Have you ever made a mistake when decorating? I know I have! Well, pull up a chair and listen to our blunders. I think you are going to feel a whole lot better!
We’ve made some big mistakes, and want you to learn from our mistakes. Here are our blunders. Honestly this could have been a 10 hour episode, we have so many blunders, but we just talked about our worst ones today.
You can listen to the podcast on our blunders below. You are not going to believe what Yvonne said in this episode. I think we were both so shocked, we couldn’t stop laughing. It’s near the end… oh my.
LISTEN HERE
Blunder 1:
Yvonne’s disaster was when her husband painted the study and stairs a terra cotta that turned out to be a Pepto Bismol pink. He did the painting while she was gone, so she didn’t see it until he was finished. She almost didn’t have the heart to tell him, she hated it.
The fix.
She just lived with it for awhile.
How to Prevent:
Buy a few paint samples and try the color on the wall first.
You can use My Paint Saint for wall paint touch up or testing paint colors. It is a paint jar with the brush attached to the lid. Don’t clean your brush, just use Paint Saint! After painting, screw the lid back on, and put it away.
Affiliate link My Paint Saint
Blunder 2:
Kelly’s blunder was buying chairs that were too short for her table. She ordered 6 online but didn’t notice that her table was taller than a normal table. When the chairs arrived she realized they were NOT going to work.
The fix.
She ate the shipping cost and returned them. The shipping cost must have been horrible.
How to Prevent:
Measure, measure, measure before you purchase, especially on big-ticket items.
Blunder 3:
My biggest blunder was buying fabric to make a sofa slipcover when I didn’t really like the fabric. I was kept sewing and crying. I hated the fabric. I didn’t like the fabric when I bought it, and that’s a bad start. It wasn’t going to look better later. I knew I had to return the fabric I had left.
The fix.
I returned the fabric and had to pay the restocking fee.
How to Prevent:
Think through each buying decision, and if you aren’t crazy about it, don’t buy it!
How do you reduce decorating mistakes? It isn’t complicated.
- Know your decorating style first. That really reduces mistakes.
- Don’t buy anything you don’t love!
Make sure you know the overall look you are going for. That will help keep you are track and not be all over the map. And it makes so much sense, but why do we buy things we aren’t crazy about?
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Life is messy, and mistakes are part of learning. Most decorating mistakes are not a big deal. Move the chair to another room, return the rug, give the candlestick to someone as a gift. The good news is that every time you make a decorating mistake you are learning. See? There’s your silver lining. If you aren’t making mistakes, then you probably are not learning.
Yvonne has a post on her 5 biggest mistakes and how to fix them. CLICK HERE.
I wrote a post on my biggest biggest decorating fails, CLICK HERE.
My take-aways
- Mistakes are okay. If you are really afraid to make mistakes, you can really get stuck.
- You learn from mistakes and most mistakes are totally fixable.
- Move things around until it feels good to you.
- You can learn almost anything with 2 pieces of information, You need to know when you have done ‘it’ wrong. and You need to know how to correct that mistake.
Want more? You can find all of the podcast episodes all in one place, CLICK HERE.
Remember to be entered into our podcast giveaway, you need to subscribe, rate and review our podcast in iTunes HERE. If you do, please email us at decoratingtipsandtricks@gmail.com to be entered to win a signed copy of my book, shown below. US residents of the 48 states only, one winner per week for the first three weeks of the podcast.
Miss a podcast episode? You can check them out HERE.
Thanks for this post. It’s good to know we are all human!!
Great tips
And I too carry a tape measure with me
Silly me, I thought every one did
Thanks for sharing. It was so good to hear others make decorating mistakes. Sometime I feel I am the only one.
Thanks for sharing!
Picking the right shade of paint has been the hardest thing for me. I think I like it when I first change but in know time at all I am tired of it.
I tend to live with anything which may be considered a mistake. I’m too frugal to lose money on returning something. But then again I don’t buy online, preferring to see and touch in person before I purchase. I guess I’m too careful and don’t like taking the risks that most will take.
It is good to hear others blunders – we have all had them. Mine involved a paint choice. I purchased a sage green paint for the exterior trim around the windows of our home. When it went on it looked like a pale lime green. It was dreadful. Fortunately, I could stop the painting and try again. The second time – I painted samples on an old board. Thanks for sharing!
Great podcast
I have made many mistakes but so they don’t sound as bad I call them lessons learning , Lol ! But it is nice to know others have done the same and that we all can learnfrom others so Thank you .
I am so relieved I am not the only one that makes mistakes! Thanks for the post.
Enjoyed this topic so much. I am able to smile at my past decorating mistakes from the past and I truly have learned from every mistake. It has taken me a few years to find and embrace my own style. I have gained more confidence over time to try new things and to trust my instincts. Loved hearing that you all have been on this same journey. Thank you for the podcasts…..I am loving them!
I came home to Pepto Bismol walls one night expecting terracotta. My fix was the very next day I went to the paint store and got off-white paint and had the painter repaint. An expensive mistake that I will never make again.
Decorating blunders and buyer’s remorse seem to go hand in hand and I think we’ve all been there, done that. Oh dear!
Thanks for the stories and good tips.
I’m so loving these podcasts! I’ve decided to start listening at happy hour with a glass of wine! And I don’t have to admit to any of my blunders. I can just laugh at yours! HA!
Ginger
Love, love, love this podcast!!!!Keep it coming.
Yes I had my little loveseat reupolstered for the 2nd time in 30 years and my bargain fabric.was wrong. A slipcover now covers my mistake but I love the comfy thing anyway…
.
Purchasing a big ticket item online. A sofa … Ehhh….It was my first online purchase, and my last! I should have just bought the one I saw at Pottery Barn and been done with it.
Soooo happy to see this idea of the grain sacks hanging on each rung of a vintage step ladder!
Can’t wait for summer to find an old ladder to clean up, sand and stain. Then hit the flea markets to
try to find some vintage grain sacks to incorporate this look into my home.
Thank you ;o)
I am so enjoying these podcasts! Started walking on treadmill while listening. But got to laughing. You gals prove we are more alike than different. I’ve always wondered why some things speak to us and others don’t. Like chairs, and how Kelly loved those chairs. I have certain things I feel speak to me. Of course you gals and my closest friends are the only ones who know this….til now. Keep it up, I’m loving the walks, the laughs and the education!
I am too excited to find out about My Paint Saint. I am nervous about changing paint colors in my kitchen but this way I can do trail and error. Thanks!