Do you ever find yourself not purchasing something for your home because you second-guess yourself or come up with various objections?

You are NOT alone!! 

 

Author enjoying the comfort of her new loveseat and the confidence to decorate as she wishes. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate and sponsored links. 

 

Scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest, it’s easy to feel like everyone else has it together, but really, they don’t. Most people have the same insecurities about home decor that you do. Why do you think that there are so many home and garden shows on TV and the checkout stands are filled with decorating magazines? Because nearly everyone, even the pros, is looking for inspiration and affirmation.

Today I hope to help you gain some self-confidence so you can decorate your home fearlessly. 

 

Apartment living room decorated in grays and blues - AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

Recently I was given the opportunity to partner with Wayfair and received a gift card to be applied toward my choice of chairs and seating. The timing was perfect. Just days before the email hit my inbox, I was telling my husband that I couldn’t hold out until we got a house to replace our loveseat. Though dated, it looked good, but my neck would hurt if I sat on it for any length of time. It really was time to find a new loveseat!

Let’s take a little journey together.

I’ll share my experience and give you tidbits of hard-earned wisdom for decorating a home you can’t wait to come home to. 

That’s a nice offer Diane, but this is easy for you. You’re artistic and always have cute decor. That’s not me. 

I hear you. 

Just because my end results are lovely, doesn’t mean that it has always come easy to me. It hasn’t. But, I’ve forged ahead, because just like it is for you, my home is important to me and I don’t have money to throw around or waste.

Over time I realized that the biggest trap for me, and I’m guessing for you, too, is overthinking. Overthinking paralyzes us. It causes us to second guess every decision we make. It causes us to put ourselves, our style, our ideas, and who knows what else, down. It’s a fear trap where the way out appears impossible. But in reality, decorating freedom, hope, and joy are totally POSSIBLE!

Decorating freedom, hope, and joy? 

Yes… freedom, hope, and joy seem like heart issues, not decorating issues, but really you do want the freedom to decorate to please your heart. You want to shop with a heart of hope, not a heavy heart doubting yourself. And ultimately, you want the joy of walking in your door and truly feeling you’re at home where ever you call home.

 

Gray and dark blue apartment living room with sofa + rug + coffee table

 

To give you a real-life scenario, let me demonstrate how I navigated choosing a new loveseat for my small apartment.

Scrolling through the sofa options on the Wayfair website I realized that there were countless possibilities. Actually, 31,672 sofas. Instead of getting caught up endlessly scrolling through 31,672 possibilities, I set some parameters for myself. We all do better in life when we have boundaries and it works just as well in home decor as it does with difficult relationships. 

When you’re going to make a large purchase, one of the best things to do before making choices for large items like furniture, is to clear all horizontal spaces of decor so your room is quiet and you can have the freedom to make the best decisions. When you and your room get a chance to breathe you will see more possibilities and you can set better parameters for your choices.

 

Blue & Gray Rug under Sofa

My large 8’x10’ rug fills my living room space and is a visual foundation and focal point of the room, so it makes sense to start there. The rug has a dramatic large pattern in shades of deep blue on a background of creams and grays. And that, my friend, set my color options. Secondly, since my space is quite small, my new loveseat could not exceed 63 inches. 

Having a fence to keep me from straying is so helpful. If you like, you can keep tightening the boundaries, it will give you more confidence in making your decisions.

The Wayfair website gives you filter options. Use them. In my case, under the sofa category, I selected, gray, blue, beige, and white for color options. Next, I chose my fabric preference, cotton/cotton blend, polyester/polyester blend. Then I selected the design which was standard and moved on to type where I chose loveseat. And finally, under the size selection, I chose “small” under overall width.  You can continue to use the filter to help focus on the features you’re most interested in. With my filter selections, I narrowed down the possibilities to 1400 loveseat options. Goodness, that is still a lot, but, but WAY less than 31,000! I was very happy to start there.

 

Gray loveseat with dark blue pillows and coordinating painting on the wall of this small apartment living room - AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

Before we go any farther, we need to have a little heart-to-heart talk.

First of all, remember, you are decorating for YOU and those that live with you. You are NOT making your space pretty for Instagram or any other social platform or some invisible imaginary entity. This is your space. You don’t need to please others, you are making your home your sanctuary. It’s a safe place from the opinions of others, it’s the place where you get to open the door and find peace and delight and rest in knowing it’s just what your heart desired. 

Are you feeling it? 

 

Small apartment living room with pewter gray La-Z-Boy loveseat and brass coffee table - AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

Lately, Tim and I have been streaming a sweet home makeover show where the hosts beautifully improve and decorate houses for a good sum of money and turn them into homes. The results are amazing and I sometimes think it would be fun to have someone design and transform a house for me that reflects me and is perfectly styled and ready for me to move into. The idea of having a designer sounds pretty fantastic. Sometimes. 

On my own, some of my very best design decisions were quickly made base on gut feelings — not a style board or sample board or someone’s IG account. 

The key here is TRUST yourself! Designers trust themselves to make good decisions for you and they don’t even live in your skin. Just think, if you would trust yourself, you would make fantastic decisions. 

AND… don’t overthink things. Seriously, if you need a post-it note stuck up somewhere prominent to remind yourself to stop overthinking things go write it and stick it up now. 

Overthinking limits.

It limits creativity. 

It squelches fun. 

It steals your joy.

 

Let’s get back to my loveseat decision-making and ultimate purchase. 

After filtering the possibilities down to just 1400 loveseat options, I started scrolling.

At first, I was drawn to dark blue loveseats and then I saw one that was very traditional in style. It reminded me of our La-Z-Boy plaid family room sofa that’s in storage. I saw that the loveseat was a La-Z-Boy and it was a neutral color.  Right then and there everything came to a screeching halt, in a good way.

 

Gray loveseat in an apartment living room - AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

As I checked out the “Weight & Dimensions” and “Specifications” on the website I found all the things that were important to me… cleanability, made in the USA, the length, and removable cushions. 

There was one more important factor. What color was “pewter?” To discover that I went to the La-Z-Boy website and saw a large digital color swatch. To be honest, I am given to perfectionism at times… I did go the extra step to check on the color. Did you know that perfectionism is really fear? I won’t get into all that right now, but I did something that was very bold for me. After checking the digital swatch and my rug, I decided that I needed to… trust my gut and order it. Yup. Trust.


Granted, a loveseat is a big-ticket item and often as expensive if not more so than a full-sized sofa from the same manufacturer so I’m not being flippant when I say this. Whatever you do, don’t get stuck in overthinking. It will suck the life out of you and your decision-making may become perfectionism and in the end not only is the fun and creativity gone, so is the joy, and just maybe you’ll be back at square one feeling more miserable than ever.

You know what cozy looks like. You know what colors bring you joy. You know what patterns (or lack of) bring you peace. You know. You really do. Trust yourself. 

 

Author sitting on her new loveseat - AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

That’s what I did. I followed my heart.

And now, every time I come home or walk into my tiny living room I let out a sigh of joy. I didn’t let myself get caught in over-thinking or second-guessing which leads to indecision. I set some parameters and then within those parameters, I followed my heart. Ordered the loveseat. And everything settled in place perfectly. 

 

Gray and Blue Colors in the Apartment Living Room Decor - AnExtraordianaryDay.net

 

It will for you, too!

Don’t worry about the current trend, or someone else’s style, or trying to create a magazine-worthy space. Curate what you love and you’ll love your home. 

 

 

I love my home. And Max loves it too.

 

Now back to YOU!

 

How’s your self-confidence now? Do you feel empowered? It’s time to imagine the possibilities for your home and get to work at transforming it. Where are you going to start? What’s the FIRST thing you need to do? Let me know… I’m here to cheer you on and don’t hesitate to reach out for a little help. Wishing you... An Extraordinary Day!

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Links to items in this post from Wayfair:

Loveseat

Ceramic Garden Stool

Coffee Table
(Note: this is a nesting table and we only assembled and used the small table as it was the perfect size for our small space.)

Comments

  1. I’ve actually moved again so I’m starting off again with a smaller space and I have lots of juggling to do.I thought the new tall irish husband plus a dog should have a big house but covid struck and I discovered I still need to be in a small more manageable space I can handle on my own.It’s fun redoing a house but I lack in confidence to decide on what fits.Diane you are beautiful 💖

    • Congrats on recognizing that you needed a smaller space, Betty, and acting on it. I’m thrilled to hear you’re having fun redoing it. You have shared some lovely photos of your past homes and I think you have decorating chops. Praying now for you to walk in confidence and trust yourself. And please tag or send me photos of your “handiwork.” If ever I can help, let me know. But, girl, I believe you are creating amazing small spaces!! {{hugs}}

  2. Kelly says

    Diane your post was so helpful and had such wonderful advice! I love the sofa you chose!

    • Kelly, your words encouraged me immensely!! Thank you!!
      (I think maybe our posts dovetail together. Yes?)

  3. Stacey says

    Diane, it’s so good to see your pretty face in your home!! You are so right that perfectionism is fear and it absolutely does sap your creativity and joy!! What you’ve chosen is just right for your space and will stand the test of time. Trends come and go….we need to love what we choose!

    • Aww… thanks, Stacey! Showing my face has been a huge challenge for me, but at least I’m moving forward. 😉
      I was tempted to choose a more modern/on-trend style but knew I wouldn’t get tired of this style and color. Plus I think whenever we get our new home, it will transfer well to multiple applications. Thanks for popping by with your kind words, friend! Hope you and yours are enjoying a blessed blessed Easter.

  4. Debbi Saunders says

    Diane, I absolutely Love your Living Room, it’s beautiful and you look wonderful; I’m so glad that you shared the new photo of you! I am just so thrilled that you are once again posting on your blog and it will be the one of the very first one I will look for each time that you post! Your posts are so encouraging and helpful, as always!

    • Diane says

      Debbi, it is so good of you to stop by! I have missed you, too. 😉 Glad you’re encouraged by the post. After all these years, you know my heart. Hope you and Jordan have a wonderful Easter dinner and time together. Happy Easter!!

  5. Krista Schwartzott says

    Wonderful explanation about the process and really helped me to pause when I start to overthink! I love your style and reading this so much! Looking forward to diving into my next decorating project with confidence. Thank you for your words!

    • Krista, it’s interesting to me that when I took the Kolbe test I discovered I was a “quick start.” But, you know there are always exceptions to how we operate. What we might do in business and home can hugely differ. I think that when our funds are tight and we know that we’ll be looking at whatever we put in our homes for a long time, we want to get it right… which leads to overthinking or analysis paralysis. UGH I have put extreme and needless pressure on myself too many times. I’m so happy to know that my hard-earned wisdom will empower you to decorate with JOY and confidence.

      Take care, my friend, and thanks for reading and stopping to chat.
      Best wishes for an extraordinary day!!

  6. Linda Jaskiewicz says

    Hi Diane, Giving you a shout out in Loving my Longaberger Facebook group tomorrow, July 14. You use your Longaberger beautifully!

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