Yes, thank you Houzzers for a great discussion - you enlightened me in so many ways. This was my first time posting here and I really enjoyed the lively back and forth. I'll be back!

Great topic and so relevant for many! I have clients who just feel overwhelmed, have hard time making decisions (and don't want to make the wrong ones) and simply don't have the time to put into it. Hiring a professional does not have to break the bank, sometimes paint and furniture rearrangement can make a huge impact on a home. Have fun!

Sometimes people have many beautiful things but is arranged poorly. I have helped many people with "no cost" design and they can't believe how much better they feel about their home by using things they already had. Small changes can make a big difference. As Karen McKown said, some people just can't "see" it. Or, just don't care. Or, if you ask them the original question here..."Why don't you decorate? They may say..."What do you mean? I have decorated!" lol

For me decorating is about expressing myself and feeling comfortable in my home environment.
Walking through the door from work and feeling at ease with how the house is pleases me endlessly.
Buying pieces of art which I see and feel ought to be a part of my life it how I choose my decorations.
Having a beautiful sofa gives me an inner satisfaction.
Some people I have met like to spend time travelling, breathing in the world around rather than decorating it. Neither is better so I respect the differences and know that one persons home who doesn't decorate illuminates the home that is...

I love to decorate and play with color and heft and light. HOUZZ has been wonderfully helpful to see how people decorate with various colors and configurations for our oddly shaped kitchen. As we've come along in our remodelling, however, the problem has been poor choices in furniture stores. I live in Southern New England and it's hard to find anything you'd want to buy. All sofas are oversized with rounded arms, in uninteresting, dreary fabric with a poor hand. None are scaled right. Why is it so hard to find a love seat with a depth less than 41 inches? For one of our spaces, even 37 inches deep is overload. It feels like much of the generallly available upholstered furniture is geared to people trying to fill McMansions to accommodate hefty relatives. Luckily, IKEA has great tables and chests, so those choices are fun. We've finally bought the smallest sofa available from Restoration Hardware, but I feel like I'm dressing it like you'd dress a big woman: with scarves and hats to hide her size. But it was still a $2000 investment that was not made whole-heartedly.

Get some books and turn off the TV. Chairs and couches from Ikea for $2000.

Everyone decorates their home. Human beings surround themselves with items they need or feel they need to be comfortable.

I believe that everybody decorates, from poor to rich everybody wants a nice place to live. But sometimes the feeling of niceness is different from peoplr to people.
Now if we take in consideration, the decorating that people are mentioning here, eg: hanging art, choosing furniture, accesories and so on to be aestetically pleasing, i think the majority of people, like me, lacks the "education" of why and how things work.
When i was a little girl, my mother dressed me(great taste) and i was pretty as a button, then teenage years i dressed myself and looked like crazy cat lady while my more aware friends dressed impecably and had boyfriends :D

Therefore I a mere mortal (me)have a house that looks like a second hand store stuck in the whatever's, but my artistic friends (you) with the same funds would make their places awesome finding things from the same stores.
I used to see a great room and think that it looked great because the furniture was expensive, but never realized that a wall was painted a certain color and every choice was thought upon.

So decorating is just like life, with people working on their on level of awareness. We shouldn't rush.

Deb, great comments.

Two aspects that I think are important are the perception of space and the ability to visualize a space. I know people who are most comfortable in a small, cozy easily maintained space with only the basics. There are others who need a lot of space, e.g., men who are tall, and feel cramped and clautrophobic without tall ceilings and open space to navigate in. The visualization is one I suspect is a difference that one is both born with and develops with time and study. I also suspect that most of us here have that ability to "see" a finished room and have developed that capability over the years by studying design. I know that even at a young age, my favorite activity was to go house hunting with my parents and by age 18, was devouring every decorating magazine I could find, despite going to college and having no money to do anything. So many people tell me that they do not have the ability to imagine or mentally picture making changes in a room. My husband is one, and he would always laugh and tell realtors (we have moved 10x) that I have a house mentally decorated by the time we finish looking at it or that the decorating doesn't matter because I will change it anyway :0). True that. So I guess it is both a curse and a blessing. One the one hand, I would love to be able to sit in my perfectly comfortable rooms and not be mentally making decorating changes or spending perfectly good "savings money" to visually change a space because it "would look better". On the other hand, it is nice to have that ability when moving and needing to make a house into a home on a tight budget. My 6'3" husband, who is happy with the comfortable recliner and a large screen TV, good lighting, and nice kitchen.....period.......however, has to have the 9-10'ceilings and space to move around or he feels the need to escape the boxed in, claustrophobic space. So bottom line, I guess what makes each of us comfortable really varies and as previously noted, it isn't always the money or some designer's opinion of what is fashionable .....and we all know how that looks at garage sales or in dated magazines....that makes our houses "home". There are no right answers, only right answers for each of us and our families. BTW, this is probably the best site on the internet !

Renos are generally expensive and I hesitated to do much for years out of fear that I would not like the outcome and feel that the money was wasted. The idea of hiring a designer didnt make sense to me as the cost of that would chip away at what money I did have for the reno - with still no guarantee that I would love the outcome. I suppose with age comes wrinkles and a more carefree attitude. This year I rennovated most of the main level of my home and I went about it not caring so much about what was "current' or "trendy". I was guided by my own preferences, likes, dislikes. Im pleased to say I love how it is all coming together. Absolutely no regrets about the $ spent......just wishing I had trusted my own instincts years sooner so that I could have enjoyed my home more years ago.............

peetsoo......Good for You! Exactly the right attitude, but don't ever regret the past. You might have made different decisions 10 years ago and not been happy with them now. Just enjoy your new "nest". I really do believe that feeling safe and comfortable and enjoying the beauty of your surroundings at home lifts our spirits every day.

Agree so much with violetr.....live in rural west pa, where oak and overstuffed rule....there is not a modern furniture store in 40 miles....no target even. Finally got a lowes a few years ago.....before that mom and pop lumber stores...I'd go in and say I want interior French doors for example, ans they would try to talk me out of them, and wouldn't show me the product book just made me describe what I wanted without seeing options......took me weeks to source iron spindles for stair railing....had to order through stair company 60 miles away, then take to welder to size....I added wide poplar trim, painted white through house, knowing its not going to be popular when we sell....but I hate stained molding in homes like ours that are medium sized without great windows...and particularly don't care for oak. Thank heavens for the Internet, although its great for ideas, but there are still some limits....I'd be reluctant to buy major furniture on line, and I just had to " settle" for exterior patio doors that were really not what I wanted, yet cost $2500.....so seeing ideas that are not available to you is also frustrating....

Kady5. Don't you wish you had even a dollar for every expensive copy of AD you bought over the years? Now we have houzz! Yay! I also agree with going with what you like. I also hate stained moulding and am trying to get the energy to paint all of mine. Ug.
Also, Just ordered two butterfly chairs. I don't care. I love them! Also, Susan if you have tons of money and like modern, you can so easily order over the web the icons from knoll, herman miller, etc and then you aren't guessing what they look like or what the quality is.

nancymic; When I discovered AD at about age 19 in a hotel shop, I thought I had found manna from heaven :0)). In those days, there was no internet and that was the only shelter magazine of that quality. While those pages were way beyond my budget, experience, or lifestyle, the world would stop when a new issue came and I would sit down and devour every page. What an education. But I do love Houzz now for the interaction with fellow decorating aficionados and the ability to share ideas. Thanks for writing.

I think some have started to touch on the fact that some people don't care or don't get much pleasure from decorated or designed spaces. Those who are visually creative tend to be more emotionally influenced by their spaces and surroundings.

Everyone has their priorities and some would rather have a new car or tech/gadgets or spend on travel.

For me, it affects my mood... It's the same reason I like well designed and properly lit restaurants. And having a well designed work place makes me enjoy my time at work more. My boyfriend is musically creative and although he can appreciate a well-designed home, his approach is all about function. He doesn't care for "things" that serve "no purpose". For me, a beautiful bowl brings joy to the viewer (me!).

I do think we're all wired a certain way, and if interior design matters to you, you're visually wired and your home or surroundings elevate or deflate you! And you just love the process of putting it all together :)

If I could give my "Younger self" advice: don't try to please everyone and take criticism too seriously. Design to please yourself!

We spend way too time and money worrying about what others will think about our decor.

I think some are just can't imagine the space in any other way than what it is....one might look at room and say.." well I need a sofa and chairs and a coffee table set in here..." and someone else might look at that same room and say " oh I think this would look perfect here and match my sofa set... And that there..." some just can't see what it can become... They just see it for what it is... And are ok with it...

Here in the U.S. people my age that live in their own place rather spend money on their cars mods, gadgets, bars etc. Which is funny to me, you don't just get a place and just "live" in it. There's no life in a home if your own taste of creativity is absent. The trend is "clean, modern and slick", which is boring but to boring people (most of earth) it's something to be complacent about. People will say they don't have money for a velvet couch, this type of rug, this type of texture, this type of table, shelving, lamps, drapes, chandelier, paintings etc. but they have all the money in the world to upgrade their iPhone or Galaxy's every year and eating outside of the house everyday. OR "I want leather, because you don't have to clean it" blah blah just excuses for their laziness. Besides they probably only think that "Tuscan" is the only interior design that exists, which exposes their ignorance hah. These people don't know anything about: Industrial, Art Deco, French, French counrty, Vintage rustic, Rustic, Gothic, Versace, Rustic Modern etc. These are the same people that look at rich peoples houses that have a Rustic Modern interior design and say: that's a nice house...because they're rich. - No, it's a nice house because they were creative enough to put Rustice and Modern design into their house to make it even nicer.

Wow, Seanne...

Lazy, no money, no taste, no idea what their taste even is, lazy, don't know where to begin, have made MANY costly errors in the past, lazy, just don't care.

Do I understand this way of thinking? No....

Or maybe, just maybe, we do what we want with our money, in our homes, and don't really give a rat's a$$ what others think. Maybe, just maybe, we value different things than you. Like not calling people names.

Or....some people are just not into decorating or gardening. We are all different and have different interest and hobbies.... and That IS OK.

My biggest hinderance is my kids....I have 5;)....and money. You can't put things on surfaces because the little ones won't keep their hands off and it will end up as clutter and broken. Nice looking furniture doesn't clean well and therefore is not very practical. Amazing looking chairs don't rock, rugs often don't come clean ( a gallon of Koolaid is Not coming out, sorry), and light fixtures get broken in pillow fights. Original art is usually crayoned on the wall and requires scrubbing instead of admiring. If I had tons of money it wouldn't matter, but I don't and would rather have a clean house we can enjoy.

My husband has gone to friends with gorgeously decorated homes and drooled...until the mom screamed at the 5yo for driving matchbox cars across the floor and ruffling her table arrangement, or the husband could not do anything without being scolded for messing something up.
It is a choice for this season of our lives, but it doesn't bother me as much as it does my husband. (Thankfully, I am home with the kids all day:).

@casandra-383- I like your pragmatic practicality- seemingly based on the heart of the famiy relationship rather than the aesthetic religion of creative perfection!

I believe it's a lack of interest in home and family.

Lots of interesting suggestions have been put forth here, but let's face it, it's a strange question to be asking on Houzz, cuz absolutely EVERYONE reading or contributing here DOES care about decorating and design! So really we're just guessing about everyone else!
To me it's a lot like cars. I have one. I use it. But I don't "care" much about it, and only do what needs to be done so it will continue to reliably take me from point A to point B. I would never think of lovingly waxing it (is that still something people do?) or reading a magazine about cars. I imagine there might be an online forum somewhere ("Carzz"?) where theories are being put forth as to why I feel and behave the way I do. (I'm trying to imagine their discussions but can't even think of what these car people would have to talk about!). The point I'm trying to make is that the way I don't care about cars - it's not even on my "radar"- , is probably a lot like how lots and lots of people out there feel about decorating.

I believe that the main reason applies to a person's personality and income. Some also think " who cares! "some want to impress others, some have the knack for it and can decorate with that would work and some don't have any money to spare for any of it. looking at TV decorating shows decorating looks rather easy I see people going into homes removing all their contents and replacing them all with new and beautiful items . That would be the way to go but in reality how many can really afford it all?

There is a whole lot of judgement on this thread, people being branded as lazy, money wasting, too stupid to find their style, too disorganized, too poor...so, here's a little judgement back at ya! Learn to accept that not everyone shares your lifestyle, goals, desires, for as many different reasons as there are stars in the sky. The neighbor down the block who never bothers to decorate for the holidays, like the rest? Her baby has cancer, and she has other things to think about. Your cousin who just doesn't get the difference between Art Deco and Bohemian, no matter how you explain it to her? She and her husband are selling, he's lost his job, and she is ashamed. Your coworker who leaves when you start yammering about finding the perfect shade of gray? well, he just isn't interested. So rather than judging others, how about we just enjoy, and be thankful for our homes, and our own small abilities to make them what we will. You make my heart ache.

teamaltese, I have to totally agree with you there's a lot of assuming and judging going on here. Not decorating does not necessarily equates with being lazy, disorganized, not talented or too poor. Some people are just not interested in it.

And vice-versa, having a beautifully decorated home does not mean being rich, not having kids in your house or not letting your kids run around your "priced possessions". I'm not rich and my house is beautifully decorated with a lot of found pieces (Craigslist, Salvation Army, hand me down furniture from friends and family) There's also lot of DIYers like myself that like to create and make my own decorative pieces and even my own tables and some furniture. Nothing in my home is expensive as I've always had a lot of kids around, so if anything breaks, it's really not a big loss. I can always make another one or find a cheap replacement. And that's just the way I like my home, cheaply and nicely decorated so I can enjoy having my grandkids and their friends over. And if someone else likes to decorate their house like a museum with very expensive pieces, I just DON'T CARE. It's their house, IT'S THEIR CHOICE. Happy decorating everyone, or happy whatever it is that you enjoy doing.

Perhaps this was a loaded question for some but don't forget that this is " Houzz" a place where we share ideas and answer questions to the best of our abilities . So please lets leave personal tragedies and other problems out of it . We either like to decorate or we don't ,we all have our reasons and it doesn't hurt to have dreams even if they cannot be realized. This is a place to wish for better things .

Yes, Genevieve, but we can share our ideas respectfully, otherwise, we're just trolls on social media, trying to kick up dust. I think Houzzers are better than that. It's one thing to be direct, another to be rude and mean. This ain't high school, we don't have to bully to get our opinions heard.

The diversity on Houzz is WONDERFUL!!!! Stops me getting bored!

Teamaltese, it is very difficult to please everybody anywhere , even on here . Unfortunately even if we are not in "high school" or any other grade we will find bullies along the way for the simple reason that bullies grow up and continue to persecute and offend others regardless on what they do or say , those shouldn't be calculated, instead , let those who are really willing to give opinions that are sincere and express themselves even candidly at times be part of this community of Houzzers. Decorating is fun if we can afford it , not everyone is lucky in life ,we all have some sort of a battle to fight , so lets forget all the negatives for a bit, its a new day lets enjoy it .

This is a 2year old thread, I think Houzz has matured alot in some ways (and gone back to ? In others) since then.

It's nice to hear other people's opinions but even when giving an opinion a bit of respect and less judging is always, always welcomed even when we differ in opinions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G9IbKeEG18

What a beautiful, touching story, Genevieve. Thank you so much for sharing I truly enjoyed it.

Have a wonderful day everyone .

Actually nearly three year old thread. Can't we close it?

Gen, when I watched the YouTube link I only got music, no video.

Thank you, Genevieve, same to you. Good night everyone.

I bought a house last summer. First year focus was furniture, garden etc. Recently I started focusing on Interiors. To be honest, it was absolutely boring with just electrical and furniture. I have managed to give colour to my home with handicrafted wood and glass, 15-18th century miniature indian paintings, Lanscape art on forex, brass wall decor, Clay wall decor, rosewood paintings. Where do I get things from: Posterlounge, British Museum online shop, Amazon market place, Homesense (TK Maxx), Charities. However its not too overcrowded and not goddy. I dont care too much about symmetry, for me colours and variety are important. It says I am not a boring person. Budget: £200 ($300). I dont think thats a huge investment.

Speaking for our family, we're too dang busy remodeling!

Im decorating my place slowly - not just going to big box stores to fill in all the blank spaces! I typically find my furniture from auctions, thrift stores and recently from Restore (Habitat for Humanity). I think Pinterest is awesome! I've gotten some wonderful ideas off of Pinterest on "decorating" and there are so many ideas its easy to decide how much work you need to do to get the result you want. Also great for budgets which I think can also be a hurdle when decorating. Here is my latest which includes an upcycle/recycle diningroom buffet/hutch which I repurposed into storage for my bathroom!

I decorate often and love to... But what i dont like is how hard it is to shop for good finds i like... Everything now is cheap in stores, straight lines, fake wood or not any wood or curves... Too contemporary and why everyone likes those looks is beyond me! I think much of it is overratted expensive when not even worth what its made of like plastic, cheap metal or the horrible MDF and pressed wood products... I have seen some of the ugliest yet pricey items on Houzz, Wayfair. Birchlane etc... occasionally luck out and find something, but not often... Recently i ordered an entertainment center... Now i am sending it back when i found it was expensive and needs a lot of assembly to its cheap MDF fake wood design... Plus it looks so out of place with much of my other furniture... So why is it all these stores now, and the designers even on my favorite channel of HGTV, all think we need to have contemporary or go the route they all promote in Modern straight boring lines?Why why why? I May be old fashioned and be behind the times in my decorating but to me it is more comfort, more pleasing to the eye, and cozy looking than all the rest being sold out there so i think i will stick to what i like and hope someday when i go to replace something like an entertainment center or a table it will be real wood and fit in, so i dont have to get rid of everything and startover... I happen to like my antiques, my overstuffed couch and my style... Not theirs... So please tell the designers to stop shoving all the Contemporary down our throats and in our face like it is so great or the best way to decorate... It is so irratating and so tired of it... The only one who seems to come close is Joanna Gaines and her cozy Farm house style... Not all of us like even the industrial or masculine looks of some stuff out there... Then we see ugly colors like orange and yelliw with furniture that looks like out of the 50's and 60's i hated the designs of that era and the color schemes, but they are calling it retro for the youth of today! I'm sorry but i call it bringing back tacky and ugly...sorry but thats how i feel... Something needs to give a little more room for other tastes, not only on decorating shows but in stores and in online Shopping... Yes antiques are expensive and to find something that goes with your few antique heirlooms you never want to part with, How do you find new pieces to compliment or go with that style? Such as what i love, Traditional Old World, European, such as Tuscan. French, German and a few others decore? Also i dont like minimalism being pushed either... Thats as if to say we should get rid of our collectibles, or photos or paintings we love and place only a few weird objects in the room like a cement vase, and a fake plant... No thanks! But i thank God there is still room for Antique shops and Estate sales out there...

Temporary mentality. I love to decorate, but if I don't want to stay in a place (home, city) long term, I don't decorate. Maybe I'll decorate my forever home some day.

I'm also a minimalist and try to live simple.

I grew up in a military household. I never saw my parents decorate homes until I was in my 20's and had long since moved out. My first apartment, I didn't have any budget for decorating. Second apartment I didn't have any budget for decorating. First home, we were house poor and I knew we would be moving in 5 years. Second house, I paid out to remodel the kitchen and remodel the bathroom, but I haven't decorated the rest of the house in the 12 years we've been living here. We'll paint it white when we're ready to go but it's a lot of effort when our intention from the beginning has been to sell it when we're ready to move.

We have plans to build our own house and for the first time, intend to decorate. But I don't have a lot of interest in decorating a home that the next person to buy probably won't like. I'll decorate what I intend to keep. Otherwise I just live in investment pieces on carefully selected pieces of land that I've researched and made sure will grow in value faster than most areas.

I haven't read all of the comments yet, though I plan to when I have the time. I have always been "into" design and decorating, though my mother never did any, or cared much about it...though I do remember her painting her bedroom lavender, saying she had always wanted it that color. I aspired to be an interior decorator when I was 13-14, I obsessed over Better Homes and Gardens when I was 6 (I loved the floor plans), I was a design major in college, wanted to become an architect from an early age. I ended up not working these fields...just saying that this is something I have always thought about. I know, though, that there are many, many people who do not think much about these things at all.

I also know that there are times in my life where I think about design every day, and peruse Houzz and magazines endlessly. Then, there may come a period where I don't sign in to Houzz for weeks or a few months at all...other things take priority, and my mind is occupied life's endless opportunities (and grandchildren!). I think money certainly has something to do with why some people don't 'decorate,' but I suspect that it is more that they have other priorities for their time and resources.