10 Tips to Feel Confident in your Decorating Choices
Do you struggle with pulling the trigger when it comes to making decisions? Well then, this post is for you! Today, I'll be sharing my tips on how you can start feeling confident in making big home decisions. Tell me if this sounds familiar, you spent countless hours pinning inspiration, shopping online, and visiting stores, yet your not quite ready to pull the trigger on purchasing. Or maybe your situation is more time-sensitive. Your knee deep in decision making and your contractor is calling you to find out if you finally picked out your tile material yet.
Whether you have a contractor hounding you for an answer or if you are on your own time schedule, there is something holding you back from making a final decision.
That missing component is confidence.
So how do you start to feel confident in your decision making and begin to trust yourself?
Well, first I'd like to say that I completely understand the stress and the overwhelm you face. You are investing a significant amount of money into your home, and you want it done right! You also don't want to make a mistake because you may not have the funds to fix it again. So pressure is on, I get it!
Lucky for you, I am breaking down my tips for you to start feeling confident in your decorating choices.
Virtual Interior Design by AMA Designs & Interiors
How to Feel Confident in your Decorating Choices:
Create an Idea List- Write down all your ideas, wishes, and desires for your new space. The best way to get out of your head is to list all your thoughts on a piece of paper and then look them over when you are in the right headspace.
Establish a Vision - After you wrote down your wishes and desires for your new space. It’s important to gain clarity on how you want your room to feel. Describe the space. How do you want to feel when you enter the room? What is the purpose? Who uses the room? How do you want to use the room?
Prioritize - Review your wish list and big vision for the space; what is most important? What can wait for the next phase of decorating? Also consider which values are most important: Is it the style, quality, availability, or cost? You can’t have them all, so choose the qualities that most align with you and your project.
Start with Small Decisions - If you keep second-guessing yourself, start with making the little decisions first. When you start with the easy decisions first, it instills trust and belief in yourself. If you feel really stuck, there may be no "easy" decorating question, but try to weed through and find the things that were a definite YES for you. Then, move onto the next big thing and work your way up the totem pole.
Process of Elimination - Sometimes in order to discover and get crystal clear on what you want, you have to go thru all the things you don’t want. It may sound counterintuitive but it's very helpful. When I am proposing furniture to a client, I tell them to eliminate all the choices that are an absolute NO --- and I ask them why they don’t like that piece. It helps me understand what their personal style is and the more reasons that they can give me, the more I can understand their style too! The same process goes for you. Ask yourself which is a YES and why? And what is a NO and why? Be as specific as possible.
Give yourself a Deadline - Come up with a desired timeline that is realistic to you. It should be a date that feels achievable and one that does not stress you out at the end of the day. When you give yourself a timeline, it will help you keep you on schedule. When you don’t have a date in mind, you will take as much time as you need, therefore you will be living with a home that’s incomplete for a very long time.
Mistakes Happen - Let go of your fears of making mistakes because they will happen. If you adopt the attitude of knowing that whatever choice you make will be a learning experience, there really isn't any wrong choice. As with anything in life, a little perspective could help out immensely and will release some of the pressure/stress that you are feeling.
Go with the BEST choice not the Most PERFECT choice- Sometimes there's not one perfect option that is going to fulfill your every desire. In our frustrations, we may glance over an option that makes the next best thing and comes pretty close to perfect. Best is better than perfect. Go with what is best for you.
Trust your gut- What was your first instinct before you started going through all the options? Your first choice is usually the right one.
Time will tell - The age old saying rings true. If all else fails, then maybe it means that you are too close or involved in the project. Take a step away from your project so you can take the time that you need to process everything. Take 24-48 hours to let your ideas sink in. Revisit your project with fresh eyes and you will have more clarity behind what it is that you truly need.
I hope you have enjoyed my 10 tips to start feeling confident in your decision making.