Does Decorating Make You Feel Inept?T

Do you like how your home is decorated? This may surprise you, but survey shows that four out of every five Americans are not really happy with their couch, curtains, pictures, etc. It is a shame, because if you should be comfortable anywhere, it is in your own home.

How should you decorate?

It is likely you have been gifted with a blank slate of a room at some point in your life. Meaning, a white box of a room with flimsy window shades. How should you decorate it?

If you have a strong sense of style, the answer to that question may be easy. Go with what you like. If you have a strong sense of style and will be sharing the room or house with someone else, tread carefully. That leather couch or mermaid wall art you see as classic may read as tacky to someone else.

Anchor decor or pirate decor?

If you have a theme you like, such as nautical decor, it can make the process simpler. Just add a porthole clock to match the overall anchor decor and everything looks cohesive. But if there are other people involved, there need to be compromises.

Planning out a room on paper can really help you see where things will go and how much space there is to move around the new furniture. For the 63% of Americans over the age of 55 who just buy all new furniture when redecorating, this is an important step. It would be very annoying to find out that the new suede sectional you picked out…takes up the whole room and part of the doorway.

When was the last time you redecorated?

One survey found that 47% of people had not updated their home decor over the past five years. That is not a very long time for some. For those who may have had a major life change it might be though. Key times to redecorate may be:

1. A wedding (or significant other moving in)
2. Having a baby
3. Kids going off to college
4. After a divorce

After a big life change, you might decide to downsize. Or maybe that art deco coffee table is a danger to a tottering toddler. You make the call on what is no longer working for your lifestyle.

So go ahead, go with that anchor decor you secretly adore, or paint the walls red. It is your home, and if you have the means to do so, make it your kind of lovely.