3 Decorating Tips I Learned The Hard Way
Happy Monday! It was a quiet week around here, but sometimes quiet is nice! Chris helped me hang these wall shelves in our living room over the weekend (they do so much to make the space homier), we watched Three Identical Strangers on Hulu and I made beef stew for the first time (this recipe) which was the perfect cozy Sunday night meal.
This week’s post is for first-time home buyers—a cheat sheet for avoiding some of the mistakes I made. There is SO much to buy for your first home, from furniture to decor to landscaping. It can be overwhelming and easy to fall victim to impulse buys. Here are 3 tips I learned in our first few years as homeowners, the biggest being PATIENCE. It’s not easy, but it’s normal to take years to fully decorate—I think!
image via @genyuscollections
Wait and plan. Don’t start decorating a room until you’ve furnished it and are ready to complete the space. Otherwise you might buy something you don’t end up needing or isn’t quite right if you change anything about the room—or just change your mind—over the span of weeks or months it takes to furnish. It’s killing me that our bedroom currently has mismatched lamps and no rug, but we plan to finish our currently-unfinished upstairs to be our master bedroom, hopefully in the next year. And it doesn’t make sense to buy rugs and other items to fit a room that won’t be our bedroom long-term—and upstairs, we might install sconces and not need table lamps at all. Plus it’s a bigger room, so we would probably need a bigger rug than would fit the current bedroom. See?! I use Pinterest to “mood board” different rooms then use Google docs or sheets to make a list of needs and wants—this helps not only prioritize spending but avoid impulse buys. Buy the big stuff (like furniture) first, as tempting as it is to buy smaller, less expensive things for the instant gratification. Then fill in the smaller items (decorative objects, books, etc.) at the end!
Skip the outdoor rug. Ugh. This one still pains me. I really wanted to get that layered doormat look for our front door, so I bought this doormat and this rug thinking it would be fine that the rug wasn’t * technically * an outdoor rug because user-uploaded photos showed it outside. Hint: those people probably have covered porches. We do not. It rained a few times and the rug never dried … total fail. I got rid of everything (doormat, rug, lanterns, faux topiaries) except the doormat within a year. I just don’t think an outdoor rug would ever be practical unless you have a covered deck or patio and/or live in a climate that doesn’t get much rain or snow. If you have ZERO front door decor, start with just a doormat—don’t go crazy like I did and buy all the things at once. Currently eyeing this cheeky one—an affordable housewarming/Christmas gift idea—and also love this beautiful & classic one! More picks below!
Don’t buy faux botanicals online. I don’t know why, but faux botanicals are like my kryptonite—I’m constantly buying/shopping for them. They add dimension and interest to a room, and I prefer faux because of the zero maintenance factor. But from my experience shopping online, it’s too hard to tell exactly what they will look like IRL. Most of the time, the branches or petals probably look too fake for my preference, but I don’t want to bother with returning and end up keeping something I don’t 100% love. That said, I’ve been impressed with Afloral (awesome selection, great prices!) and have also scored some winners from Pottery Barn and CB2 (a few current favorites below).
What are your decorating regrets? Share in the comments and have a great week!
