Q: “How do you know when you’re investing in the right piece for a room? I’m paralyzed to pull the trigger and then later realize the table, curtains, or rug I’m currently eying aren’t ‘the answer’ for my room and then spend years regretting them.” – Melissa
We get a lot of questions like this one. So after around six years spent decorating two houses on a pretty modest budget, with a nice heaping portion of mistakes and trial and error worked in there, here’s what we’ve learned. We definitely don’t get it right every time. Sometimes we’re too risky, and sometimes we’re too safe, and sometimes the proportion or the size of something is wrong and we just can’t see it until we get it home and stare at it for a while. Sometimes there’s an item that we think will be functional and it ends up leaving much to be desired. In short: you win some and ya lose some when it comes to making your house a home. So if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again.
Mistake #1. The fluffy green rug in the living room. Cost: $425 (it’s an 8 x 10′ wool rug).
We moved into this house and had never even attempted to decorate a giant 25 x 15′ family room (for comparison’s sake our first house’s family room was tiny, just nine feet wide) so – surprise! – we didn’t get it right the first time. We bought a super shaggy rug that was way too small for the room and while the shag was nice for a baby, it was terrible for a food-spilling’ toddler. So we did the only thing we have ever found to fix issues like that. We course corrected and decided that we don’t need to be married to our mistake and invested in a better rug for the room (more on that here).
I think everyone has those oops moments when they’re decorating a house – even if you’re going slowly over time and doing your best to only choose things you think will work well for your family. You just can’t see the future – and we’re certainly no exception! The end result is that we love the living room a ton more with our new much-larger short weave rug that adds pattern without dwarfing the living area. And we’ll either reuse the first rug in another room (it could work in our guest room and then the yellow rug in there could end up in the sunroom) or we’ll probably end up selling it on Craigslist if we can’t find a spot for it. So knowing there are other options besides “just use the wrong rug that we hate forever” takes the sting out of it a little bit.
In general, reusing things in other spaces or Craigslisting them if they just don’t work is a nice little backup plan that allows us to just figure things out along the way without being completely out of luck when we don’t get everything right on the first try. And recognizing those two alternatives allowed us to go for it (instead of being shaking-in-our-boots-scared) when the right rug came along. So if it took a buying one item twice (knowing we can craigslist or reuse the first rug somewhere else) to get to the end result of this room, we’re 100% cool with that. I actually don’t think we’ve ever redone a room without switching something out along the way. So getting everything right on the first try is akin to seeing a unicorn in the front yard to us.
Mistake #2. The stools in the kitchen. Cost: around $150 including four stools plus primer and spray paint to later make them blue.
After we accidentally found stools that we loved more (seriously, they came out of nowhere) we actually sold the original stools on Craigslist for the entire amount that we spent. So one hundred and fifty beans are back in our pocket, and we have new stools that we love for $140 (so I guess in the end we made ten bucks, haha). The only thing we’re out is the time it took to spray paint them, but that’s totally worth the opportunity to essentially “test drive” two pairs of stools to us – and then land on the right ones that we love to pieces. Bonus: they swivel and are contoured so they’re the most functional/comfortable as well as the purtiest.
Mistake #3. The chairs in the dining room. Cost: $400 for eight chairs (including the $25 chairs themselves, the slipcovers, the dye, the spray paint, etc).
You guys probably remember this switcheroo, but we eventually realized (after about a million attempts to make them work that included slipcovers, die, and spray paint) they just weren’t The Ones. Sometimes we’re dense and it takes a while. So instead of continuing to spend money and time struggling to make them work, we finally cut our losses and set them free. Guess how much we got for them on Craigslist? $200. Yup, we recouped the entire original cost of the $25-a-pop chairs. We considered listing them for $50 each to try to get back the entire amount, but we thought that in order to sell them quickly and just cut our losses, $25 each was a fair price.
It was nice to know that they went to a loving home (their new owner is a reupholstery master and is planning to recover all eight of them!) and we ended up with six loungier super-on-sale Target chairs that we love to pieces. We’re so glad that the table is a lot less cluttered (99% of the time there are just three of us sitting here) and we even got two extra chairs in that new set that we couldn’t use (there were eight but we only wanted six) so we craigslisted those for their original cost of $62 each. We weren’t even turned off by having to buy too many of something that we thought would be perfect because we knew we could always Craigslist those two extras for the full price (there are many much uglier chairs on craigslist for $75+ so we knew ours would sell).
So the $400 chairs ended up being a $200 mistake (since we only earned 50% of that back) but in the end we love our dining room, and if it took that mistake to get us from here…
… to here, we’ll take it.
Sure, we lose sometimes (and you have to hand it to us, we really bomb on occasion) but it pays to keep trying and not just give up and settle for something that doesn’t work until you finally get those “this is IT!” butterflies… even if they don’t come easy. In the end, we’re just happy that we also made a bunch of big purchases that we love without needing any do-overs. So although a few things don’t work out for us, many many things are great from the moment we get them. For example, we love:
- our Corian counters
- our cork floors
- Ed the bed
- the big patterned rug in the bedroom
- the upholstered headboard we made
- Karl the sectional
- our giant living room storage ottoman
- our kitchen appliances
- our laundry appliances
- a bunch of new lights that we made/bought
- our new dining table
- our craigslist buffet
- all of the curtains we’ve made/bought throughout the house
- the console we built in the living room
- our thrift store media cabinet
- our Ikea bookcase in the sunroom
- our office built-ins
- our office chairs
- the round jute rug in the office
- Clara’s secondhand dresser and chair in her nursery
- Clara’s crib
- our new craigslist dresser for Clara’s big girl room
So even with the loss that we took on the three mistakes that we detailed in this post (including all of our desperate attempts to save them) in the end we’ve loved far more items than we’ve bought and regretted. I think sometimes you just have to try the wrong things and live with them to learn that you didn’t want to live with them. Haha. It’s like how you have to get that glittery purple eye shadow to learn that no (NO!) it’s not gonna work, and you should probably try something else. Heck, I rocked some winking airbrushed jeans for a while as a teen. And then realized… uh, not good. That’s course correcting at its finest.
And actually, when we remember that we had a yard sale last fall and made $350 as well as selling $750 worth of old kitchen stuff on craigslist to earn money to put into that remodel (we got $90 for the old black microwave, $60 for the old fireplace insert, $120 for our old dining table and chairs, $90 for our old bisque dishwasher, $350 for our old granite, $40 for our old bisque wall oven) we’ve definitely used resale opportunities to the fullest. So those three mistakes above hurt less when we look at the $1,100 that we’ve made by not being married to a bunch of other things that we no longer want to live with.
Hopefully this post makes it easier to see how no purchase has to be forever, and things like reusing them in other spaces (be flexible!) or Craigslist can be awesome alternatives if you’re not exactly rolling in money for a million do-overs. In short: don’t sit there paralyzed with fear, afraid to get something. Obviously try to think things through and only buy things you can afford, but just don’t torture yourself by believing that mistakes aren’t allowed. If you do that you’ll never buy anything and your house will never move forward. Not only are mistakes allowed, they happen to everyone. The odds are that you’ll probably love most of your choices and regret a few of them. But that’s normal, there are ways to remedy it, and it’s completely worth it in the end.
Creating a room that you love thanks to some obligatory trial and error can really be way more “valuable” than committing to a few items ten years ago and desperately trying to decorate around them (even though you no longer love them) instead of letting them go. Sometimes getting new curtains and pillows and other little accessories to “accent” a piece that you don’t even like can cost more than just biting the bullet and switching the bad item out for something you love, you know?
And the good news is that the whole house-sprucing journey usually has a happy ending if you keep on keeping on. So try to keep the faith, get back on the ol’ horse, and remember that there are always returns if the pillow that you thought you’d love ends up being the pillow that you loathe – and there’s always Craigslist and yard sales (along with tax-write-off donations) for any of that non-returnable stuff.
Sarah@SBrandesDesigns says
Our last major buyers remorse purchase was quite a bit larger (Our sectional couch we thought we were splurging on). We just didn’t really think it through. We were newly married and didn’t have ANY furniture yet and when we saw this one thought we loved it. It didn’t take long before we realized all the things we DIDN’T love about it. You are right though, until we had it we couldn’t truly understand what we don’t like about it to know what to avoid next time. We still have so much other furniture we NEED (with a super tight budget) that finding a different couch probably won’t happen for quite awhile.
Lindsey S says
I would totally buy the shaggy green rug!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh, that’s good to know! Do you live in Richmond if we decide to craigslist it?
xo
s
Lindsey S says
I dont :o( Cincinnati.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man!
xo,
s
Kellie says
I am turning into a bit of a craigslist connoisseur myself. Something else that people can consider is offering trades on craigslist. We are applying to become foster parents, so our guest room with a queen bed needs to turn into a kid-friendly bedroom with 2 twin sized beds. I figured that there have to be people out there who are looking to upgrade their kid’s bed from a twin to a queen, so I posted on craigslist that we will trade our queen (plus frame and box springs) for one or two twins. It only took two days before we found someone who was up for trading!
Mary says
So much of design and decorating is about proportion and the space to furnishing ratio. You frequently mention in your posts (living on the ledge) how things should be wider/narrower, taller/shorter in comparison to the objects around it. There are also some basic rules of thumb about how much walk space to leave in a dining room and where a rug should be placed under the furniture. I’d love to see a post where you talk about these things all in one place!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that would be awesome. Although I think so much varies depending on things (if the room is small or big, if the ceilings are standard height, if you’re going for a modern look or a more traditional one, etc).
xo
s
morgan smith says
Hahaha is that a poster of a cat peering thru a hole in your childhood room? You ought to hang THAT is Clara’s big girl room :)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s actually a baby seal. Haha!
xo
s
Jane says
I just had to drop by and say how much i love ur book. So many interesting ideas. I delivered a baby boy the weekend of Sandy ( crazy i know!!) so i havent been able to dive into any projects yet with my little peanut demanding my attention… But soon, i cant wait.
On another note… Did clara ever have rice cereals before 6 mnths? Or was it just BM and directly onto solids at 6? Thanks !!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks! So glad you’re enjoying the book! As for Clara, I nursed her for 14 months and introduced solids around 6-7 months (we did Baby Led Weaning, which you can get a book to read more about (the book’s called Baby Led Weaning) but it’s basically real food like soft bananas, steamed brocolli, etc. It’s really soft but helps them chew and swallow and allows them to feed themselves, so we didn’t do rice cereal or purees). She loved it and is an adventurous eater to this day!
xo
s
Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says
Oh, and another buyer’s remorse. I decided to try having an ottoman as a coffee table, so I bought a $10 one at a garage sale. It was too cushy, and too casual for our somewhat formal living room.
I replaced with a coffee table that I cobbled together from an antique library card catalog, an old mirror and wheeled casters. See?
http://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/2013/01/coffee-table-porn-2/
And that $10 ottoman? I just sold it on Craigslist for $30.
:-D
Katy
YoungHouseLove says
Smart!!
xo
s
Amanda says
You have a gift, Katy. No, it’s a super power.
Daria says
Will never be over that photo of a young Sherry. It reminds me of the bedroom door I had when I was 9- covered in Teenbeat rip outs of Justin Timberlake, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Britney Spears! And I too was a victmi of the embellished jeans trend.
Daria says
Victim*
Apparently my typing skills are also criminal today.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah!
xo
s
Denise Armbruster says
Great post! I suffer from purchasing paralysis!! After reading this, I see I’m not alone and that if something doesn’t work re-purpose it or sell it. Makes life a lot less stressful. Thanks.
Kenz @ Interiors By Kenz says
I think everyone makes design mistakes. Not just buying stuff. I painted my whole dining room damask when we first moved into the house, then as the rest of the house evolved it was as non-cohesive as Evenecense showing up to your grandma’s birthday party.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah!
xo
s
Angela says
You’ve been lucky to sell things on Craig’s List. I’ve never had much luck with them. Right now I have a 20-inch girl’s bicycle and two framed 4 x 6 bulletin boards with nary a nibble.
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe try photographing them more beautifully? Or drop the price (we research what other similar items are selling for and undercut them so ours is a no-brainer buy :)
xo
s
steph says
ugh we are terrible at picking out rugs. I feel like we haven’t gotten it right once yet. I really love your living room rug. We actually have a smaller version of it that we want to put in our bedroom but the pale walls aren’t working with it. I need to get on it and darken the room up a bit for contrast!
Anthony Pilolli says
Hey guys,
So I am a student at DePaul University in Chicago. I am doing a market research projectt targeting DIYers and their opinion on oscillating tools. The survey only takes about 5-10 minutes and you have a chance of winning $100 Visa Gift Card. I dont want people to think I am spamming them, just looking for honest, informed opinions.
Amanda says
Great advice in decorating and in life.
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
What a great post! It is good to see your process. It is amazing how things can seem so good at first (or in a picture) and then turn out oh so bad.
Bonnie says
Great post! Sometimes it’s so hard to admit a bad decision. Luckily, the majority of mine have been paint colors, so that’s an easy (although time consuming) fix. There are rooms in my house that have been 4 colors in 10 years but I think I finally have everything just the way I like it.
I’m also just starting to learn to buy things that *I* love and not worry about how HGTV, or design sites, or even friends say my house should look. It’s my house, so I’m the only one who has to love it. (Although, I’d totally move into your house and not change a thing!)
Jeanna says
This was such a great post! I don’t know what the deal is, but I can walk into someone else’s room, and know exactly what I would do to it to make it comfy/beautiful for me. Ideas up the wazoo……… but when it comes to my own home, I am filled with such anxiety about making the right decision and worry about not wasting money. I needed this reminder that everyone can make a decorating mistake, and it’s possible to course correct to find things you really love. Thanks!
Karen F says
I’m the same way, Jeanna!
katrina says
I love that you guys share your “mistakes” – that’s one reason why I keep coming back every day!
It’s reassuring because I have done this too. I bought really expensive curtains that I liked for awhile, but quickly realized how wrong they were for our space. I just kept thinking, but they were so *expensive* and I don’t want to *waste* money, all the while being miserable in my home every day. How much is that worth?!
Corie says
I have major buyer’s remorse over my living room furniture. We moved from our apartment to a house with 2 living areas and we had A single couch. So, off to the store we went, we got a sofa, loveseat, chair and coffee table “set” (gag me) and when they delivered it, I about passed out. It was HUGE, way too big for the room. I have no idea what happened, the delivery men left, I sobbed, we tried a million ways to make the whole thing work and I “guess” it did for a while. But not really. So, we moved the set into the other living room and it does fit better but I will never be happy until it all hits the curb. One day. :)
$herdog, your ass looks fab in those jeans. :) And for the life of me I don’t understand why that sweet seal “art” isn’t displayed proudly in your home? You know you still have it in your closet. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, every room needs a baby seal poster!
xo,
s
Teresa says
One thing that took me many mistakes to learn is : KEEP YOUR TAGS ON AND SAVE THE RECEIPT!!! I know it and yet time and again I come home, knowing I’ve found the perfect item, torn the tags off and tossed them and lost the receipt before I realize it’s not the perfect item. Give it a couple of days to live with an item before you make a final decision. Also, we tend to buy big ticket items, like new furniture, from Costco. Their prices are very competitive and they take ANYTHING (except computers and TV’s) back at any time, no explanations necessary. They have deals with their vendors that they can get their money back, so Costco is not hesitant to refund on unwanted items. Also, every item you buy from there is kept on computer file, so a lost receipt is not a deal-breaker as far as returns.
Nichole K says
I agree. We just bought a giant sectional from Costco and I was less nervous since they’re good with returns. It was so much less expensive than what I’ve seen at “real” furniture stores.
They only had 6 in the store though, so I felt a little rushed (2 back and forth trips in a snowstorm in one night) but it was worth it once we got it inside.
Sometimes I need to be rushed to just buy the dang thing. I tend to over think :)
Lauren A says
I had that same seal poster too! And glancing through the comments, I apparently wasn’t the only one. So strange!
Caitlin @ Desert Domicile says
Perfect post timing! I’ve been debating on whether or not to keep a rug of mine because it was a pretty big purchase but I’m not in love with it like I thought I’d be. Unfortunately, our Craigslist is a spam magnet and 8 out of 10 responses you get are fake so it’s always a pain to try and list something on there. I’m going to try listing it again though!
Lauren says
What a liberating post! I completely agree with you all… Not only do I have to face my own guilt having a purchase that doesn’t work for us, but my boyfriend isn’t exactly a fan of spending more money on a piece we already have… You’ve confirmed my suspicions about our large white and glass coffee table. Lovely at first, but now we have a smaller place and a very big puppy! It’s too big, dotted with black fur, streaked with finger prints, and offers no storage. Probably time to resell on Craigslist.
MegP says
Sherry, this is so unrelated to this post and you probably already know this, but you are on the “Celebrity Fans” page on the Kendra Scott website! I was browsing it today and they have several pics of you. You look gorgeous!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ahh isn’t that crazy?!
xo,
s
Cassie says
I definitely have to make my husband read this! Actually I really needed it to, so thank you. But he gets all weird about putting too many holes in the walls from moving stuff around and I don’t know how to change his mind about it! So funny.
p.s. THOSE PANTS! Hahahaha. That was great.
Kristin says
Slight edit to today’s post…
“Their new owner is hoping to turn out to be a reupholstery master but currently has no clue what she’s doing.”
:-)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah yeah right! They’re going to be awesome! Can’t wait to see them!
xo,
s
Abby says
Good lesson for decorating and life alike!
Lina says
I love this post, especially the part about the original dinning room chairs because I actually remember reading about those and thinking “are they serious…those are awful! “. LOL! Glad you guys came around around on that one. I also have to say that I have also made the same rig mistakes! Our current living area rug is an eyesore to us but we are living with it until we find the right one. I’m just hoping that doesn’t take forever!! It’s already been too long.
Joanna says
I really like this post, I wish your list of what you are happy with were all links to them! I’m just about to buy a dining table on craiglist and i’m a bit nervous! I’m even more nervous to paint it…
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck!
xo,
s
Joanna says
i’m going to following your painting instructions, do you have advice for painting leaves, should i leave the gap open and paint the leaves separately?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes I’d paint them separately!
xo,
s
Kim says
I don’t know why but I am really digging the pink clouds/teal border on your closet doors, Sherry! Maybe it’s because I’m itching to stencil my dining room so any painted pattern on the wall is calling out to me right now.
Also, this is kinda funny because in the past few weeks as I have been shopping for things for my new house I have been thinking of yall as my role models (as always) and reminding myself of the shag rug, the dining room chairs, and also that ed the bed looks very different than when yall bought it. It has been helpful to me when I am shopping to know that it’s not the end of the world if I don’t get it right the first time. Apparently I am foreseeing posts now!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha that’s so funny!
xo,
s
Erin says
This post read my mind. I’ve been regretting the color we painted our living room for over a year now. My husband doesn’t mind it, and all my friends/family think I’m nuts for repainting a room that we just painted. But to be honest, the color is driving me crazy, and I find myself fantasizing about the color I’d rather it be. In short, your post gave me that extra push – I’m divorcing this dang wall color!!
kate says
I’m surprised to hear you thought the original kitchen stools were a mistake. I was thinking of getting them for our kitchen. What did you not like about them?
YoungHouseLove says
They worked perfectly we just saw swivel stools that were a warm wood tone and we realized they added more to the room! So it was an aesthetic thing (the curved seat and swivel feature helped too, but the original stools weren’t uncomfortable). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Dina says
Great post!! Glad we’re not alone with this kind of thing.
Our Manhattan apartment had a few “oops moments” like a horrific online purchase of a modern hall tree, a blue accent wall that was supposed to whisper “seaside vacation” but instead screams “french country wannabe” and an optimistic furniture purchase for our teeny balcony (the table just. doesn’t. fit.)
Do you think we can avoid similar mistakes in the new house? We don’t move in till June. How did you and John plan ahead for things before you got into your current home? Any pointers to avoid big mistakes when transitioning to a new place? …We won’t be bringing any furniture to the new place with us since we’re keeping the Manhattan apartment, so we’re starting from the most basic of builder basic places.
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Well we’re in our second house and definitely still made mistakes. I think every new space has its challenges so just go slowly and think things through and try not to settle. And when you do end up with something you don’t love there’s always the return department/Craigslist! Good luck!
xo
s
rachael says
This has nothing to do with your post today but I’ve noticed that your posts don’t show up in my Reader until the end of the day. That’s just been like that for the last few days, any idea why?
YoungHouseLove says
Its some sort of glitch and we have been working on it since last Wed/Thurs! Hope we can get to the bottom of it soon! We didn’t change anything on our end so it’s especially confusing.
xo,
s
Christina @ Floridays Mom says
Fantastic post! I have living with something that was the wrong call just because you spent money on it, especially when things like craigslist exist to get so much of you money back. Sure you may not re-coop everything, but you’re also not living with something that you’re just not crazy about. More people need to know this is okay! Thanks for sharing!
Molly says
It’s tricky being a single girl who has lived in various shared apartments. Different roommates have different things. When I buy furniture or accessories, I look for something I love. It also has to work in different spaces and be easy to move. These qualities have also served me well when I have boughts of RDS (Restless Decorating Syndrome) and move things around the apartment by myself.
I’ve held on to a few mistakes and have found new purposes for them. The teeny tiny dresser was awful when I used it to store my clothes, but I like it now that it stores my fabric and craft supplies in a closet. The other option is giving or loaning a piece you aren’t using–when I moved into my current apartment, the living room was furnished. There was no need for my loveseat. Friends had just moved into an apartment and neither one of them had a loveseat so they are using mine.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha restless decorating syndrome is hilarious!
xo,
s
Dana says
You say “modest budget”, but is there any where you can recommend purchasing a rug that isn’t $400+. I am looking for a 5×8 or larger for a under $200. I love your style, but I am not in position to make such large purchases like that.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes! Our kitchen rug is from Urban Outfitters for $60 (it’s 4×7) and our bedroom rug was $250 and it’s giant (9×12 I think) and that was from an outlet (many rug outlets have great 5×8 options for under $200).
xo,
s
Nichole K says
We like our Home Depot shag rug. It’s 8×10 and was about $150. I had another customer in the store tell me the backing on hers had started to flake off, but we have ours on a rug pad and it’s not in a high-traffic area, so it’s working great for us so far!
We have an UO rug too!
Maggie says
You guys make some awesome points in this post, and as a professional decorator I just wanted to add my two cents!
There is definitely a lot to be said for having a plan that you’re working toward (whether it’s done by a decorator or DIY). On a self-employed budget I’m slowly chipping away at an overall plan that will work when it’s finally done! It helps to picture it all together BEFORE you start buying pieces impulsively… you still may switch things out later on, but it likely won’t be the same kind of costly mistakes.
When in doubt on scale, tape out the dimensions of furniture on the floor with painter’s tape!
Finally, whatever you do, don’t spend a ton of money trying to make a mistake “fit” when you already know you don’t like it. You’ll spend less money (in the long run) and stress less just craigslisting it and moving on to the perfect thing you love.
Good luck to Melissa!
YoungHouseLove says
Great tips!
xo,
s
Pepe says
I discovered Google Sketchup. Really helps you visualize before making any mistakes. But everything still looks different once you have on the wall or floor. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we love Google Sketchup! It helped us plan our kitchen!
xo
s
Susan says
I’m slightly embarrassed to admit (and may I’m the only person in the world) who actually kinda liked the original dining room chairs in their original funky fabric. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I think that’s sweet!
xo
s
Debbie says
Just realized your posts haven’t been showing up in my Google Reader lately. Any idea what’s going on/how to fix that?
Debbie says
Nevermind—I saw your comment above that you know and you’re working on it. :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, so sorry about that! We’re on the case!
xo
s
Jenn says
Are you guys currently regretting or on the fence about it rent purchases you haven’t switched out yet? I’m curious to know if it’s more of just a phase or trend that you love and hate a month later or living with it and realizing it doesn’t work with your life. What gets the boot and what stays just because it ain’t hurting anyone?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, this looks like an auto correct thing, but the first sentence says “about it rent purchases you haven’t switched out yet?” But if you’re asking when we know that something isn’t working, sometimes it’s clear when something changes (ex: Clara went from baby to toddler and the deep furry rug was full of goldfish crumbs) and sometimes over time we just go from “it’s cool” to “yuck, we can’t stand it for one more minute (like the dining room chairs). Hope it helps!
xo
s
jbhat says
That was an awesome question and an even more awesome response. Such good advice….and so applicable to so many of us. Thanks!
jbhat
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Jbhat!
xo
s
Rebecca says
OMG Sherrie – are those Winkers pants? My product CitiKitty was on a TruTv episode with those pants – hilarious! http://meetinghousetv.com/smartest-inventions-2/smartest-inventions-2.html
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, no way! They were airbrushed at the Jersey shore while I watched. I’m classy like that. Haha!
xo
s
Rebecca says
sorry about the name spelling. I am terrible with vowels ;)
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! I don’t even notice since my name is so hard to spell ;)
xo
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PL says
Love this post. My microwave just died so we purchased a “black” microwave thinking that I was going to change my “beige” appliances to black in the neat future. But after my husband struggled installing the microwave, I am having second thoughts that I should have gone with stainless since that is raged theses days. Any thoughts on Black appliances vs. Stainless?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I think we prefer stainless, but some folks like black! It’s all personal preference I think!
xo
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Kelly says
Hey – FYI, for some reason this didn’t hit my reader. Sad face.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah for some annoying glitchy reason they’re going to Reader but are really delayed, so it might show up later. We have no idea why it’s happening (we haven’t changed anything on our end) but we’ve been looking into it for almost a week now. Hope to solve the case soon!
xo
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Jessica says
I wish I could get my hubby to understand. .. he picked out the paint colors in our new home. We had narrowed the hallway and living room down to 3 choices… he decided to surprise me and paint everything while I was at work. Unfortunately he chose his favorites. So while I convinced him to change the living room color, (I told him I’d paint and prime it all myself. ) the hallway remains what I can only describe as country goose gray. It doesn’t fit in with the deep teals/grays/brass colors in the rest of our home. -_- it’s a mistake that I wish I could fix. Hopefully one day…
Laurie says
I’ll just have to add that I think my biggest mistakes were when I tried to over-think the purchase. Trying to be logical and strategic generally means I’ll get the right size but won’t be in love with it. At the end of the day you have to live with it so you should love it.
I’ve also had some challenges with NOT changing something because other people saw some value in it. Like the white metal shed in my backyard. Everyone went on and on about how handy it was to have and I hated it because it was right outside my bedroom window and it was ugly. I finally had to just ignore everyone and get rid of it and I’m SO much happier!
YoungHouseLove says
Great tips Laurie!
xo
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Liz says
We had a similar rug experience (why are rugs so hard???). I bought a rug that I love on overstock- but while it was on its way to us via UPS my husband found an even better rug in the super clearance section of IKEA. We live in a tiny apartment (for now) so the rug that I still love, but we have no place for is rolled up under our bed until we move into a bigger place. Se la vie.