the wall, decor, etc.
Should I start in one room and stay there until it is finished?? Or should I do bit by bit all over the house??
Then I think "This is going to take forever"...and I do nothing. wahhhhhhhhhh!
I'm not afraid to paint, love it in fact. I just tried one day years ago, and now am very confident and do all our and my sister's too. Love the freshness of it. My biggest fear though: that nothing is ever finished. I have all these ideas, and plug away at changes as time and money permits, but I never ever have the 'complete' version of what I want. It is always a work in progress. I think money is the biggest obstacle, making do because I can't afford what I really want.
I should add, not having the money to do all I WANT. I do spend money, a fair bit compared to our income, on paint, new lights, etc, etc, but it is the big ticket items that I find harder to afford. Like new upholstered chairs in all the rooms I want them in, upgraded counters and stuff.
I don't really have a decorating fear. I am worried about it taking too long, due to running out of money before it's finished though. Oh yeah, and I'm scared of the nail gun.
I have problems decorating because there are so many options. I'll design a room and like it, but there's always the "what if" ... what if I do this color instead? I'm having that problem with my bedroom now. We've finally decided on paint color, but I see so many other great examples and it makes me want to go in another direction.
I love decorating, my biggest fear is that the economy will not turn around fast enough for me to enjoy it for the rest of my life....
I have desperately wanted to refinish our kitchen table. I stare at this "thing" every day. Sit at it, stick to it, feed my family at it, I just can not bring myself to fully commit the sander to it. I love the base so I really do want to finish the top. What am i affraid of, it can't look worse then it does, yet I can't pull the trigger. Do I paint it? What color?? I just don' know
I have issues with perfectionism and have no furniture in my house because of it. I have only just ordered my first couch -- not because we don't have the money -- but because I am so afraid of making the wrong choice. I have a background in design and this just makes choices all that more difficult.
I see the ugly furniture that other people hold on to for 40 years and it terrifies me. Perhaps the dining room set looked good in 1965, but it looks like crap now and they STILL HAVE IT.
Truth be told -- I haven't bought furniture (aside from couch) in all my 36 years. Any furniture we do have is handed down or from my husband's bachelor days.
I have empty rooms which echo. It's embarrassing. I know I have a problem! It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful, right!? ::sigh::
I think I need some similar counseling. I have issues with hanging things on walls. I feel like if I hang something it has to stay there until I move because I think the wall hangings and furniture arrangement go hand in hand. And then if you want to move the wall hangings or furniture, you have to cover up all those holes and when your walls are painted, that requires spakling and then painting...so I have similar commitment issues.
I also have a fear of putting a lot of sweat, heart, and money into something and then not loving it.
Oh and I don't know how to incorporate patterns. I usually stick with solid colors. BOring.
So it seems I have multiple issues :)
I once spilled a can of black enamel paint across my dining table. Quick thinking with a spatula, and I was able to scrape off most of the point and save it!
That was kind of scary, but I lived to tell about it!
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