How to Decorate When You Think You Can’t Even

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I’ve said it here before but just in case you haven’t heard it, I’m not a decorator. For some, decorating comes naturally. Some have to learn as they go and some even gain professional knowledge. Decorating to me is hard. It didn’t just come naturally and I don’t have an interior design degree. When I started my blog years ago, it wasn’t because I think I’m this master designer, it was because I expected that there were others like me. Gals that struggle a little bit but still love making their home pretty. Over the years, my inbox has overflowed with messages about this topic. How to decorate when you think you can’t even. How do you decorate when you feel like you have no skills? How do you decorate when you feel overwhelmed?

Here’s one method… don’t.

Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to be perfect. Be you.

Don’t go overboard trying to do it all. Start where you are. Use what you have.

Don’t put yourself in a box. Know what you love and define your style.

When you think you can’t even. I promise you, you can.

Stop decorating the way you think you should because that’s what the home requires or that’s what box you think you fit into. Decorate your home for you and allow it to be the perfect representation of you.

If I go through the timeline of my homes (all nine of them) I can remember the exact one in which I finally found my style. Each one prior to that I never got quite right. The personality wasn’t there. I wasn’t confident in my own ability. Instead,  I was focused too much on creating a certain look that I had randomly come across. It was somebody else’s vision, not mine. Inspiration in decorating should first start with the people who live in it. If an old friend were to walk into my home and not see me in it, I wondered, would they know this is Chelsea’s house? For a long time, the answer was no. When I started to think about creating a love-filled home, when I started undecorating, I was able to reveal my own personal style and reflect that in my home.

Undecorating isn’t about interior design or formal design rules. There’s one rule to undecorating; that is to make it you.

It’s your home.

It’s your sanctuary, where you gather with loved ones. It has to be a place you love.

When you discover your unique decorating style you can create a home you love – that is undecorating.