Choosing furnishings, paint colors or accessories for your house can be a lot of fun.

But if you have difficulty making decorating decisions this process can be torture.

Making decorating decisions is a mental game.

If you’re feeling stuck, it’s critical to get a handle on exactly why you’re procrastinating or feeling overwhelmed with making choices.

If you’re triggered by feeling something’s wrong with you because you don’t love the latest trend even though all your friends are gaga for it, this post is for you.

If you feel like you have to get 10 people’s thoughts on a paint color because you don’t trust your own opinion, there’s a solve for that.

If you’d rather get a root canal than make decision on the pattern for your living room rug, you’re in the right place.

If you’ve horded countless paint swatches from a half dozen paint stores and you still haven’t picked a color, read on my friend!

These tips apply to any decorating decision you’re up against or almost any significant life decision you face.

Let’s get into 5 critical ways to overcome self doubt so you can make excellent decorating decisions.

Trust Your Instincts

How does the decision make you feel?

That’s the real first step to this process. If you immediately think, “Oh God, what the hell was I thinking?” when you make a decorating decision, it’s important to process that.

Let’s unpack this for a moment and take a cue from home styling 101... Are you caught up in the latest decorating trend but you feel like it won’t work for you?

Do you spend hours pinning Boho looks to your dream bedroom board even though you secretly hate boho?

Getting caught up in a hot trend or the look of the moment because it’s popular is probably not the right option for you.

It’s totally ok to stray from the pack and to decorate with things that are you.

If you love the cottage look, with soft colors and floral motifs, then go with it. Leave the baskets, macramé plant holders and neutrals to the boho’s.

Learning to decorate with confidence is all about trusting your own instincts and knowing when to say, “yes, that’s totally me”, without feeling you’ll will be judged or criticized for it.

Remember, it’s your house and it need to reflect you, not what Pinterest or any “decorating expert” says is you. There’s no quiz or diagnosis that can 100% peg your style.

Pay attention to how certain décor makes you feel and you’ll start to develop your decorating muscles in no time!

Ditch Analysis Paralysis

Are you spending too much time asking others what they think?

I always say if you ask 10 people their opinion of something, you’re likely to get 10 different answers.

Stalling your decorating decision because you fear an interior design fail is a surefire way to never get your project done.

The fix for this condition is to trust your instinct (see tip #1 above) and to limit the time you spend thinking about it.

Time is the enemy of decision making.

One thing I was taught when I worked in custom furniture design was to get people back in ASAP for a project presentation because the longer they had to think about it, the harder it was to get a yes. For sure, that is a sales tactic but, it’s absolutely true.

Think about the last time you made an important decision.

Let’s use the example of buying your house.

You found the house, you got the feeling that THIS is your house, you know that feeling: after weeks, months or years of looking, this house is different. This is the one you can imagine yourself living in and YOU ARE SURE.

Now think back to the feeling you had after the decision was made.

Think back and do a gut check to really capture that feeling. You probably felt nervous and a little overwhelmed. That’s totally normal. Even if you felt those things, you were probably relieved when you got the good news that your offer was accepted.

Why?

Your decision was probably made quickly because you feared you would miss out on the ONE if you delayed your decision. You had to move quickly before the next person snatched it away.

There it is, exactly how to ditch analysis paralysis. That feeling of relief is what happens when you know you can finally get off the roller coaster of house hunting.

So, when you need to make decorating decisions, put a time limit on it because the longer you delay making a decorating decision, the more time you’ll have to think yourself into a rut where no decisions are made.

Eliminate Too Many Choices

Did you bring home 32 paint swatches, 50 fabric swatches, or 10 sample sized wood stains?

Choice overload will always lead to no decisions.

You will spend WAYYY too much time pouring over every little difference and nuance and second guess every decision.

Say you need to decide on a paint color. Choose between no more than 3 paint colors at one time.

If you’re deciding between 3 different colors, pick 3 swatches and take them home.

Look at them for a full day and eliminate the colors that don’t work based on the light in your room, how they make you feel and how they look with the things you’re not changing like furniture, accessories or adjacent room wall colors, etc.

Then go back to the store and pick 3 more colors for the one that you felt the most attracted to. Stick to a hue that you really love for these next 3 choices and repeat the same process.

You may even want to invest in sample cans so you can paint larger swatches on the wall.

It’s important to look at the colors throughout the day in natural light. Also look at them at night in artificial light.

Make the decision quick, 2 days maximum because the more time you spend thinking about it the more time you’ll delay the decision.

Two days is plenty of time to see how the samples change throughout the day and how they look with everything else.

Do this for every decorating decision: picking upholstery fabrics, window coverings, hardwood floors, tiles, carpeting.

If you’re paralyzed by choices, limit some. You’ll be surprised how much easier it will be for you to make a decision.

Remember, you are not missing out on anything better. So stop hoarding a bunch of choices.

Get Clear on Your Objective

If you want true success with accomplishing your decorating goals, have a clear idea of what you want to do.

Objective number 1: Know room measurements. Get clear on how much floor space you have overall, on every wall and corner. Decorating plans live and die by the knowing or not knowing the dimensions of a room.
Objective number 2: Make a list of everything you need and measure all the things you want to keep. If you’re keeping your great grandmother’s antique secretary, you need to know the length, width and height of it so you can accommodate all the other pieces you want/need in the space.
Objective number 3: Make a plan for what has to happen. Include things like painting the wall, wallpapering, taking up floors, installing new trim, installing new electrical outlets or hard-wired lighting, refinishing floors, installing carpet. Etc.

If you need to do the project in phases, write down a list of everything that needs to happen, then make a logical plan for each step.

My rule of thumb for total renovation or makeover projects is to start with the ceiling and work your way down.

Paint the ceiling first. Then move onto the wall: paint, wallpaper, or any other task that involves a “messy” install on the wall. Last the floor, tile, install hardwood, refinish.

Once you have the major messy stuff out of the way, then move on to picking soft finishes: fabrics, pillows, accent colors, décor.

When you start with the messy decisions first, one decision informs the next all the way through to the end of the project.

Watch Your Thoughts

Be careful with the language you use regarding how you make decisions.

Don’t get caught up in negative self-talk.

Look out for thoughts that creep in about how hard it is to decorate your place. Or how you don’t make good decisions because a past decorating project tanked or didn’t turn out how you envisioned it.

Instead, think about the feeling you want to have in your space. Use descriptive words like cozy, welcoming, relaxing, colorful, moody, bright, etc. Write them down and pay attention to how the words make you.

If you’re a visual thinker, like me, it helps tremendously to put together a mood board to represent the words you think up.

Find pictures for the words from shelter magazines, or pictures on the web. If it helps to make a physical collage, cut the pictures out and glue them to a poster board.

I like to use Canva or PowerPoint to gather my pictures together. I can save my mood board as a jpeg or png file right to my phone.

I then will save that picture as the wallpaper on my phone’s home screen. That way, it’s right in front of me several times a day and it’s always top of mind.

The repetition of seeing those images often makes you connect the image to the feeling you want to ultimately evoke. It also helps you to recognize items that represent those feelings when your shopping in stores or on the internet.

There you go. Short and sweet.

Trusting your instincts and knowing that you have good taste and that your good taste reflects your style is step one.

After you get comfortable with your instincts, give yourself a short time to make your decision. Taking too much time kills decorating decisions.

Third, eliminate too many choices so you don’t get bogged down in your decision making process.

Next, get a handle on everything you have to do, top to bottom, in a room to make your project happen. Going at a makeover without a plan will bring frustration and cost you time and money.

Last, kick any negative self talk to the curb. It doesn’t matter if you screwed the pooch on your last home decorating project, that’s in the past. You have more information and can make a much better plan this time around so cut yourself some slack!

I’d love to hear how you overcome mental barriers when thinking about a new decorating project or reno.

Feel free to leave me a comment below and I’ll be sure to answer back.

Happy decorating!

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I write about small space design and decorating, sustainable furniture options, positive self care and a variety of do-it-yourself home décor.

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“This man is a plant shaman. He not only designs beautiful rooms, he’s got a green thumb that works like magic! My peace palm never looked better.”

— David K.

“Michael Helped me to get my home office in magazine ready form. Thank you a million times for helping me figure this room out. It’s now my favorite room!”

— Dawn Z.

Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.

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