Christine, I so totally agree. My problem is that I can't imagine the way something will look from a swatch of fabric or a sample. I am best when I see something and know if I like it or not. (I copied my master bath from a display) Uusally if I like it, I will like it forever. If I am rushed, and just pick something, it usually turns out to be a disaster. So, you are not alaone in this.

I just bought/borrowed over a dozen swatches of fabric for dining room chairs. The fabric that I picked? I found it when a cookie/ad popped up when I opened my email. Really.

Right at the top of the screen, there it was! I have no idea how I missed it after looking at fabric, online and in person, until my eyes crossed, but BAM! There it was. It came in the mail the other day, and I love it! I'm sure the people at the fabric store think I'm a nut.

Oh, and the curtain fabric? That swatch was just an afterthought, because I had my heart set on something else, but when the swatches were all hanging up, I thought "WOW, glad I ordered that one!" Then DH walked by, glanced at it for half a second, pointed to The One, and said, "THAT one!" Remarkable, coming from someone who rarely has an opinion on anything.

I just returned a dining table, too. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but it just didn't make me love it. I found a table that I do love at an antique mall. In my giddiness to finally find IT, I missed some damage that had been badly repaired. So, thanks to the woodworking forum folks, I'm working on repairing it as best as I can. Despite it's flaws, ***LOVE*** the table.

I think this is why my house is ever changing. Something sticks in there till I find the PERFECT thing, then for some reason, it all seems to fall in line once I do.

I just finished repainting our MB, and there are some elements that are just right, and some that aren't, but they're keeping the whole room from just right. I can't put my finger on what it is that is off, but until then, I don't think I will be comfortable in there.

I have kind of the opposite problem. I can fall in love with lots of different things, especially fabric. I carried one piece of embroidered silk around with me for three years. I just knew that it would become the basis for my bedroom decor. However, once I started to put together coordinating fabrics and total up the custom sewing charges, I changed my mind completely and fell in love with collecting vintage Ralph Lauren linens instead.

Something similar happened recently with dishes. I saw a complete set of vintage china that coordinated perfectly with some vintage glassware that I had started collecting (a whole different story). Anyway, while I was waiting to see if I could purchase the set I wanted, I noodled around on eBay to see what else was available. I fell in love with a set of eight plates and suddenly I needed to find coordinating pieces to those plates. So, now I'm on a new quest. I'm still hoping that the original set will be available some day, but I'll enjoy the plates I bought. They aren't "just good enough." They are different love affair altogether! LOL!

Do I have problems choosing? Oh, absolutely. We've been here for 3 years, and the living room still has three walls of this weird yellowy cream, with one dark, muddy-blue wall, that the former owner seems to have loved. There are patches of test colors over parts of the blue, but that's as far as I've gotten. Our stuff sits amidst these colors -- tobacco brown sofa; gold chairs; lacquer red chest; dark metal lamps with peachy-apricot silk shades; oriental carpet, from Armenia, in dark rusty-orange, grey and navy on a dark cream ground; an oriental runner from Azerbaijan in reds, browns, and dark cream; dark-stained gateleg table; Victorian side chair with tobacco velvet back and cushion in maroon with some kind of needleworked design on it....you get the picture, I'm sure. And a pretty one it is not!

The kitchen is in the same condition. In fact, if I can figure out how to post pics here, I'm thinking I may have to ask for help with paint colors. It's either that or wait another million years or so until inspiration strikes.

You park across the street and stare at siding? Such restraint you have! I walk up to people's houses and hold my paint chips against the wood to see if they match. It's best done mid-day during the work week. And I take my dog with me.

Oh ... I can visualize fabrics and color. In 3 days, I picked out the colors for the repaint of our whole home. Painting started mid week last week. Love how it looks! Luckily I don't have trouble choosing, but I give my husband heart failure because he can't visualize. Poor guy!

Usually, when I buy a big ticket item, I take my time until it just hits me. I'm a know it when I see it kind of girl. I actually love what I pick for a long time.

I did this last time I bought a car.I wanted an SUV mid sized and drove everything and wasn't real happy with anything in particular. A coworker of my DH suggested I try the Nissan Murano.This was back in 03 and they had just come out. They were very different looking than any other SUV at the time. I said no, it was too funky looking at not big enough. Well, I test drove it and fell in love. Way bigger than I thought. I still have the car and continue to love it.

I can't visualize fabrics most of the time, and have a wide range in taste. My biggest problem though is I become obsessed until I figure out what I want and where I can find it and I'll go to extreme lengths spending a lot of time to find "it" whatever it is.

I've also learned the hard way by spending money on things that weren't 100% to my liking only to replace them a short time later, (such as the sink in my basement :c) so regardless of the time involved I think you're smart to hold off until you know it's right. Seriously, if you always have to settle then what's the point of doing it at all?

On the flip side, don't you just love that feeling you get you've finished a project that is comprised of 100% everything you wanted or love?

I tell my sister that it takes me longer to buy a pair of shoes than for her to buy a house!

Graywings, I did better. I went up and knocked on the door and asked them if they knew their manufacturer.

They didn't, but lo and behold, they knew it had been painted because [insert drum roll]
They had the paint swatches AND the rgb codes. I was in siding heaven.

I looked and looked for comparable siding, but nothing was going to match this color. That's when I decided to paint my cabinets with them.

Now, SW has a new vinyl siding paint. My wheels are turning, but the $$ gotta come in first.

The car anology is great, too!
I wanted a red truck. Period. Red. I saw a step side truck and being short, loved it.
I looked and looked and looked and...
I held firm, given the fact I would probably have to drive it forever, and would be forever mulching!

We were at a Chevy dealer looking at a regular truck with step sides. It was fine.
I turned around to walk in the showroom & there was a Chevy Colorado Extreme just sitting there. Black, but I looked at that, pointed and said, "That one."
The extreme package makes it low to the ground (all the Spanish boy drag racers love it until they see the old lady driving it.)

I love my truck every moment.

It just HIT me.

Christine

For big ticket stuff, yes absolutely! I *have* to love stuff that I am shelling out big bucks for, otherwise I end up mad that I "settled". I know what I like and will wait patiently until I get it.

On small stuff I will just buy something that works. I have had to make things "work" in many many Army houses.

I spent years--YEARS looking for a sofa. I knew what I wanted...I wanted my mother's Henredon. Not too deep, not too tall, comfy, well built...but we couldn't afford a Henredon. Then, just when I was beginning to give up all hope...Mom moved. Henredon wouldn't work in her new place...and it became MINE.

So, yes. I understand your dilemma. We've always said our house was furnished in Early Auction House and Vintage Thrift Shop. My tastes have always exceeded my budget...I haven't re-done the kitchen in this house because I know how I want it to be--and that's not happening for a few years yet.

I just remembered a couple of other things that just hit me.

For my MB, I bought West Elm Open Stock lighting. I have no idea why it caught me so, but after I saw it, it didn't matter what I saw, this was it.

Same with my Kohler waterfall sinks. Alterna I think is the name. Believe it or not, I saw them in a Chinese Restaurant bathroom & went back to try to find the manufacturer. LOVE THEM!

Same with my Cifial guest bath fixtures & my kitchen faucets.

Go figure! :)

Christine

It's a wonderful feeling when something "hits you just right" and I love when that happens. However I don't always wait for that and since I like so many things I just force myself to make a decision. Of course it varies depending how quickly something needs to be done and I can procrastinate with the best. I also don't expect perfection with every decision - sometimes good enough IS just good enough and it's OK to just like something. I've also had the perfect thing that became the less than perfect thing when something better came along.

Life is too short to agonize over every decision IMO.

Christine, I'm in the same club. I like being surrounded by things I love - otherwise, it's just stuff. I put in a new kitchen in 2003 & didn't decide on the perfect backsplash until 2008 - the cornice remains undecided although now that the inspiration is there, the $ isn't!

I've been known to obsess over paint colors where the variation is so small the paint store has trouble telling the difference between the colors.

There are several advantages to this madness:
If something strikes me as 'got to have it', it usually works in my home even though I'm not looking for anything in particular

and

If I'm inspired by one minute detail for an empty room, every other design element usually falls into place, at least in my head, LOL.

We know that we're going to be redoing our bathroom in approx. 2 yrs. Things have to hit me just right so, as I've seen them, I've already acquired our sink, sink faucet, tub faucet, medicine cabinet, and shower curtain rod. They sit quietly in the basement - their day will come!

Total cost for those 5 items = $128.00.

Part of what hit me just right was the cost - how can I say "no" to exactly what I want...for free !!!

Better to take your time than to rush and hate your decision. I've done that more than once b/c I get tired of thinking it over. Can't seem to find a happy medium.

antiquesilver, that's IT!

I may not even be looking & find a single, perfect piece.

I do find, tho, if I'm actively looking for something? I almost never find it. It's when I distracted (adhd) with something else that it pops up in front of me, or when I've just decided to (or been forced to) go with good enough? It'll happen.

I find the same, though. When the perfect item hits me in the face, it does go with and probalby compliments whatever's going on, anyway.

I don't really care about cost (that's the old me talking) but I will now, shop my bummy off. I'm big on asking for layaway, contractor, AARP, DirectBuy, any discount other that might be available. I'll save if I have to, to get exactly what I want. No more good enough for now!! Waste of $$.

I found myself in a pretty lucky situation. After a 2005 fire, in 2006 we took the insurance money and a loan, and bought almost all the materials we needed for the house. Windows, doors, fixtures, some lighting, toilets, sinks, things like drywall nails, nuts & giant bolts for the front porch, joist hangers, you name it. If you can name it, I probably have 3 of them.

Anyway, in 2008 when I decided I couldn't wait for STBX to put his $$ where his mouth is, I started working to put these materials in place. Windows installed, electricity done & corrected, plumbing installed & corrected, heat & air conditioning, doors, etc. So it was over 5 years that I've worked to do these things. Still got more to go. :)

Getting to the point: I continue to be grateful that I still like the fixtures, paint, tile, lighting, etc., that I picked out 5 years ago.

The only casualty are 3 flush-mount lights that I bought because DH actually offered an opinion on them. I'd like to sell these. 2 are still in the box!

I don't like the cabinets I bought for the MBR. No "ah HA! I also discovered after I bought them, that what sucks me in are inset cabinet doors. No wonder I couldn't find a cabinet style I loved!!! I didn't KNOW what I loved!

But I evidently do still like my own "Ah HA!" stuff. What a weird blessing.