When it comes to decorating your own house, I think patience might be just as important as a good eye. I started thinking about this after trying to make a quick decision last week about ordering new lighting for our kitchen.
What I was considering. . .
What I ideally envision . . .even if it never happens.
Truth is, I was never 100% sold on the look of those lanterns for that room, but they were a good deal. I had several readers remind me that I was on nobody’s timeline to get this house “finished” and should wait until I found something I loved.
I totally agree.
My motivation for buying pieces in the past has often been affordability, and to some extent, it still is. But, we’ve all gotten stuck with things that we don’t really love because we’ve been impulsive. It’s a careful mix of buying what you love and what’s in the budget. That’s where the challenge comes in.
I’ve found that if I’m willing to look (and/or save) long enough, I’m always happier with my purchase in the long run.
I had my eye on a poster canopy bed for a long time and ummm, “patiently” waited until my husband gave me the green light.
This chair, on the other hand, I ordered online in a rush because (gasp!) we had an empty corner that needed to be filled and it was, once again, “a good deal.” It’s uncomfortable and is now residing in the corner of my son’s room.
So, when it comes to decorating your house, are you a sprinter or a marathon runner?
And, for fun, what’s the one impulsive purchase you’ve made for your home that you regret the most? :)
I have a giant oak table in our kitchen that was purchased in a rush. The day we moved into our house, we ran out and bought the farmhouse oak table. That isn't even close to my style now!
ReplyDeleteI'm very impatient... I want it and I want it NOW! LOL But... the budget usually prevents that... which is a good thing. I've pretty much stuck to my original design concept for my living room, but in the last few months I've changed my mind a dozen times about what I'm going to do to my bedroom and the kitchen. It's a good thing that budget constraints slowed me down, because I finally have a vision of what I want for those rooms and I've started accumulating what I need.
ReplyDeleteI have to remember that patience is a virtue. LOL
I am a marathon runner - which has its pros & cons. We definitely went without furniture pieces for some time in order to save for pieces I plan on keeping for some time and that I really love (and still do - dreaming of the colette bed from crate & barrel). The things we have bought quickly (and cheaply) just to fill space I often end up getting rid of on craigslist or giving ugly looks from across the room. It's totally worth it to wait for the right piece to come along at the right price or to save up for what you decide you love and cannot go on with out!
ReplyDeleteIm a sprinter. i regret so many of the purchases I made because of a need to fill the space. I want to get rid of our couch in the worst way...
ReplyDeletei used to sprint, but now i am closer to a marathoner.... maybe a marathon with some short sprint drills. ;)
ReplyDeleteTotally a marathon runner. I have been going back and forth on the design for my kitchen. I won't pull the trigger until it is perfect (in my eyes). I don't want to be the person spending and spending because I didn't get it right the first time. It is a terrible feeling. Thankfully, I don't have any large purchases I regret, just small ones. Usually it is a lamp! Not sure why!
ReplyDeleteI am a marathon runner--definitely. I am very trigger shy. One small thing that I ordered online and completely regretted was a duvet which was a "great" deal.....haha..only to never use it and couldn't return it for final sale. :) It is now a dog blanket.
ReplyDeleteI try to be a marathon-er but I am impatient to "finish" a room. My biggest regret is buying a rug for our living room when the house was still being built. After everything was in, it was too small, and really not the right blend of colors. It resides upstairs now, but my husband is quick to remind me of it when I say we need a new rug to replace it. Should have waited to invest just one time!
ReplyDeletewhen we bought our first house we bought all new furniture! I liked the sofa but it wasn't my favorite, however it was what we could afford at the time. a couple years later I decided I hated the sofa, this past summer I sold it on craigslist for a fraction of the price we paid for it! Now I ask myself do I love it or do I like it. If I love it i get it, if I only like it, I don't, or I wait and see if I think about it every waking second and dream about it at night! lol. good luck with your lighting mission, and I'm so glad you didn't give up blogging!
ReplyDeleteMeg
I think I'm a bit of both. My first response would be to totally rush into getting something to "fill a space", but if I sit back and think about it, there have been plenty of times that I have (had to) waited to get the right something to fill the space. Something I've really been reflecting on lately when coming to decorating my own home is "will it ever truly be finished?" haha, and I think it might be temporarily "done" until a new wave of inspiration comes through and it's time to change things up again :) As far as an impulse piece, I know I'm guilty, but I can't think of one off the top of my head that I regret. But my most recent impulse buy, was a new rug for our living room. I literally went on Pinterest for a sec., someone had pinned this Navy Blue Trellis rug from rugs usa, saw it loved it, and to top it off they were having an end of the year 50% off sale. SO I had to buy right then, because there was only a day left on the sale. Bought it, and when it came in the pattern was a bit bolder in person, I love it, but it does still have to grow on me some! HA.. so much for impulse :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder to S L O W down. We just moved into a new place about 6 weeks ago and I feel like I need to hurry and get everything decorated exactly the way I want. But the more I shop and look around, the more I realize that I will be settling on so many things because the money isn't available rightthisveryminute to get what I really want.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a marathon runner. We just bought our first home and I don't want to fill it up right away just because, I want to love everything in our home :)
ReplyDeleteOh, do I resemble those remarks! Yes, I too have made quick decisions...and now regret a few. Great advice!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm a marathoner with sprinting tendencies. I used to run and what I found was that I'm more of a distance gal. When I tried to sprint, not only was I not fast, but I was miserable at the end. When I took my time, I enjoyed it more and felt compelled to continue.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good analogy for my decorating style: I hate looking at empty corners, or the quirks that only I see, but like you, when I use a quick fix filler, I regret it almost always.
The one quick fix that I look at every day was an espresso leather loveseat that we bought to replace an even more hideous pleather 80s hand-me down recliner. My husband loved it and now can't part with it. To me it sticks out like a sore thumb. I'm still holding out hope that we can banish it to the basement.
Great post. Glad I'm not alone!
I guess it would depend on the project! I am very impatient, but over the years have learned that I SHOULD PROBABLY wait for the right piece and not just MAKE IT WORK because it is a good deal. Don't get me wrong a great deal will most always win out, but I am working hard to run the marathon... or at least a half!
ReplyDeleteI'm a mix of both. I get an idea stuck in my head and won't veer from it very much. If I see something similar that's a good deal but not exact I'm a big returner! My biggest impulse was my bedroom furniture. I grew up in a house where you buy bedroom sets and was pressured into buying one when I got my 1st "real" job. I know regret it but it was such a big purchase that I'm not willing to change it yet.
ReplyDeleteI try to take my time and buy things I really love. This is especially the case when I am spending a significant amount of money on something.
ReplyDeleteI have learned, as i am sure you are, the long run-marathon runner is definitely the way to go. I have had an unfinished dining room going on year 4 now and I just know within the next 2 years I will find the chairs I am DYING to have. As my husband likes to tell me... slow and steady wins the race.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm the odd duck here. I tend to wait forever to find the "right" piece (ex: my dining room has been empty -- literally -- for the past 4 years). I can't justify buying something just to "fill" a space or to say "that room is done." The thought of wasting good money on something I don't love pains me more than the empty wall/room/space, etc.
ReplyDeletei used to be a sprinter but i've converted to a marathoner with our new house. perhaps to a fault. i sometimes won't pull the trigger even though i love something, out of fear that i will later find something better. i need to find a happy medium.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I bought for my house that I regretted later was my couch/loveseat combo (that is now in the basement!) I was really pregnant, my husband was out of the country for the military and I wanted a new couch darnit. So I bought the set by myself. I ended up hating it because it wasn't comfortable since the only criteria I had when buying it was "can I get up out of it" :) So 2 years later, we finally bought a couch that I love and is verrry comfortable.
ReplyDeletewww.trendybaby.etsy.com
I think I may be a sprinter. Once I get a room in my mind to redo, I think I obsess to much until I'm finally tired of looking and go with something that I may not like for the long haul. I want to see the finished room - bottom line.
ReplyDeleteThough, it's interesting that you did this post because I've been telling myself to slow down the decorating and take time in the decisions. The whole house doesn't need to be done 1 year after buying!
This topic is so poignant for me right now! It feels like my house is taking FOREVER to get how I want it. But its taught me to make sure I know exactly how a piece is going to fit into my home. Biggest impulse buy/regret was this rug from Horchow (http://www.horchow.com/p/Martha-Stewart-Rugs-Amazonia-Rug-Animal-Pattern/cprod45590083/)
ReplyDeleteMy veins were coursing with crazy pregnant lady hormones at the time. I never used it and I'm actually going to put it up on craigslist this week.
Emily, I am totally with you! Ever since we found out we were pregnant with boy/girl twins, I've been thinking about the nursery. I'm glad I didn't start buying for the nursery right away bc I have changed my mind 100 times in the last 2 months! Sometime you just have to "sit" on ideas for several weeks before you can be sure that you are headed in the right direction. Regretting a purchase (big or small) is not a good feeling, especially when you are stuck with it!
ReplyDeleteEmily Hewett
A Well Dressed Home
awelldressedhome.com/blog
Depends on the stage, before we got married and I was trying to fix up my husbands bachelor pad so it felt like our home when we got back and I moved in I was a sprinter. I made an impulse decision on our living room rug and HATE it! But at least it is only a 5x7 and it was on sale. But I have made quick decisions that I have loved too. Trying to learn patience as well, it doesnt need to be all finished now.
ReplyDeleteI tend to be impulsive but know myself pretty well. My "i love it" meter will skyrocket on something I know it me. Unfortunately, that typically means I can't afford it so I have to wait til I can. My problem is I know what I want but don't want to have empty spaces so often fill them with things that I don't love just to have something. If I do this, I have a back up plan of where it will go once it is replaced! Great post Em!
ReplyDeleteI bought 2 campaign nightstands. I had been searching for anything campaign so when these came up on craigslist I snatched them up. They are tiny 2 drawer ones and completely impractical. I didn't really even notice until I got the hardware off and came down to reality. Oh well! I usually have to wait impatiently for things! But I think it all works out in the end.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to slow down and choose things that I do truly love. I'm highly guilty of making choices based on a good deal or limiting my choices to a certain price range. Like you, I think I'm starting to learn that it's never a good deal if you're not happy with it a short time later and feel the need to buy something else! Save up, choose quality, and get what you really want!
ReplyDeleteI bought a gorgeous wool rug from West Elm for my living room, even though I knew it was completely impractical for a household with three dogs. A year later, one of our dogs was deathly ill (he nearly died)...and let's just say he completely ruined that gorgeous rug. Even the pro rug cleaners recommended throwing it out.
ReplyDeleteI knew I shouldn't have ordered it, but the logical side of my brain got completely overruled. Now we have no rug and our coffee table is destroying my hardwood floors...I need to buy something durable and easily cleaned like the jute rug you recommended, but I'm terrified I'll make the wrong decision and end up throwing away yet ANOTHER rug after just a year.
Aleigh
I'm very slow at decorating my own place. I like to say that I only want the very best {doesn't necessarily mean most expensive} and I'm willing to wait a long time to get what I want, even if it's inconvenient.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say I never cave in and get cheaper fill-in pieces but I do. I got a rug from IKEA for a great price but it was like a fleece jacket on the floor. Every speck of dirt or hair in the whole town seemed to find and stick to the rug and wouldn't vacuum off so it always looked dingy.
On the other hand, I bought a super cheap sofa from a consignment store and waited almost 10 years until I could afford new fabric, then new seat cushions and then finally a total reupholstery. It was completely worth the wait. (It actually looked fine for many years so it wasn't like I suffered for 10 years either.)
Regrets -- choosing the lighting for the whole house so I could meet the builder's demands on time. Now, I'm trying to replace them, light by light, though I think I can live with most of the choices except three, the most visible ones.
ReplyDeleteI could have told him to take a hike; this is my money he's lining his bank account with and he can wait another couple of weeks for that decision.
At least, I didn't spend a lot of money on the lighting to begin with or I'd be depressed!
I don't think there's anything wrong with getting an inexpensive place-holder so I can wait to find what I really love. It came down to A light or no light.
Made a snap decision for, of all things, a sectional. Thought I had to have it by Christmas last year & the one I bought could be delivered by then. Looked for 3 years for the right color, anything but brown, what did I end up with - brown. I hate it, but can't justify getting rid of it just yet.
ReplyDeleteTraditional four poster bed that sits 4 feet off the floor and I need a step stool to get into every night!! That and a brown leather couch and MATCHING leather chair!! Husband=matchy- matchy
ReplyDeleteThis is such great advice! One of my goals for 2012 is to only purchase things I love--for home, wardrobe, whatever. I'd much rather have fewer items that I adore than a bunch of stuff I'm aching to replace the next season.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this requires a lot of patience (because it means a lot more looking around and often a lot more saving) as well as self control (mostly because Im always searching Craigslist, and that site really is for "the quick and the hungry" as my mom would say). Ultimately, though, it's worth it!
The husband usually holds me back, so I don't get to buy a lot of things. Like, getting to buy two matching lamps I love together is a huge purchase for us. The only problem with this is that sometimes I lack "vision" and then it becomes a bit of a hodge podge.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! There's nothing worse than buying something and wanting to change it out after a couple years. This is why we have so many duvets - with all the cheap ones I bought over the years and got sick of after a year I could have bought the one I really wanted. I finally decided to save up for the one I really wanted at Restoration Hardware, and I love it ever since.
ReplyDeletewww.bmoreloveleigh.blogspot.com
I have evolved over time! I am much more of a marathon runner now. It has taken me months to do my son's room trying to not just get it done. It's always a battle though as I don't have an endless budget so it's tough to pass on what seems like a great deal.
ReplyDeleteYou are spot on! And I am so thankful my home has "evolved" rather than looking a certain date. If I had had the $ to buy everything right when I wanted it, it would have all been the same style! Ugh! Patience and thriftiness can really help the style of a room.
ReplyDeleteTrish
I totally agree with you. I agonize over some decisions forever and then BOOM, suddenly I see The Thing I want and buy it and know there's a good reason I've waited so long to purchase.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how professional decorators on tv shows can run out shopping in a day and come back and assemble entire rooms with beautiful things. It's take me years to get my house semi-decent, maybe even decades! I guess it's easier when it's not your stuff to have to live with. :)
I'm usually a marathon runner. Like some other commenters mentioned, it's sometimes to my detriment, since even if I find something I really love, I may not buy it for fear that a better deal will pop up. My husband is a sprinter though, and once he gets an idea in his head he has to have it NOW. We're rubbing off on each other though and he's willing to take a little time for me to be sure/do research, but I can't take too long. I read a quote recently and put it up at work: "The cause of most of man's unhappiness is sacrificing what he wants most for what he wants now." - Gordon B. Hinkley
ReplyDeleteI feel that way about my home too...especially when we moved in and he had ZERO furniture, so we did a mad sprint to get the house in order. In hindsight, we should have waited a little more on some of the purchases but to live is to learn.
ReplyDeleteOn a sidenote, I am doing a give away on the blog this week and would appreciate you helping spreading the word: https://courtneyoutloud.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/pier-1-imports-gift-card-give-away/
But at the end of the day there is a bit of satisfaction that comes from knowing your home is done .....if only temporarily.....
I'm used to sprint but after bad decisions and wasted money I've trained myself to do a marathon! Sadly, by the time I get done with a room I've seen something else I love and want to start over...Ugh! The vicious circle!!
ReplyDeleteThe pastor at my church Sunday, and I think it can definitely apply here:
ReplyDelete"Faster is slower and slower is faster".
This is so true and unfortunately I've had to learn this the hard way. I have slowly become less of sprinter and more of a marathon runner.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest regret is our living room furniture. We've only had it two years, but we are starting over bc I cannot stand it. See it for yourself:
http://www.thedressingroomblog.com/2011/12/family-room-makeover-part-ii.html
Samara
Thankfully I'm able to diy something if I can't afford it. It makes me a lot happier to revamp a thrift store piece than to be forced to buy junk from a big box store.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the "spotlight"! My life (and my blog) are not filled with lovely design projects because my vision exceeds my talents (and my pocketbook)....but I love being able to jump in with my 2 cents worth of opinions on all kinds of things. Glad I was able to help! :)
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a marathoner... but I have to say that sometimes I get down on myself that our house isn't put together nicely and "finished" as far as decorating. I have friends that went out and bought all of their decorations on one maxed out credit card and I just didn't want to do that. Overall I am fine with that... I mean sometimes I have to remember that I am not going to have a house at 28 like my parents do at 50... ya know?
ReplyDeleteI think I'm a little of both. For really important decisions I'll shop around and wait for something special. But..I have been known to be impulsive as well. Case in point, we haven't even moved into the main house yet and I bought a rug months ago. It was for sale on one king's lane and I just had to have it. It's beautiful, but now my color choices have changed and I just don't know where this beast is going.
ReplyDeleteHaven't been around in a while (busy moving). Love the new blog look and picture! Yes, I've been guilty of this. I'm very impatient... but you are right... it's better to be patient and make sure it's right. A piece I regret... a tv stand that I bought at Pier 1. Ugh. I kind of feel like I'm wrestling with a similar thing right now while looking for a house to buy. Make it work because it's the best I can find, or wait and insist that something almost perfect must be out there...
ReplyDeleteTotally a sprinter. I hate our living room set. When we moved into our home in Fla. we had huge ceilings and we thought we needed oversize furniture. We found a set thats totally comfortable but its not my style and never has been. I'm more of a solid neutral sofa person so I can change colors easy and this set isn't that. Another thing my husband talked me into at the time when we bought the set was to get the sofa,loveseat,oversize chair,etc. and all the matching coffee tables and side tables. I hate matching and glass tables but I did it so we'd have something quick and now I totally regret it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bummer that chai ris uncomfortable because I really love it
ReplyDeletehttp://www.saysskippy.blogspot.com
Great article! Absolutely true that when making rush decisions you sometimes end up resenting whatever you bought. Certainly will make me take the time to SLOW down on some of my projects around here.
ReplyDeleteI'm becoming more of a marathon runner with time. When I first got married and tried to set up my home I was more of a sprinter, but I eventually realized that no one really cares how decorated my home looks as much as I do. So if I'm going to decorate I need to do it at a pace that leaves me satisfied with the end result.
ReplyDeleteA bonded leather couch purchased very early in our marriage was my biggest waste of money. It was cold to sit on in the winter and hot and sticky in the summer. My husband and I loathed sitting on that couch for years until we recently replaced it with a washable and breathable slipcovered couch.
I'm totally a marathon runner, almost to a fault. I'd rather make sure I've found the right thing (that's both the right look and the right price) rather than regret it later. This usually means living with hand-me-downs or missing items longer than I'd like to admit, but I actually do like the thrill of the hunt and I seem to appreciate things more if I have to wait for them. A good rule of thumb for me: If I'm still thinking about a piece weeks or months later, it's probably true love and I should pull the trigger.
ReplyDeleteI'm a marathon runner usually because budget and time constraints force me to be. I wish I could just go out and get everything for a room and be done, although I recognize that rooms look better (to me, at least) if the things in them are gathered over time. Plus I suffer from what Sarah Richardson calls "phantom antique syndrome"--I get an idea in my head of the piece I want and nothing else will do. But the longer I look without success the more frustrated I get, and the more I find myself looking for anything to fill the space even if it's not even close to what I want. I can usually stop myself before I buy, though. The other day I almost bought a chair for my living room just to say I'd found one, even though the one I was looking at wasn't even close to what I really wanted.
ReplyDeleteI have a 3K regret! The custom hunter-douglas wood blinds in my kitchen & dining room. We moved into our house (our first) when our daughter (our first child) was only 5 weeks old. My mom was totally stressing me out about window coverings- always after me about buying curtain rods, curtains, etc. She paid for a portion of the blinds, which lessened the pain of them, but I feel awful that I now loathe them. They are pain to clean, weren't installed properly, haven't held up as well as they should, etc. etc. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a marathoner, although I have moments when I think I"m a sprinter and make an impulse buy! Fortunately, my impulse buys are on the small side, so my regret is correspondingly so... :).
ReplyDeleteYes, wait for your perfect lighting.
I would tend to be a sprinter, but because we're drowining in renovations and decorating is down the road on our list of things to do, I have a lot of time to think about what I want to do and only buy things that I know I'll love in the long run! It's hard to not have a "decorated" house when that's what you do, but in the end it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteI'm a marathon runner. It's frustrating because I want it all done NOW. But if I want to stick to our budget then I know I am doing the right thing by waiting. I'm slowly replacing pieces. I wish my house looked "perfect" but it is a process. Down the road, I think I'll be more pleased.
ReplyDeleteI bought our set of couches that are chocolate weave and I've ALWAYS wanted white. I talked myself out of white because I figured a forgiving fabric would be better than kids and less of a hassle than washing slipcovers. I am living with my decision but am always wanting white couches. It is was I really want, and when you feel strongly about something like that then most of the times, that is what will REALLY make you happy in the long run. I was satisfied for a couple of months, now I want an extreme makeover in my living room. Ugh, regrets...
I'm a marathon runner for sure. And so is my husband. We've been in our current house, which needed a complete overhaul, 7 1/2 years now, but we take our time. We try to do a room a year. And I still haven't gotten everything for the rooms we have done up. I'm taking my time. My biggest sprint buy was the kitchen. It desperately needed doing but we couldn't afford the "right" units AND change the layout, so we went for different ones... I wish we had just waited another year and gotten what we loved.
ReplyDeleteSorry, War and Peace.
A little bit of both, to be honest! We just bought our home in June from the original owners - it was built in 1962 and nearly everything is original to the house. The bones are great but a lot of the things are, well, 1962 and not in a good way. So there are some things I want to do fast - like paint! Other things that require pacing. I'm trying to do small but impactful projects up front while savings for the biggies like a new kitchen, new flooring, new bathrooms ...
ReplyDeleteI have never been a sprinter,I have been known to wait 20 some odd years to get what I want. I guess I am a turtle in the marathon race of designing my own home. Kathysue
ReplyDeleteUmm....my house! We found a great deal on a house we thought we could "flip" unfortunately we made the purchase right before the economy plummeted! The house is awesome I just wish I had taken time to think about how our furniture was going to fit bc most of our stuff doesn't. I guess that's a great excuse to buy different stuff but then there's that ole thing called a budget!
ReplyDeleteI'm a marathoner x 10!! I was just commenting to someone the other day that we have so many empty walls and little nooks that I want to furnish, but I haven't ever found THE perfect piece of art or furniture that I'm truly happy with. Our biggest splurge with this house was our kitchen and all of its renovations, but I can honestly say it was worth every penny.
ReplyDeleteI am ALL about slowly decorating.. It seems like time is the only thing that gives you style, function, and affordability. You can find two of three pretty quickly, but unless the stars align, it just takes time. But like you said- that's ok! Definitely a marathon runner (a very slow marathon runner- ha!!)
ReplyDeleteJenna
I am a total marathon runner. The sprint that we regretted was buying a TV for a super bowl party.....we'd just moved into our first townhouse as a married couple a week before the game and were having a party....that big clunker is now in our backhouse! Husbands' main criteria was that it had to be HD, Big, and be installed before the game.....ugh...
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love this post. As for me, I am a sprinter that has slowly evolved into a marathon runner. When we were first married, I was very young and I was in a hurry to get our house "fixed". We had a couch we hated for the first 6 months, then no couch for about 6 months, then a borrowed couch for about a year, and then my mom offered to buy us a couch. The whole time, I had my eye on the Ikea Ektorp couch, but my husband could not imagine anything being "quality" that comes in a box. So when I couldn't convince him to buy the Ektorp online, we settled for a big, plaid couch that I didn't love, but that was "better than nothing". HA!
ReplyDeleteWe lived with it for 8 years before we headed to Ikea and walked out with the Ektorp. Which. We. Love.
The lesson we learned was that 8 years ago, we wasted money on something neither of us loved, just to fill a space. For less than the amount we spent, we could have gone with the Ektorp and been enjoying it all this time. The offending couch is now in our bedroom (in fact, I'm sitting on it right now), and my living room is finally enjoying the clean, white lines of the Ektorp. :-)
However, every time I walk into the bedroom and I'm faced with our old couch, it's a WONDERFUL reminder to me that I shouldn't be in a hurry or be willing to settle. If it's not something I really love, then it's a waste of my money to buy it - that's a priceless (and money-saving) lesson!!
When we first moved into our current home, I wanted to get everything all set up, because our families were going to come visit within a month. To make a long story short, I ended up buying and returning three sofas (with delivery fees), at least six rugs, three different sets of chairs, and tons of pillows. What did I learn? Never rush into decorating your home, and never buy it unless your in love with it!
ReplyDeleteI go back and forth on patience when it involves decor; but I'd classify myself as a "marathoner" for the most part. There are times though that I too have pulled the trigger the quickly and regretted the selection, so I've learned to wait decor choices out....most of the time. ;) Happiest quick decor decision was kitchen lighting (5 fixtures) + installation for under $500 then finding out identical lighting at Anthropologie was $250/fixture. Saddest decor choice was sale (yet still overpriced) bedding from Restoration Hardware for our master bedroom. I was tired of searching and knew the stitching in the bed cover would be my undoing...and it has been. I'm currently sitting w/a big empty corner in our living room after giving the 6+ year old pleather chair the boot when I put the C'mas tree up this year. I knew I'd prolong replacing it if I kept it. I researched and analyzed fabric choices that will hold up like our C&B Axis sectional but work as an accent piece for it. We have 3 kids + my childcare business, so durable/easy-to-clean is a must. I found and online code and signed for a $300 cash back cc offer *just* to work a deal on a decent chair. I ordered this week and will have in 8-10 weeks...ridiculous wait, but spending 1/2 the amount, regretting the choice and possibly having an uncomfortable chair wasn't going to happen this time! :D
ReplyDeleteWhere did you finally purchase your canopy Bed? Im also looking for an affordable queen canopy dark wood like yours:) please let me know if you can thanks:)
ReplyDelete@Michelle The bed is made by Zocalo (the Madison bed).
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