When it comes to decorating, six little words often stand between dreams and reality:
I don't know where to start.
It's inertia rooted in fear - fear of making mistakes, fear of wasting money, fear of being judged unfavorably, interior designer Lauri Ward said.
"People are terrified of decorating," said Ward, who pioneered the concept of interior redesign, or decorating by rearranging the furniture and other items people already own.
She thinks the fear is especially acute among women, who often believe decorating ability should be inherent. "Just because you have two X chromosomes doesn't mean you're going to know how to decorate," she said.
So how do you get past that fear? Knowledge, Ward and other decorators say - but surprisingly, not so much knowledge about decorating. It's more about knowing yourself, they said.
Here are some suggestions to help you take those first steps.
Noted interior designer Stephen Saint-Onge believes one of the things that scares people into decorating paralysis is not knowing what their style is. But style doesn't have to have a label, he said. Rather, style is just what appeals to you, what causes you to respond.
That's a central message of his new book No Place Like Home, which is intended to help average folks find design inspiration and use that to improve their surroundings. He has made a career of helping people fulfill their decorating aspirations through his television appearances and his House Calls column in Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
Saint-Onge suggests homing in on your style by gathering a bunch of magazines and catalogs and then spending 20 minutes tearing out photos you like. Don't spend too much time analyzing your choices; just pick the photos you respond to.
Later, you can spend more time studying the pictures you chose. Think about what you liked in each image, what feeling it gave you, what you noticed first, Saint-Onge said. Mark up the images or write notes on them to remind yourself what works for you.
You'll probably start to see patterns - maybe furniture styles you're drawn to, colors you like, or room layouts you find appealing. "You start to learn to see things and see potential in your own space," he said.
Saint-Onge suggests pasting those photos into an artist's sketchbook or large scrapbook to create a look book, which you can refer to as you start to make decorating choices. Add to it as you see pictures, paint chips, or other things you like.
