It’s true and we’ve all experienced it to one degree or another, settling to live with our decisions to remodel, update or purchase…decisions made with too little information as well as the inconvenience of long-term ramifications while being caught up in the process of laying the foundation for future delight or regret.

What qualifies for a ‘big’ design decision? The average amount of time you will be forced to live with it or to settle for ‘making it work.’ This length of time can be affected or dictated by budget, season of life, career, family needs, a sale and of course the home you choose to live in. Let’s take a look at the major categories and average life spans (according to Loretta since I’ve been at this for a while)we end up with living in the midst of our design decisions:

Kitchen: Average life span ~ 15-20 years

Bath: Average life span ~ 15-20 years

Flooring: Average life span ~ 10-15 years

Color(or lack of): Average life span ~ 10 years

Major Furnishings: Average life span ~ 10-15 years

Home Purchase: Average life span ~ 15-20 years

In the world of interior design we deal with these decisions every day and therefore our antennae’s are up with every design decision made on our clients behalf or our own. We are standing on the rooftops shouting to all who choose to hear…be sure you are making the best long-term design decision based on great information and options, budget, function, scale and beauty.

Now we can all relax and enjoy another year of great design!