Decorating Indecision and D-I-Y Indigestion

How most of my d-i-y projects have fared lately.

Sorry, no updates.  It's been a combination of things---I went out of town for a while to visit friends in NYC and Charlotte, NC, and work has been busy.  It's a bizarre turn of events---time to blog=nothing to blog about.  However, plenty of blogworthy stuff= no time to blog.

Honestly, though, the real reason for no update is that I'm in something of a personal decorating slump.  I didn't even realize it, though, until reading Color Outside the Lines today where Artie described his own decorating issues.  In short, all of my recent d-i-y projects look like they have been attempted by a blindfolded hyperactive toddler with one arm tied behind his back, or the d-i-y projects are D.O.A. because I can't make my freakin' mind up.

A couple of cases in point.  A couple of posts ago, I told of my big plans for the guest room redo here and here.  Guess what?  Even though I've sampled the paint and bought it, I'm still hesitating over whether or not to go forward with that color.  I keep thinking about the bright green room on the cover of the Dec. 2010 Veranda and going, "Maybe THAT'S it."

 Why NOT just go with  the green?  1. I hate to waste the already purchased paint, and I don't have any immediate alternative use for it .  2.  I don't really have the money to keep buying new paint.  3.  Because of a variety of reasons, it's not just the walls in the room that would have to be painted if I didn't like the way the green paint turned out ---the trim (for a number of reasons) needs to be the same color as the walls, and I don't want to paint the trim more than once.  4.  I've never once, in the almost 20 years since I've left home, had kelly green walls.  I have had tobacco brown walls before (the paint color I've already purchased), and I know I like them.  5.  My concern is this:  while I feel it's nice to be open to new ideas and life is too short to worry about paint colors and to only use the same colors over and over again, I've learned that most people like what they like....it's easy to get sucked into doing something because it's new and different, but these impulsive decorating decisions have bitten me in the ass before.   6.  While it's a guest room, I will go into it often, and it will bother me if I don't like the color.  7.  The guest room is used a lot, and I'm not sure the green will be a soothing, restful color.  8.  I would going far from my original inspiration, which is a room I have liked for YEARS.

original inspiration

Why not just stick with the brown I know I would like?  Legitimate question.  1.  I am genuinely excited about the green in a way I am not about the tobacco.   2.  I feel like a hypocrite telling clients to go bold when I'm afraid to.

An additional problem:  lately my home projects haven't turned out well....my new bathroom curtains are going to have to be scrapped, and my window seat project has stalled (more on that later---let's just say St. Teresa was correct, "More tears have been shed over answered prayers than all the unanswered ones."  I got my window seat, but it is far from the fantastic feature I had hoped.)  In short, I'm running scared and am questioning all of my home decorating instincts---in fact, I can't even tell if my instinct is to just go with the green or the tobacco.  Maybe I'll fall back on "eeny, meeny, miney, moe...."

*update*  I decided to have a beer to calm frazzled design nerves---big mistake--now I keep looking at Heineken bottle thinking  "That shade of green would be a lovely paint color or an accent color in a tobacco brown room....."   aaaarrrggggghhhhhhh

*update* my gift subscription to Architectural digest has arrived.....maybe Margaret Russell has the answer to my problem.....

*update* Ms. Russell comes through:  these images from a beautiful Manhattan apartment have made me realize why I love tobacco walls so much, especially with maple furniture (which the guest room will have).   Sold on tobacco brown!