Q: “How do you know when you’re investing in the right piece for a room? I’m paralyzed to pull the trigger and then later realize the table, curtains, or rug I’m currently eying aren’t ‘the answer’ for my room and then spend years regretting them.” – Melissa
We get this question a lot. After roughly six years of decorating two houses on a modest budget—with plenty of mistakes, experiments, and course corrections—here’s what we’ve learned. We don’t get it right every time. Sometimes we’re too bold, sometimes too cautious, and sometimes scale or function only becomes obvious once a piece is in the room. Occasionally an item that seemed practical turns out disappointing. The point is: you win some and you lose some. If at first you don’t succeed, try again.
Mistake #1. The super-fluffy green rug in the living room. Cost: $425 (8 x 10′ wool rug).
We moved into a house with a giant 25 x 15′ family room—much larger than our previous tiny nine-foot-wide room—so we didn’t get the rug situation right initially. We bought a shaggy rug that was too small for the space and, while the texture was nice for a baby, it was a nightmare with a toddler who spills food. The fix was simple: we acknowledged the mistake, sold or repurposed the old rug, and invested in a larger, low-pile rug that fits the room’s scale and adds pattern without overwhelming the area.
Everyone has decorating “oops” moments, even when you’re careful and deliberate. You can’t foresee everything, and that’s okay. We love the room much more now that it has the correct-sized, short-weave rug. The original rug might work in a guest room, the sunroom, or it may be sold. Having those backup options—reuse, relocate, or resell—makes buying again less scary. Buying one item twice to end up with the right result is perfectly fine; we consider that part of the process rather than a failure.
Mistake #2. The kitchen stools. Cost: about $150 for four, plus primer and spray paint when we decided to try changing them.
We later found another set of stools we liked better and sold the originals on Craigslist for what we’d paid. That refunded our outlay, and the new stools cost slightly more—but the swap left us with a comfortable, functional, and attractive set that swivels and is contoured for daily use. The only real cost was the time spent spray-painting, and that felt worth it for the chance to “test drive” options and land on one we truly love.
Mistake #3. Dining room chairs. Cost: $400 for eight chairs (including slipcovers, dye, spray paint, and so on).
After many attempts—slipcovers, dye, paint—we realized these chairs weren’t going to be “the ones.” Instead of throwing more money at them, we accepted the loss and sold them for $200 on Craigslist, recovering half our investment. Their new owner planned to reupholster them, which felt good. We replaced them with six comfortable Target chairs bought on sale, which simplified the table and matched how we actually live (most days it’s just three of us at the table). We even sold the extra chairs from the new set at full price, so the transition worked out well.
So that $400 purchase became, in effect, a $200 learning experience—but it led us to a dining room we love.
Yes, we make mistakes. But that doesn’t mean progress stalls. Many purchases worked right away and never needed redo-ing. Favorites that landed correctly from the start include:
- Corian counters
- Cork floors
- Ed the bed
- A big patterned bedroom rug
- The upholstered headboard we made
- Karl the sectional
- A giant living-room storage ottoman
- Kitchen and laundry appliances
- Several lights we made or bought
- A new dining table
- A Craigslist buffet
- All the curtains we’ve made or bought
- The living-room console we built
- A thrift-store media cabinet
- An Ikea bookcase in the sunroom
- Office built-ins and chairs
- A round jute rug in the office
- Clara’s secondhand dresser and chair in her nursery
- Clara’s crib and her new Craigslist dresser for her big-girl room
Beyond learning from mistakes, we’ve used resale opportunities to reduce the sting of wrong purchases. A yard sale and Craigslist sales netted hundreds of dollars, offsetting remodel costs and allowing us to move on without guilt. Knowing you can resell or repurpose items makes trying things out less paralyzing.
Don’t freeze yourself with the idea that every purchase must be perfect. Think things through and buy within your means, but accept that some choices will be lessons. Reusing pieces in different rooms, selling them, or donating them are all valid options. Often, replacing a single element you don’t love will be more cost-effective than continually accessorizing around it.
Keep experimenting. The decorating process usually ends happily if you stay flexible—there are returns, resale options, and second chances. In the long run, a few wrong steps are worth the lessons that lead you to rooms you truly love.
