Decisions, Decisions

Have I already stated that I am a terrible decision maker? I've always hated to make decisions - most of you know that already. I need time and I have to carefully evaluate all the options. Once I make a decision, I second and then third guess myself. Renovating decisions are pushing me to the edge. Just so you have some insight into why I'm going crazy - I'll give you a glimpse of what I had to decide on today.

1. Stain color?

We decided on red oak floors (after much deliberation). I've always been a fan of dark hardwood floors. That means we'd need to stain ours. Our builder is NOT a fan of staining. I got some samples today of the type of stain I'm considering (a VT all natural product) and painted them on a piece of our scrap wood.

Which would you choose?

Natural...

A medium golden oak....The darker part has 2 coats applied.

Or full strength golden oak...

How about when compared to my current floors upstairs?

I must admit I'm swaying towards the more natural color...

2. Wall color for the kitchen and dining room/den

My mom taught me this trick. I bought sample of the colors I think I like the most (after getting recommendations from my mother in law and comparing all those via paint chips). I painted the samples onto a piece of cardboard. I then put the cardboard in the room and looked at it from multiple angles at different times of day to make sure I liked it.

The green is for the kitchen and beige is for the dining room/den. The white is my trim color.

Hmmmm...(and a sneak peak of the newly removed wall)

3. I had to decide between rounded outlets and square ones. I also had to decide if I want them to be ivory, white, or beige. ??????? I had no clue so I went with square ivory.

4. I had to pick a new bathtub. This decision was made worse by the fact that lots of $$ is involved. I'm going with a cheaper option simply because we're already over budget on this project and this was an unexpected purchase. I went to look at it in the bath showroom this afternoon to make sure I could live with it.

5. Under cabinet lighting. How many and where? Did I want them on a switch? Which one?

6. Kitchen sink. They need to know before they cut the countertops. Double bowl or single? Stainless or cast iron? Rounded or square?

7. Pendant lights. How many? Placement? I received some great advice on the Pottery Barn pendants I was thinking about (they're always looking dusty). I found some others that I loved but they are SOLD OUT until September! Ug. I'm thinking of these instead but am afraid they won't give enough light.

I like these as well.

Yikes. I'll spare you the rest. Any advice for a struggling decision maker??

xoxo