WAS THE NEWSLETTER #83

I’m Paige Wassel. WAS the Newsletter is your weekly dose of design inspiration, where we have to embrace learning as we go.

We’ve talked about your interior design mistakes here. Like, a lot. I’ve seen your comments, and I maintain that the 2012 chevron rug needed to go. But today, it’s time I take a little accountability and roast myself.

I have made some regrettable choices. Some of these decisions keep me up at night. To be clear, I don’t necessarily believe in interior design “mistakes” because trying things is part of figuring out your style.

That said, I do wake up in a cold sweat sometimes, wondering what TF I was thinking. So let’s revisit the bad, the cheap, and the “why did I paint that?!” through the eras of my life and homes.

The Geneva Homes

(aka: where my parents bought the same house twice and no one blinked)

1. White tile in the kitchen
What were we thinking? (Actually, what were they thinking, because I feel like this wasn’t my call, even though I was often involved in their design process.) My dad said it was the worst decision they ever made. White kitchen tile is just a magnet for every crumb, spill, and weird sticky thing kids drop or splatter. It's like installing a guilt trap in the middle of your house. Ditto on the white tile floors in their bathroom. I think a neutral color would have worked far better

2. Faux wood basement floors
My parents were early adopters of vinyl plank flooring. In theory, this sounds cool until you realize moisture made it bubble. You know what’s perpetually moist? A basement. I swear to you, that floor bubbled like a cauldron. Then we replaced it with carpet, because that’s what you definitely want in a basement with three kids and a leaky toilet. (We were disgusting; no wonder my parents never came down there.)

3. Jack’s childhood Ralph Lauren teddy bear prints
These were framed. Iconic. Sentimental. We got rid of them anyway. My brother still brings them up. It’s one of those things we all regret but pretend was a mutual decision. It wasn’t.

The Lake House

(aka: where I emotionally spiraled and sold Sheryl Crow’s rug)

4. The fake-real wood floors
We replaced the parquet wood floors with wide-plank wood that I will swear to you is fake, even though my folks swear it’s not. I can’t even talk about it. My parents like them. I try to forget they exist.

5. The Sheryl Crow rug
A Craigslist find. Absolutely stunning and I bought it for my Venice home. This thing was huge, like 10’ x 12’. Probably belonged in a Frank Lloyd Wright estate. Definitely belonged to Sheryl Crow. I got rid of it during a breakup-inspired purge and sold it for $300 at a garage sale. Unlike the song line, this was not my favorite mistake. I will never emotionally recover. Don’t declutter while unstable, I beg of you.

The Chicago Condo

(aka: 700 square feet of DIY dreams and regrets)

6. DIY concrete bathroom floor
Did I know how to mix concrete? No. Did I let that stop me? No. That stupid floor cracked, chipped, and haunted me until I covered it up with hardwood—in a bathroom, which is… not ideal. But the concrete had to go. Here’s what I want you to ask yourself before you DIY a concrete floor: Are you a mason? If yes, proceed. If no, put the trowel down.

7. Black slate shower tile
The black slate looked sexy and sleek, and I thought I was so clever to box in areas to hold shampoo. Until every iota of soap scum showed up after the second or third use, looking like powdered sugar on a donut I didn’t ask for. Zero stars, would not recommend.

8. Accordion door into the den
I never replaced it. I hated it. Now my sister is moving into my old place, and it’s still there. I owe her a real door.

9. Not using a pet-proof rug pad
I really should have used one. RIP to the wood floors beneath where The Goo, a tiny gremlin made of rage and tremble, used to pee with reckless abandon.

10. Using fake painter’s tape
The off-brand tape that I bought pulled the stain off the wood floors. Bit of a false economy, really. So yeah, go Frog Tape or go home.

11. Painting the kitchen cabinets myself
Budget DIY is fine until you have to touch up chipping paint every few months. Big mistake. Huge.

 The Los Angeles House

(aka: where I finally had some funds and still made questionable choices)

12. The two chairs
Beautiful? Yes. Comfy? No. Reupholstered in a discontinued fabric I loved. Regret? Medium to high. I was able to sell them, so it wasn’t a total loss, except I am really bummed about using up almost all of the fabric first. Live and learn.

13. The too-short DIY bedroom curtains
I measured. Then ignored the measurements because I adored the fabric. The result was a gorgeous pair of high-water curtains that I gave to a friend. Painful. And the replacements were expensive.

So what did I learn from these mistakes? To measure twice. To sit in the chair before you buy it to determine if it’s comfortable. To avoid doing masonry unless you’re in the union. And to never, for the love of Sheryl Crow, purge vintage pieces in the middle of an emotional tailspin.

I share these regrets because I want to emphasize we’re all figuring it out. These days, I measure more. I reupholster less. I learn from my mistakes. And if you're feeling some kind of way about your 2017 millennial pink phase… don’t. When it comes to design, if it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.

At least you didn’t sell a rockstar’s rug for the price of an Uber ride.

xx,
P