It’s time . . . I HAVE to decide.
I'm able to do this for my clients, so why can’t I do it for myself?
This is excruciating!
Which flooring do I choose?!
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Do you realize how long I’ve been thinking about this? YEARS!
I want the bleached oak with the oiled finish that feels so wonderful when you rub your hand across it. You can feel the grain - Muah!
But, if we're not going to live in this house much longer, I really should go with the much less expensive, ordinary, dark stained wood floor.
The bleached oak is expensive. And, if I do end up going with it, then I should also do the windows, because mine are just cheap and kind of cracking at the seals, and they won’t be of the same quality as the floor.
But, before I do the floors, I need to redo the baseboards and close in the former “living room” that is now a study.
Oh, and the stair railings need to be redone before someone actually leans on them and crashes to the ground.
Then there's all the painting that will need to be done. (You KNOW how projects can snowball!)
Right now, these are the only things I can handle making a decision on.
Every day I go back and forth, knowing what I want, knowing how much I hate to settle, and knowing how I will -- more than likely -- be sorry if I don’t do what I truly want to do; because, of course, we'll end up staying in this house 10 more years. That's just how things work out for me.
More from DESIGNED: Why Do Interior Designers Procrastinate On Their Personal Projects?
When I first got married, we didn’t have dining chairs for, probably, four years. I just couldn’t bring myself to compromise.
My first purchase for the home was my Intrex black high gloss lacquer cube coffee table. I loved it then and I still love it today. In fact, I loved it so much that I bought it a full year before we ever purchased a sofa!
Coffee table + no sofa = ????
But I didn't care that I put the cart before the horse. The opportunity came up to get that Intrex table for a steal and had to snatch it up, sofa or not! And I still have it!
You know, if I do go with those beautiful bleached oak floors, one thing is for sure:
We'll surely end up moving in a few years.
Do I know that for sure? No. But that's just how things typically work out for me. I'll put all this time and money into floors that someone else will get to spend more time loving than I ever will. Ugh ;-(
But I have to make a decision, because my husband is screaming at me! “I don’t care anymore," he says. "Just do it"!
Well, I can't let that opportunity slip by me! He doesn't say that too often. :/
More from DESIGNED: Project Tour: Design By Spousal Discord
I've finally made a decision...
I’m going move forward with the flooring that's been my favorite: The bleached oak with the oiled finish.
Why? Well, it's because I typically encourage my clients to choose that which they love the most.
Throughout my years of working in this business, I've learned that you never regret getting what you want, and you never go back and take time to make right what you've settled for. Some of my clients have compromised on their dream-kitchen, bathroom, etc. by not going for something they could've had for just a little more money. And, in each and every instance that I know about, they wind up regretting it -- Really, they always do.
So, I’m going to practice what I preach, because I don't like living with regret or settling for second best.