How does one get over decoratingophobia?

Question

I desperately want to make my house pretty. My mother is amazingly good at it, but I have no talent for, or no faith in my ability to decorarte my house. I'm afraid to put a nail in the wall becaue if I don't like what I"ve done, then I have a whole in my wall. I get stumped picking colors for painting the walls. I have so many ideas.. and I'm terrified to try any of them. HELP!!

Answer 1

terrified?? Ok, so what is thew worst that could happen? You have to return something you didn't like as much in the house as you did in the store? You get a wall painted and have to repaint? Your tastes will be different in 5 years, so with the exception of furniture, you aren't really making big commitments. You think you have no sense of style, but I guarantee you, we go shopping and i say"OOH,Look at this" and you hate it...you will know. You know what you like...you just have to find it! When you do, have a blast!

Answer 2

The success of any decorating scheme depends on how well it suits all the members of your family. To create a décor that you will be happy with, think about what you want and also what you don’t want.

It’s a good idea to know what you have before you begun to change things. As you begin to pull your design ideas together, think about your preference and what will work in your home.

Color can work wonders... it can change the look of a room and change your feeling about the room. You can start by looking through magazines, and catalogs. Give yourself plenty of time, it will take longer than you think, and your ideas will develop as you go.

Gathering samples is a great way to begin. If you are starting with a color, your samples might include fabric, paint chips, wallpaper, carpet, wood, stone, and tile.

Knowing what you can spend on a project will give you a clearer idea of what you can achieve. If you’ll on a limited budget, mark off those things that will make the most difference, such as a new wall color and a new sofa.

You can set the mood of a room in lots of ways, such as lights, and furnishings. There are no hard or fast rules or must-do sequence for this process.

Answer 3

You just need to be brave and try. Remember, it's your home and you should decorate it to make you happy. Start by picking out paint cards at a paint store. Bring them home and see how they look in the light of your house. If you can't decide between several colors, see if you can buy a small sample of the colors. Paint the colors on a scrap piece of wood and put that piece of wood in the room and see what you think. If starting with the paint scares you, maybe pick out some curtains that you like, and buy paint to go with the curtains. We moved into our house 6 years ago and it didn't really start to feel like home until we pulled down the old wallpaper and started painting the rooms. It's a great feeling to know that you decorated you own room. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do a great job.

Answer 4

You know, I have the same problem. We bought a house almost two years ago and I'm still dragging my feet on doing things that I was so excited about before. I wanted to stencil ivy around the doorways & windows, but I still haven't done it. The thing is, I'm very creative and artistic. I can draw pictures and paint and do things for other people, but I can't seem to get it together for myself. What I've been doing recently is looking through decorating catalogs and driving by other peoples' houses to see what they've done. And I'm finally getting a few things figured out. Landscaping has been the worst. Everything I see looks so great, but I don't know how to incorporate it on my own land. I've come to the conclusion that it's better to go slow than to do something that ends up looking horrid. Eventually, I will stencil the ivy. Eventually I'll find what's supposed to go on the rest of my walls. It will all come. I don't want to get so cluttered that I'll have to have a rummage sale just to see my walls. Less is good too. Less to dust. As for your ideas...try one and see how it goes. If you end up hating the color of your walls, guess what? You can re-paint. I had my whole house painted in soft white, so that I can decorate in any way I want, in any room. That's why I want to do stenciling, instead of painting. Stencils add so much for so little effort. And it's fun. Getting the right stencil can be hard though. But they do have stencil blanks so that you can trace your own idea onto it and cut it out, making your very own stencil. And if you don't like it, guess what? That's right, paint over it. As for the holes in your walls...white toothpaste covers them up really good. So get your nails or T-pins out and go to it! Do it a little at a time, step back and enjoy it for a day or so. If you don't like it, take it down and leave it for a while before trying again. I think we'll both eventually get 'er done. Hope it all comes together for you soon. <*)))><

Answer 5

How does your mom feel about your decorating talent and your creativity? If she's supportive, tell her your ideas, then invite her over with a bunch of paint... (or if Mom isn't supportive, use a good (supportive) friend... or your husband... Anyone with 2 or 3 days off who is willing to paint with you.

I moved into an old mobile home.. like wood, but paneling on EVERY wall was about to drive me crazy- it made the already small rooms feel even smaller... She came over for about 2 days and we painted one wall- the long one that goes almost the whole length of the trailer. We also painted the ceiling (living room, hall and kitchen).

It really got my creative juices flowing, broke the ice on me doing something on my own.

Regarding holes in the wall- use a tiny dot of white toothpaste, applied with a toothpick to fill the hole.

Just remember- you can ALWAYS repaint!!

Answer 6

Ask your mother to help you put your place together, if you like her style! Ask for help picking out colors at paint store as well. The simplest thing is to find an object you love, and make a room around it by using colors that are in this object. As for the fear of putting a hole in your wall, that is what putty is for. Sometimes you are better of trying and making a mistake, instead of not trying at all. Good luck!

Answer 7

JUST DO IT! And then give yourself a chance to live with it for at least a month instead of deciding right away that you hate it. And remember, there's nothing that can't be undone.

Be brave and go for it! Good luck!

Answer 8

everyone has there own sense of stile,don't compare yours to your mothers,look through magazines and choose a style you like either modern,Victorian,country.Mines is sophisticated and I've arrange my house were the curtains match the pillows on my mocha chocolate leather sofa,not to many accessories,two tables on either side with 2 beautiful lamps and a coffee table with candles on it.Make it fun to do it,not stressful,I think decorating is fun,I love it..

Answer 9

i´m going trough the same try not tofreak about it and go out of the house imediatley-

Answer 10

Expand your mind...It's stuck for now with no where to go..