Let me spare you hours of anguish. The amount of time you spend sweating over a design decision has zero correlation with how likely you are ultimately to like it. So my new philosophy: Wing it. No more pondering home design decisions for weeks while ingesting a bottle of Maalox.
I stumbled on this theory after my own string of good and bad choices. A popular book supports this. “Blink,” by Malcolm Gladwell, advocates for decisions made in the blink of an eye. “Decisions made very quickly,” writes Gladwell, “can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately.”
Recently, a well-meaning reader wrote to tell me – after reading about my last-minute dash to find a mantel before my fireplace cement dried – that all successful decorating projects start with a plan. Well, that sounds smart and logical, but my experience proves that planning is to success as love is to marriage. It helps, but you still have a 50-50 shot things will go south.
This especially holds true in remodeling. Let’s say you plan a room remodel. You ponderously select all your fabrics, furnishings and finishes. You get any permit you need, interview contractors, find out the costs and pull together some money. By the time you’re ready to buy your selections, the carpet is on back order. The drape hardware is discontinued. The cabinets have had a staggering price increase because the wood comes from forests deemed protected spotted owl habitats. You lose interest in your lead fabric because your neighbor just used it for doghouse bedding. Just changing one element, like the carpet, can make the whole plan crack up; it’s like the first collision in a 10-car pile up.
A year ago I picked the perfect backsplash tile for my basement bar. It had a grapevine motif raised out of a pewter-colored tile with an antique rust cast. It seemed neutral enough to go with anything. This tile felt so perfect that it became the only choice I felt totally sure of. I set it confidently aside, and installed slate floors, maple cabinets, stone veneers on the walls, and granite countertops. All that was left was this perfect backsplash accent. I went to my sample bag, pulled out this crown jewel and propped it up. The workers gasped. The kids said eewww. Plants wilted. Even the dogs turned their heads away. The perfect tile didn’t work.
I raced back to the tile store and pleaded my case to a guy who wished I came with a mute button. He steered me toward another product with a grapevine motif. I knew immediately it was perfect. Decision time: under 2 minutes. Why didn’t I just decide on the fly in the first place?
Marni Jameson is a nationally syndicated columnist who lives in the Denver area. You may contact her through marnijameson.com
More tips that save time and streamline design decisions
Plan, yes. But mainly plan to be flexible. The more you wed yourself to a preconceived plan, the greater your chance for frustration.
Stay open. Home design has many moving parts. When one choice changes, don’t be rigid about sticking with the other choices. To get a pulled-together look, other decisions might have to change too.
Let the room speak you. Don’t ask yourself what you want, ask the floor, the walls, the furniture and the setting what they want.
When you start to fall in love with a decorating selection, be sure it’s available before designing a room around something discontinued.
View samples of fabrics and finishes together in the room’s light before ordering. To create a harmonious blend, consider style, texture, color and pattern. Follow this basic design rule: Every room should have a light color (cream) and a dark color (navy), something shiny (a framed mirror), something dull (a suede chair), colors that complement each other plus one spike. A spike is the surprise in a room, like a leopard-print pillow.
Don’t overplan. Don’t overthink. Don’t be afraid to decide as you go. The best decisions often happen when we choose at the last minute and go with our gut. In other words, as Gladwell says, blink.
