When I first started learning about interior design and decorating, I began to notice how ugly my apartment was. With my newfound understanding of balance, rhythm, harmony, and proportion, I was seeing my apartment through new eyes, and it wasn’t pretty.
Naturally, I wanted to solve the problem right away. How could I even dream of calling myself an interior decorator if my apartment looked like that, after all?
I knew I could do better and I wanted to prove it. So, I started to shop. I shopped for furniture; for rugs; for wall art, shower curtains, vases, coffee table books, dinner plates—you name it, I added to cart.
In the midst of my buying frenzy, however, I started to realize something. First of all, I was going to be in severe credit card debt if I kept it up, but more importantly, I needed to slow down.
Good design takes time. Go slow and be patient.
In my haste, I was settling for pieces that were just okay. My apartment started to look slightly more design-forward, but the space wasn’t coming together the way I wanted it to. Nothing was quite right, and I started to resent a lot of my buying decisions. I wanted to start again…again.
All because I was going too fast.
When you’re decorating for a client, you will almost inevitably have a time limit. But when you’re decorating your own home, you don’t have the same limitations. This means you can acquire items slowly and be extremely picky about your selections.
It’s Okay to Use a Placeholder While You Wait for the Right Piece
You don’t have to settle for something generic just because you couldn’t find the perfect, worn wood writing desk at the thrift store that weekend. You can let the desk you bought in college act as a placeholder while you spend months or even years searching for the one.
Once I realized this, everything changed. I stopped buying new pieces just because I didn’t like the one I already had. Instead, I put my energy into planning. I spent my weekends building detailed mood boards and refining my vision for every room in my apartment.
I thought about what needed to be replaced or added to make my apartment look better, yes, but I also thought about when things needed to be replaced. What would have the biggest immediate impact, and what could wait?
Build A Collection of Furniture & Decor that You’re Proud Of
By going slow and taking my time, I’ve been able to build a home that feels like a personal collection.
When you enter my apartment, the first thing you’ll see is a framed Rothko print that I found wandering around a flea market in rural Maine. Come in further and you’ll notice the pale green metal bar stools that I bought on Wayfair after spending weeks combing through thousands and thousands of options. Hanging on the sliver of wall next to them, you’ll see the tiny silver-framed mirror I picked up at my favorite antique store in St. Pete while playing hookey from work.
These things don’t feel like things to me. They tell the story of my Design Baby journey and they all have memory attached to them—mine and, in many cases, their previous owner’s as well.
But while my curated collection is growing, it’s living alongside pieces that I can’t wait to replace. My kitchen cabinets are full of cheap Ikea dishes that are covered in crazing. My couch is made of stiff, gray fabric that doesn’t match my aesthetic, and my entry table is about four inches too long for the space it fills.
When I look at these things, it’s easy to feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. They look out of place and they don’t adhere to the principles of interior design.
In reality, their presence is a testament to the fact that I know exactly what I’m doing. With slow, intentional decorating, I’ve been able to avoid the sterile, staged look of a rushed job. Instead, I’ve created a home that looks and feels right, even if it has plenty of room for improvement.
If you’re on a Design Baby journey of your own, I encourage you to use your home as a practice space, but to go slow as you experiment. Think long and hard before you order CB2s entire inventory, and prioritize planning, building mood boards, and creating mockups instead. Let yourself enjoy the search and bask in the glow of a great find when you finally come across the perfect piece.
I promise it’s worth the wait.
