6 Reasons You Struggle With Decorating (And How To Fix It)

Have you ever wondered why you have such a hard time and struggle when it comes to decorating your home? Well, first let me just share that you’re not the only one. I used to be in the “I can’t decorate” club and had a really hard time decorating myself. So, first, let me tell you not being able to decorate is a lie. I believe anyone can decorate and turn their house into a home they love (with a little bit of support). Raise your hand if you’ve ever bought home décor just to get it home and realize it doesn’t quite work. Waisted money. Or, spent hours and hours at the store, in a cloud of analysis paralysis, because you didn’t quite know what to buy and didn’t want to make a mistake. Or, even though you wanted to decorate, you avoided buying anything because you’d given up. Yep, been there, done that. And, I’ve finally figured out how to move past all of those hang-ups. So below, I’m going to share reasons why you’re stuck and how to get unstuck. But before we get started, go ahead and join my FREE Decorating Made Easy Challenge. You’ll learn the tricks to easily decorate your home, even if you don’t have an eye for design. Now let’s get started.

6 Reasons You Struggle With Decorating (And How To Fix It)

1. Comparison – comparison is the thief of all joy, am I right? I think intuitively we all know that. But when we scroll through Pinterest and Instagram, and see all the beautifully decorated homes, it’s easy to fall into the comparison trap. If you’ve ever had these thoughts, you probably struggle with comparison:

“Her family room is so well put together. Why can’t I do that?”
“How does she afford to change her décor every season?”
“Where does she shop? Why can’t my home look like that?”
“I can never make my house look like that.”

Do any of those sound like you? I know I have. Well, the way to fix this and pull yourself out of the comparison trap is simple. Remove yourself from those situations. Take one week or 30-day break from following certain social media accounts. Hide the Pinterest app on your phone for a bit. Only follow accounts that are helpful. For example, I make it a point to frequently share decorating tips and how-to’s on my Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest accounts. I never want anyone to envy what they see me doing, I want to empower and show how anyone can do the same.

To re-center yourself, I also recommend starting a gratitude journal and writing down what you do appreciate about your home. And let’s be real, sometimes when you start with a gratitude journal, all you can think about is the bad, and what you don’t like. So, go ahead and write that down and get it out of your system. Then, move onto what you do like, all the positives and good things you’ve been able to do in your home.

2. No technique – one sure fire way to struggle with decorating is to not have a clue how to pull it together. Even though I’m a firm believer that you don’t have to go to design school to learn how to create a home you love, there are a few basic principles that help. I’m on a mission to make decorating quick and easy, so I’ve broken down the four steps to help you style any space in your home in my Home Styling Cheat Sheets.

3. Not understanding scale – you can understand what accessories and décor items to add to a room and still mess it up if you choose the wrong size. Scale is key. So, if you’ve ever stood back to look at your room and were perplexed as to why things seem off… If things didn’t look quite right, this is probably why. If you don’t understand scale, you’ll always struggle with decorating. The way to get around it, is this… get a tape measure and some blue tape and place the tape on the wall or surface you plan on adding furniture or an accessory to. Stand back and look at how high and wide you might need to move the tape until it looks right to you. Then measure the size. It’s pretty simple. You’ll reference this size whether you shop for the items online or in person.

4. Not understanding color – a lot of people tend to struggle with color, and that’s totally understandable. Colors come in different hues, some colors are muted or saturated. And then you have color undertones, which are the colors “underneath” a color that are easy to overlook. Whew! Color can be quite overwhelming if you don’t understand what you’re doing. A quick way to overcome this? When choosing color, look at the color wheel. To determine the undertone, compare the color to the truest, most saturated form of that color. The color wheel will also come in handy when deciding on the colors you want to mix and match while decorating your home.

5. Not having a plan – if you don’t have a plan for decorating, you are going to struggle unnecessarily. Sure, you might pull things together, but I’d also bet that you’ll end up buying more than what you need and making a lot more mistakes along the way. And, ain’t nobody got time for that! It’s so simple to make a plan and avoid this. Decide on the room you want to decorate, create a space or décor layout, create your wish list, set a budget, then go shopping with intention. A great way to get started is to create a mood board.

6. Not understanding the style what you like – if you struggle with decorating, it could be that you don’t really know the style you like, why you like it, or how to identify it. For example, I really like the French country style. For me, it’s a good blend of my love for comfort and mixes it with my love of luxury and glam. I’ve had to dig to find out what that looks like for me. But now that I know I can stick with that style when I decorate my home. So, when I go out (or shop online) I know what pieces will work best and also complement the rest of my home. Knowing your style is a great way to have a cohesive look throughout your home. You’ll want to read this post I wrote if you’re looking for more tips on understanding your décor style.

6 Reasons You Struggle With Decorating (And How To Fix It)

We just covered six reasons why you struggle with decorating. And I listed tips of what you can do to finally get off the struggle bus. Now you can move beyond buying the wrong items that don’t go well in your décor scheme. And stop spending hours and hours in the store, too scared to make a decision. There’s no need for you to ever procrastinate or give up on decorating ever again. With that said, if you’d like some more help, tips or pointers, go ahead and join my FREE Decorating Made Easy Challenge. You’ll learn the tricks to easily decorate your home, even if you don’t have an eye for design.

And please, take a few minutes and leave a comment below and let me know how these tips have helped you.

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