The journey to the ideal wall color or room style can be fraught with angst for those who are more self-critical than self-confident.
What if you make a poor choice and visitors to your home snicker? What if you spend all that money and don’t get it right?
It doesn’t help tha
t decorating options are so extensive today. Anyone who has stared down a 6-foot-long wall of paint chips knows the feeling. There’s an encyclopedic sample book of sofa fabric. Wood flooring, tile, linoleum and carpet present hundreds more options. And what about window treatments, with a dozen versions of blinds alone?
We don’t know what we like, or we like everything.
That, experts say, leads to “decision paralysis,” whose sufferers just leave things as they are because choosing something different is overwhelming.
Here are five expert tips to make decor decisions a bit easier:
1. Look at yourself: Seattle-based author and interior designer Nikki Willhite advises paying attention to what you’re drawn to in magazines, other people’s homes, TV programs. Think about the colors in your wardrobe, too. Chances are those colors and styles will translate into rooms you’ll love.
2. Test-drive it: Debra Kling, a color consultant in Larchmont, N.Y., recommends testing a large paint swath on all four walls.
“Observe the room over several days. You should especially like the color at the time of day, with the customary lighting, when you most often use the room,” she says.
As for furniture, some retailers will let you try a piece at home before committing.
Bring home samples of window treatments, wall and floor finishes, even cabinet doors. Live with them for a few days, moving them around to different vantage points.
3. Size it up: Take a tape measure to the store, make sure the piece will fit your space, and sit or sprawl on it as you would at home. Willhite also recommends versatile pieces of furniture. “The more flexible the piece, the easier it is to place, and relocate,” she says.
4. Get a second opinion: Design-savvy friends are usually happy to offer ideas.
But don’t go overboard. “Too much advice leads to just as much confusion as too little,” says Alina Tugend, author of “Better by Mistake.”
Benjamin Moore, Behr, Pittsburgh and Sherwin-Williams among others offer online programs where you can overlay paint shades on different room styles. Valspar’s website lets you download your own interior and exterior photos before trying out colors.
5. Show your personality: There are no design police. Trust your instincts, advises Mark Tyrrell, therapist and co-founder of the Oban, Scotland-based self-help program Uncommon Knowledge. “Really sit down and envisage living with the decision. How does that feel?”
Resources
www.debraklingcolourconsultant.com
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