Unsticking Your Home Transformation


By Triana Griffith

Interior Designer

Read Time: 3 Minutes

I wanted my master bedroom to be a luxurious escape; as if I were staying at an arty boutique hotel every night. Working from home last year and taking care of my young son, I was seeing my room more often in daylight hours. It dawned on me that I had let the plans for my ultimate retreat sit unrealized. I needed to unstick my project.

We all have them, those unfinished projects that accumulate because we ran out of steam for one reason or another. Waning house projects, in particular, add to the figurative clutter in our lives. Instead of enjoying spaces as a comfortable and functional backdrop to our lives, we constantly bump up against reminders of where we stalled-out. If this resonates with you, follow our short process for unsticking those long abandoned home projects to reclaim your momentum and work toward a better home.

Step 1: Identify the grain of sand in the cog of progress. 

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Why aren’t you there already watching movies in your new family room or relaxing in your updated ensuite bathroom? Was your project thwarted because you realized that while you need a new sofa, there are thousands of shapes, sizes, colors, and quality levels to choose from and it became too overwhelming? Was it because the kids had soccer practice every afternoon and you were hoping to plan something resembling a date night, so you just didn’t have the time to schlep around showrooms? Or is it that you know what you like but can't see how to bring your grandma’s primitive hutch and a modern sectional together in one space (perhaps, this might help)? Naming the point at which things fizzled can help you find solutions when you navigate them the next time around. 


In the spirit of flexibility, clear your mind of what you thought had to be and pretend that anything is possible. Only then can you start to define the limits of the project. 

Step 2: Look at the end goal and work backwards.

Let all the frustration of foiled attempts and the stress of a nagging to-do list drop away and imagine using your space after your refresh or renovation. How do you feel? What comes to mind when you think about achieving the best outcomes possible? Jot down these and any other thoughts that come to mind. This is the North Star for your project. Whatever gets done has to bring you to this place once the dust has settled. Fixing a destination is crucial, but know that to unstick your design, you’ll need to be flexible about how you get there.

Step 3: Ask yourself if you are holding onto a given that isn’t. 

Maybe you have thought, “This layout of the living room is the only way to use the space, so I have to replace my bulky sectional for something similar.” Something that also happens is that we carry forward a problem that related to an old set of variables. We might recall that we didn’t like a piece of art in a room, but have forgotten that the reason it didn’t work before was that it didn’t fit the wall with the sofa. Now that we might be arranging furniture differently, that piece of art may finally find a home in this room. Sometimes when looking at our own homes we take certain things for granted.  In the spirit of flexibility, clear your mind of what you thought had to be and pretend that anything is possible. Only then can you start to define the limits of the project. 

Start by thinking, “I want to redo the living room and I’m open to anything but it has to seat me, my partner and three kids and it has to allow our dog to relax with us, too.” This easy thought experiment can relieve you of all the problems you thought you needed to solve and give you a new perspective. Even if you don’t come to any new conclusions, it can help you generate different questions or clarify the obstacles between you and the end result.

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Step 4: Make a plan.

Now that you’ve identified your obstacles, you’ve set your sights on a specific destination, and you’ve separated absolute musts from what you’re flexible about, write it all down. By amassing all these details in one place, a clearer path forward is revealed, allowing you to take concrete action toward your end goal.

For me, it was scheduling time to select art and pillows that would add unique details to the space. The results are nothing short of joyful.

Whatever the reason, or reasons, that your project was cut-off, you can use your insights from this process to address the specifics to your situation.  And if you’re still feeling overwhelmed and under the gun, give us a call. Our expertise makes us adept problem-solvers and our resources allow us to help you get to your dream space.