Most of us have been there. You start a renovation, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and spend hours scrolling on Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration. In your head you have a vision of what you want to achieve.
Then the questions start. What colours? What layout? What type of flooring? What type of lighting? What window coverings? So far, so good.
Then the questions continue. Where do you want power outlets? What type of door handles? Which tiles do you like? What type of light switches? What colour grout?
The next thing you know it’s 3am and you’re lying in bed wide awake stressing about whether you want chrome tapware, or should ditch that in favour of the latest trend, black tapware.
That’s the point at which renovation decision fatigue has probably set in. So what are some early clues that your renovation has moved from exciting adventure to a mind-numbing stumble through what feels like an endless list of decisions to be made?
It Keeps You Up At Night
Whether it’s just that you can’t get to sleep because you’re circling endlessly around in your mind about decisions yet to be made, or waking up in the middle of the night after a nightmare which involved two types of light fittings chasing you – decisions about the renovation interfering with your sleep are a big clue you’ve got renovation decision fatigue.
Too Many Opinions
Now you’re asking for opinions about your home renovation from everyone – and I mean everyone. Your family, your friends, your work colleagues, people on public transport. Your cat. At this point asking for, or even worse, listening to someone else’s opinion is a way of escaping from making a decision yourself. Although cats often have very good design advice. Dogs, not so much.
Samples
When you have more tester pots and swatches than you do locusts during a locust plague, you’ve completely lost the plot. Just how many shades of cream are there really? Let’s see… Cream, ivory, alabaster, linen, lace, chiffon, parchment, egg shell… yep, renovation decision fatigue.
Minimalism Becomes Appealing
You started out with a really strong vision of how you wanted your renovated space to look. Then one day you look around and think, I just want a box. Four walls, paint it white, and I’m done. The ultimate in minimalism. Perfect! The only problem with this version of decision fatigue? How many shades of white are there really? Let’s see… White, snow, baby powder… Doh! Not again!!
Giving Up
The final stage of renovation decision fatigue. This is the point at which you utter the words “I really don’t care any more, just get it finished”. A lot. Remember back when you planned to trawl through countless homeware stores and cute boutiques to find the perfect accentuating touches for your newly renovated home? Now you just walk into one shop, buy everything, and leave. Done.
Okay, so renovation decision fatigue does happen, and a lot more often than most renovators care to admit. So keep an eye out for part 2 – what to do about it, or even better, how to stop it happening in the first place.