How is it that I read at least three interior design blogs a day (thank you Emily Henderson) and yet my house looks like a flea market threw up inside of an IKEA? My neighbor next door is a wonderful interior designer. I don’t know if she has a blog, but I’ve been in her house and it is subtle yet well styled. Sure, I could ask her to just pop over and give me some ideas, but I refuse to not pay professionals for their opinions. I also refuse to hire professionals for ideas I think I can steal glean online. Yet I find it’s as if the professional designers know they can put endless pictures online of beautiful living rooms, sublime master bedrooms, and well-appointed guest bathrooms, and only 1/10th of 1% of site visitors will actually be able to execute (a.k.a. steal) those ideas in their own homes, which leaves most lookers to eventually break down and hire professional designers after months of saving and lamenting.
My cheapness and impatience define most of my style choices:
The couch I really want is out of stock? Okay, I’ll take the floor model with a discount even though it’s six inches bigger than what I wanted and in a cheap burlap fabric rather than the soft cream velvet. Sure, it sheds on my pants every time I sit on it…but I got it in two days and at such a bargain!
The elite house painters can’t fit me into their schedule until July? Okay, the thrifty painting duo I found on Yelp will have to do. Oh, they painted the kitchen slightly grey rather than simply white? Again, such a bargain – and better grey today than white in five months?!?
I should probably be more patient when it comes to purchasing, but I question whether the waiting for the perfect product will mean the product is actually perfect when I get it. Would I be happier if I waited and found the ideal red and black Persian rug for my living room a year from now than if I just bought a beige clearance rug today that I can enjoy during the (still) chilly months and not panic every time our incontinent dog attempts a sneaky pee within 10 feet of the area?
You get the picture, even if it’s slightly different than what I originally pictured.