You're Overwhelmed & Don't Know Where to Start

One word that comes up over and over again when I meet with people is the word overwhelmed. 

In my experience, this feeling of being overwhelmed is often met with inaction. There’s too many paint colours to pick from, there’s so many styles you could choose, there’s so many places to shop, there’s too many rooms to think of, the budget feels blown on the first item, and the list goes on and on. Sometimes it feels easier to just not do anything at all.  

The amount of time that I have pulled out a fan deck of paint swatches and seen eyes-widen and the look of panic. Typically followed by the comment, “I wouldn’t know what to pick out of all of those”.

Photo by Jessie Tallman Photos

While it can take some time to develop a vision for the total space and what your true style is, I am a firm believer in one thing. Start with a corner. One small corner. 

Maybe it’s restyling the top of your desk or a blank corner in your kitchen. Seek inspiration, pick a new colour (and maybe that colour is neutral!), hang something on the wall, try to style a few decor pieces, or stack a few books if that’s your thing! Truly, the sky is the limit. 

Photo by Jessie Tallman Photos

I think the key for the beginning of restyling or redesigning is to start to enjoy the process. With the feeling of being overwhelmed can come doubt, frustration, and decision fatigue or inability to make decisions at all. It sometimes reminds me of when someone decides to spring clean or have a clean out. The task itself can seem huge, but you just start with one drawer. Before you know it, you have a system down and your garbage, donation, and keep piles grow by the minute. By starting with a small project, you can have some fun and see where inspiration strikes. 

One you get a feel for some things you like, some things you don’t like, and how fun it can be, that’s when the process can become something more exciting then daunting. While when redecorating or designing it is helpful to have a bigger picture, but sometimes the bigger picture needs to be broken down into manageable tasks. 

In the coming weeks, I look forward to sharing some tips and tricks as to how I approach breaking things down and some helpful things that will hopefully jump start the process to make it more enjoyable.