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Young House Love » Our Second House » Avoiding Buyer’s Remorse & Purchasing Paralysis

| By Sherry Petersik | February 12, 2013 | 234 Comments

Avoiding Buyer’s Remorse & Purchasing Paralysis

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).

Living Room No Curtains1

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.

TVConsole After 1 Full Room

Mistake #2. The stools in the kitchen. Cost: around $150 including four stools plus primer and spray paint to later make them blue.

Kitchen Reveal

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.

Stools1

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).

Chair Changes

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…

DChairs After Straight

… to here, we’ll take it.

Dining Chairs2

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.

Airbrushed Jeans And Painte

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.

Yard Sale 4 View From Carport

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.

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Comments

  1. Ainhoa@ALittleBite says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:19 am

    We made a few mistakes in our tiny living room and are working on fixing them, for example we shortened and built in some cabinets that were just too big for the space, repainted, and switched out an armchair. Slowly but surely, we’re getting there!

    Reply
    • Brian Millar says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:48 pm

      You’ll get there, just have patience.

  2. Lori says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:20 am

    Great tips! Thanks for sharing with us.

    Reply
  3. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:22 am

    Thanks for the advice! It really hard to take that plunge and invest in a quality piece when you’re unsure how it’ll actually look (I’m looking at you, internet shopping)!

    Do you have to get permits to have yard sales in RVA? We do here in Dallas (and they’re so expensive you might as well not even have the yard sale).

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:28 am

      Oh no, they’re free here for anyone to host. So annoying to have to get a permit!

      xo
      s

    • Kathy says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:42 am

      We have to have permits here in southern NJ too! And they only let you have sales Friday & Saturday of the same week or on two consecutives Saturdays – no Sunday sales. It’s so ridiculous that I’d rather just donate all our stuff to Goodwill & get the tax deduction, than try to sell our stuff on the front lawn.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:43 am

      Wow, I never knew that!

      xo
      s

    • Ana says

      February 12, 2013 at 12:59 pm

      In my parents’ town, you can only have yard sales 4 times a year and you have to apply for a permit and display it (or be able to produce it) if the ordinance enforcement officer comes by. The worst thing is you’re not allowed to put up signs or balloons or anything to direct people there. The ordinance people will remove them and that’s usually when they come check on your permit. And we’re not talking about a ritzy town at all. For some reason, they’re just really strict about yard sales. It’s probably because people would turn them into a business and have sales every weekend to make money (which I can totally see happening).

      Having a yard sale is more trouble than it’s worth once you factor in the permit and paying to advertise in small local papers (since people can’t find you with signs). So you have to be pretty sure you’ll make a decent amount of money.

  4. Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:22 am

    This is a great post! I feel like our first apartment 3 years ago is entirely different from what we’re working with now. It definitely took some time before we figured out what we liked in our home and found pieces that we truly loved (granted, I still hate our couch, but it gets the job done and we’ll probably sell it when we buy a house). It’s been fun to try new things and work with what we’ve got.

    Reply
  5. Wendy @ New Moms Talk says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:24 am

    Thank you for your honesty and the positive perspective that you shared with this all-too-familiar reality.

    It’s key to remember that there are always solutions out there.

    I wound up getting married in a skirt I bought intended for going to the Peace Corps, but never went as I met my husband instead.

    Reply
  6. Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:24 am

    I think we all have those moments. Ours occured last year when we bought an “investment piece” from Ethan Allen for over $1000. The desk is GORGEOUS but it overwhelms the space and if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t have gotten it. Don’t tell the Mr. *shame*

    Reply
  7. Petra says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:24 am

    Totally agree! Also feels liberating to let go of things that do not make sense of the space, doesn’t it?

    Reply
  8. Tyra says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:26 am

    Great post! Just closed on our first home in December so this was very helpful. Totally random question: we have (I think) the same washer/dryer as you and ours in crazy loud when it is in its final rinse. Like so loud we have to pause the tv for 5 min. Have you noticed this about yours? We never thought much about it until friends/family started commenting on it!
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:27 am

      Is yours a Whirlpool Duet? Ours doesn’t feel like it’s loud (we definitely watch TV and don’t hear it from the living room) so could it be a defect in yours? Or are you washing things that bounce around like shoes? Ours would be loud if there were shoes in it, haha!

      xo
      s

    • Tyra says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:33 am

      Thanks for the update! Ours is a duet as well. And just regular clothes, but it sounds like a spaceship is going to take off! Perhaps a defect! Thanks for the update on yours!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:36 am

      Oh yes, I would call them for sure! That sounds really annoying and I bet it’s a loose part or something!

      xo
      s

    • Sophia says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:06 am

      Tyra, is yours on a floor other than the first floor? Ours sounds exactly like yours–like an airplane taking off every spin cycle, and the whole house vibrates. They’ve told us this vibrating is a common issue the higher up in the house these machines are placed (ours is on the 3rd floor).

    • Beth says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:10 am

      Tyra, I just had to reply. Our duet had been annoyingly loud from when we first purchased it. It had recently gotten even louder (like ridicously loud/is there an airplane taking off in the laundry room?) and we removed the front panel to find that the cement support had completely broken off and the drum was whacking it when it turned. While it had gotten worse obviously, I think we had a defect from the beginning. Take off that front panel and have a look. Needless to say, we are washer shopping now.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:22 am

      Great tip!

      xo
      s

    • Nora Rose says

      February 12, 2013 at 6:51 pm

      Our washer also sounds like a space ship. The previous one (top loader) did not but a friend gave us this one and it works fine. Just sounds like aliens (my BF thought I was crazy, glad this description works).

  9. Jessica says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:26 am

    THANK YOU! I really needed this post..we are going through a major house remodel right now (unexpectedly – due to faulty pipes!) and with the changes we’re making I’ve been having a lot of anxiety about how our old stuff fits in and if/when we should buy new things. I just recently discovered the amazing-ness that is YHL and I’m obsessed! You guys are awesome and Burger and Clara are the cutest =)

    Reply
  10. Sarah says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:26 am

    It’s so refreshing to hear about other people making “mistake” purchases. I often find myself trying to fall back in love with something that I’m just to chicken to admit was a mistake to begin with. Lately we’ve been really trying to make well thought-out decisions before taking the plunge. But hey, sometimes it’s still wrong-o.

    Reply
  11. Elizabeth says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:28 am

    I’m intrigued that you put Ed the Bed on the list of things you’ve loved from the start. That’s your master bed, right? He’s actually been through lots of course correcting. I love him, but he’s not even close to what he was when you bought him (I like him better now).

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:29 am

      That’s true! I think I was thinking about comfort-factor and size (we love him for that, as well as standing off the floor on those airy legs of his). We’ve tweaked him for sure, but we never replaced him. Hah!

      xo
      s

    • Devon @ Green House, Good Life says

      February 13, 2013 at 12:00 am

      I thought the same thing, and I think the bed could have been a really good example of another aspect of this issue — something isn’t quite right once you live with it for a while, but there are ways to adapt it (even if it takes a few rounds of modifications).

  12. JBC says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:29 am

    This is soooo encouraging!! Thank you for writing.

    Reply
  13. Paige @ Little Nostalgia says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:31 am

    I have tooootally made some iffy design choices in my day. We bought our first house about 6 months ago, and it’s been interesting to see how our taste has changed in the new space. For a while we were REALLY trying to make some of our older stuff work, but it was just kind of young looking (think artwork from our first apartments, ugh) and we were over it. So now we’re switching things up and I feel so much better about it. If you have to force something, it’s not right.

    Reply
  14. Michelle | Letters from Boston says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:32 am

    I’m currently feeling overwhelmed with rug-purchasing. Thanks for reminding me that it’s just a rug after all!!

    Reply
  15. Jenny says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:32 am

    This is very timely, as I am just about to call a contractor to change the stairs on the deck he built for us 3 years ago. The stairs go out to the yard instead of back to the patio and have been annoying me no end. Time to take the plunge and fix it (and might as well expand the patio while we’re at it).

    Reply
  16. KathyG says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:32 am

    One thing I learned too is about balance. When I get stuck with something that I feel doesn’t work and I’m bummed because I don’t feel like I got my money’s worth, I look around at something else that I have used over and over, and gotten wayyy more of my money’s worth. So in the big book of checks and balances, it all works out.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:36 am

      Love that!

      xo
      s

  17. Caitlin says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:33 am

    Thank you!! This post is SO helpful! I wrestle with both of these issues–especially since my husband and I just bought our first house in September. I get so anxious about actually buying something since we save up for it and I get too worried about what will be the “perfect” piece to the room. It is a good reminder that ultimately, we can still change things around or resell, we aren’t married to it forever! (That’s just the hubby- and I am thankful for that one! :))

    Reply
  18. Rene' says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:33 am

    I love this post! My husband thinks I am crazy for buying and selling all the time but it totally works out (most of the time) :)
    http://thedomesticlady.com/2013/02/12/recipe-review-healthy-brown-rice-broccoli-chicken-cheese-bake/

    Reply
  19. meg shannon says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:34 am

    Great post. I will be sending it onto my husband to remind him that trial and error is natural ;)
    P.s. I saw the same swivel stools on the twin cities Craigslist for $600 for a set of 4! So according to the Midwest Craigslist you found a major steal. :)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:35 am

      No way! Four of them were on One King’s Lane for $900 and that made me feel awesome. Hah!

      xo
      s

  20. Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:35 am

    This was so helpful! I’m definitely still learning, and I’ve made a few mistakes, but nothing that I can’t fix! :)

    Reply
  21. Ade@fortheloveofpainting says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:35 am

    Not that long ago, I sold a dresser that I painted and thought…remember when I said ” I love this and will never sell it!” boy was I wrong…my style changed (:

    Reply
  22. Christine says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:37 am

    Another mistake: the net full of stuffed animals in the background of your teenage picture. My two sisters and I all hung those over our beds as tweens and thought they were the coolest, even though in hindsight, they now look more like creepy installations straight from a horror movie about a carnival. You live, you learn!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:42 am

      Ah yes, the ol’ pet net.

      xo
      s

  23. Wendy says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:38 am

    Hi Sherry and John,
    I was wondering if there are some items that you wouldn’t purchase online? I think I would have trouble buying a sofa without trying it out first. Also I love your new kitchen stools – were the first ones uncomfortable or just too plain?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:42 am

      Oh yes, a sofa online would be too hard! We had to drive to Ikea and sit on Karl to be sold. We have had luck buying rugs and chairs online though (we just try to read all the reviews that we can, even across multiple websites if they’re selling the same product) so that helps clue us in if something’s awesome… or not! Haha!

      xo
      s

  24. Laura says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:39 am

    It’s good to see that the list of items you love is longer than the list of items you don’t love!

    Have you ever thought about doing a photography post?(maybe you’ve done one and I couldn’t find it). Do you just stick with the auto settings or do you venture into manual settings to make the most of your camera?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:41 am

      We shoot in A mode (so we set certain things but it still auto focuses, etc). We like adjusting the exposure and placing the focus but aren’t fully ready to shoot in M!

      xo
      s

  25. Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:41 am

    I once picked out a truly atrocious color for my then two-year-old’s bedroom. I saw the color as “cheerful bright green,” but it turned out to be more “store brand chocolate chip mint ice cream green.” And sadly, it wasn’t until my husband painted two coats on the wall that I realized my mistake. I came home from work to find my husband all proud of his hard work, only to have to tell him he’d need to repaint it.

    We did keep the color on the inside of the strangely angled closet though, as this was the part my husband was most bummed to have to repaint.

    Poor guy.

    Katy

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:43 am

      Haha, it’s cute that it’s still hiding in the closet, reminding him of his first attempt.

      xo
      s

  26. CandiL says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:42 am

    I have a question about Karl…I have been wanting a sectional for my living room since I moved 2 years ago. How is he holding up? Will it take the wear and tear of two rowdy boys? Is it comfy? Just unsure about buying online and not being able to sit on it! The closest ikea to me is 5 hours away!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:42 am

      Great with a toddler and a dog! We love Karl.

      xo
      s

    • Hilary says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:06 am

      We have a Karl sectional too–same as John and Sherry, but in a different fabric/color. Though the slipcovers are removable and washable, we haven’t yet even had to do that to keep it clean. Just a wet cloth. We bought it two years ago, and it has held up amazingly well, with a baby (now toddler) and a large dog that both spend quite a bit of time on it. One thing that had me worried at first is that it much “harder” than our prior sofa, and it took some getting used to. But, I think the firmness of the cushions will serve us well in the long run. And, it turned out to be just the right level of firmness during my pregnancy-induced exile from our plush mattress.
      Good luck!

    • Kim says

      February 12, 2013 at 1:15 pm

      Another Karl owner here! I agree that it holds up really well (though we’ve only had ours about 8 months) and stains are easy to remove with upholster cleaner (or if you have to remove and actually wash, which I haven’t done yet).

      The only thing that drives me nuts about it is how the cushions slide. I have to push them back into place at least once a day and it’s so annoying. But I know this is an issue with a lot of sofas, so take that info as you wish. :)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 2:06 pm

      In our fabric (dark sivik gray) we don’t have that issue if that helps!

      xo,
      s

  27. katryna says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:43 am

    Those pants. I crack up every time I look at them. Every. Time.

    Reply
  28. Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:43 am

    I am famous for having buyers remorse…what is in my head doesn’t always work when I bring it home – drives me nuts.

    I have to say, every room looks so bright (almost like it glows). Just love that. And it is amazing how the smaller chairs in your dining room made the room look smaller while the larger chairs makes the room look bigger. I would have thought it would have the opposite effect.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:44 am

      Yes, isn’t that funny? Fewer larger pieces usually make a room look bigger than lots of small ones since they sort of “read” as visual clutter!

      xo
      s

    • Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:46 am

      P.S. – I feel for you. My teen mistake…Pink acid washed jean skirt and bright blue eyeliner…I was like Robin Sparkles (How I met your mother reference) not a good look. ;-)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:54 am

      Hahah!

      xo
      s

  29. Sarah says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:43 am

    Great advice! I’m trying to keep the “big picture” in mind as I make my house my home so I don’t wind up with a bunch of stuff that I can afford right now but won’t love in a year or two.

    Reply
  30. Carrye C. says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:44 am

    I agree- the shaggy green rug would look great in the guest room. Or, if you have a boy next and don’t want to use the purple rug in the nursery, the green rug would look good in there with those green and blue curtains!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:44 am

      Totally!

      xo
      s

  31. Hemma says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:48 am

    My recent paralysis is over a $%$@/! tile.
    Sooo many choices. Truly paralyzing.

    Reply
    • Jenb says

      February 12, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      This is why I would never want to build a house. I couldn’t decide on everything!!!

  32. Kate says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:50 am

    This is an excellent post! I think people really beat themselves up about choices gone wrong. There are plenty of ways you can try and avoid mistakes when it comes to decor — but, in the end, it’s a process. Some of it will be trial and error, or you can just think of something that’s not your fave as a stepping stone to what you really want!

    Reply
  33. Christi says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:51 am

    This post is why you guys are awesome. I wanted the Pottery Barn red shag rug circa 2003 and it was hot mess. It shed more than our pets, but it cost over $400 I would not part with it even though I hated it after 2 weeks. 10 years later {older & wiser} I would now return it.

    Now looking at a lot of our stuff we bought in the early 2000’s I am more confident to let things go. Plus, we are looking to buy a home in Phoenix and several have fireplaces and wood paneled walls and I am sooo excited to use your tips and experiences!

    Cheers!

    Reply
  34. Designologyinteriors.blogspot.com says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:53 am

    I love this post!!! I have the buy-things-you-love-and-see-how-it-turns-out approach to design. It always works, but things do move from room to room around here… and there are always a few pieces o furniture waiting in line in the garage.

    Reply
  35. Ellen says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:54 am

    I buy most of our furniture used on Kijiji (Canadian Craigslist) and generally only buy what I know I could resell for more. :) I’ve made a lot that way and my husband is now quite open to my ‘shopping sprees’! I think the biggest factor in all of this is patience. If you are going to tweak and do it economically, it will likely take months.

    Reply
  36. Barbara L says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:54 am

    Ohhh do I feel your pain on the rug. I made the same exact mistake regarding size…for the same reason. I have nowhere else to put this rug and I need to upsize. I also need more color. So here it sits – seems perfect when I saw it on Overstock.

    Maybe I will garage sale it.

    Reply
  37. Mary says

    February 12, 2013 at 10:59 am

    I remind myself that on HGTV the designers don’t achieve those results on their first try. They might bring in 100 items and mix and match until they get the best possible result and then return 85 of the items. We can’t really expect to achieve that on our first try.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:25 am

      Totally!

      xo
      s

  38. Mandy says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:01 am

    Do you ever change your mind or try something else because of readers comments/suggestions?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:25 am

      I think we’re oddly blind most of the time (we don’t always “see” what you guys see since we’re standing in the space and it might be much clearer to you guys months before it’s clear to us!). We definitely listen to every last comment, but even though folks might say “I don’t like those” sometimes we say “hmm, they don’t like them?” and we stare at something and we still like them. Haha! We’ve learned that we have to come around for ourselves, sort of like how you can’t make someone else dump a man because you don’t like him, they have to come to that realization themselves! Hahah.

      xo
      s

  39. Ginny @ Goofy Monkeys says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:01 am

    I love this post! Nobody’s perfect. It’s ok to make a mistake and nobody should have to live with it forever if it’s really the wrong choice.

    Sometimes a choice is right “for now”, but needs change over time. Or sometimes taste/style changes and something that works now won’t be the thing you love in 2 years.

    Craigslist is a great way to recoup some costs and a way to get rid of something without sending stuff to a landfill!

    Reply
  40. Jennah says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:04 am

    We haven’t had as great luck selling things on Craigslist etc here (just not as great a market, I guess?), but I’ve still had to come to terms with just getting rid of things that didn’t work any more. It’s not worth me looking at it EVERY day and wishing it was different. Admit defeat and move on!

    We’re still trying to rectify the (more expensive to fix) problem of having bought furniture for our tiny bedroom that is WAY too big right after moving in (always measure, especially in a tiny house!). sigh.

    Reply
  41. Stacey says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:06 am

    I loved the look of the kitchen stools (sheer perfection!), but loved the blue, too!! Meanwhile…the blue chairs went to Craigslist? Did I miss a post where you decided they weren’t working in the sun room?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:23 am

      We just chatted about how we didn’t need additional seating in there with the daybed and the chair and were more looking for storage, which we got with the bookcase from Ikea (which we hung under those bike prints).

      xo
      s

  42. Kim says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:08 am

    Are you in my brain? Because I think I needed to read this today. Good advice not just for home decorating, but for pulling the trigger on other life decisions! Sometimes you just gotta make mistakes in order to figure out what works. Thanks for the reminder.

    Reply
  43. Caitie says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:09 am

    Totally been through this. Waaaay more times than I’d like to admit. Haha

    Reply
  44. MelanieL says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:10 am

    Thank you for this post! My husband and I have had buyers remorse many times but we’ve always kept trucking along and it gets fixed in time. I’ve noticed that our big ticket items like flooring, countertops and furniture have remained so looks like picking the right accessories might be my problem. Hey, that’s why I’m here visiting I guess:)

    Reply
  45. Begoña says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:10 am

    But what about the objects that you just love but you know they dont work??? We spent months searching for art for above the sofa. Finally, we found a picture on allposters that we just luuuuuvvvvvv, and we though it was the right size and everything. It wasnt, its too small but i just love it so much I cant get rid of it, even though i hate how it looks above the sofa. And the same happens with other objects around the house. What do you do with those things?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:21 am

      Definitely move it around! We shift things from room to room all the time until they find a happy little home that works with their scale better :)

      xo
      s

    • Keisha says

      February 12, 2013 at 12:59 pm

      Maybe you use it in a frame collage collection over your couch, like Sherry just did in Clara’s room?

  46. Ali B. says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:15 am

    This might not work for everyone, but I’ve found that the more I look at objects, pictures of rooms and stores in person, the better I can see what will work in my home. But I can totally see how for some, all that looking could cause additional paralysis. Plus a lot of your tips have helped me a lot: have a whole house color palette, sell the stuff you don’t love, make a plan for the room.

    That said, I’m currently stumped on a wall color for our office so what do I know!

    Reply
  47. -alex says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:16 am

    My husband bought our very expensive couch two years ago because he moved here first and the boys and I followed two months later. I want to like Bertha the couch, but her back cushions are overstuffed and she has rolled arms. I totally want to Craigslist her. But I will keep her another year since we are spending way too much money on exciting things like furnaces, basement waterproofing, re-piping. Sigh…

    Reply
  48. Katie says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:19 am

    Great advice — now, any chance you can talk to my husband and get him on board with not being married to what we have so I can spruce things up a bit? Pretty please. :)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:20 am

      Haha, maybe try craigslisting things and just promise to use only that money (no more) towards new stuff? Yard sales and secondhand stores (and craigslist) have great deals!

      xo
      s

  49. Micha says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:21 am

    Truer words have never been spoken :o)

    If only I could now convince my husband that it is perfectly acceptable and allowed to remove plants planted by prior owners including trees in wonky locations … :o)

    Reply
  50. Aimée says

    February 12, 2013 at 11:27 am

    Your old photo made me laugh – I too had a seal poster like that in my room in fact, most of my friends did too. What is with that?? Probably came with an issue of Teen Beat or something…

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      February 12, 2013 at 11:27 am

      Seriously!

      xo
      s

    • Carla says

      February 12, 2013 at 10:14 pm

      I had the seal poster, too! It was a great accent to my dusty rose room. :)

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John and Sherry Sitting On Woven ChairHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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