I struggle with this, too. If you're like me, you pondered and studied for an extended period of time before pulling the trigger. I think some of the "foreboding" is simply the result of stopping the decision process and moving on. Now you have to find something else to fill the time that you were spending on the shutter decision making process!

What helps for me is giving it a little time, reminding myself that I worked through countless alternatives already before making my decision, and NOT going back to look at any other options. My DH makes me crazy by doing just the opposite. We'll make a big purchase, like a vehicle, and then he'll be online digging around to make sure we got the best price. STAHP IT! And don;t hand me your iPad to show me what you just found! It's done, and the post mortem isn't doing anyone any good.

Do you regret the purchase? Or are you worried that down the road you may regret the purchase?

I think we worry that we may regret any decision that we put a lot of time and effort into. We put a lot of thought into something because we care about it. It's natural to wonder about the path not chosen. But wondering isn't regret.

I used to second guess myself a lot, wondering if I had made the perfect choice. But I finally realized that there isn't just one perfect choice. There are lots of great choices and each may be perfect in its own way. Oft times one choice will narrow future choices and so kicks off a more defined direction, but that is just part of the process.

I also learned/am still in the process of learning to accept that I made a good choice, perhaps a great choice, maybe even the perfect choice and to accept that any of those is enough. Lots of times the perfect choice may be unattainable in reality. Also, sometimes the thing I LOVE is not the right thing for my house, my life- and then I have to let it go.

Letting go of something you love can be very hard. You see this often with 'pretty things', people fall hard for esample, for a gorgeous tile, but it just doesnt work with the other elements in the space and they struggle with letting go.

To me an attractive space really is the sum of its parts. Each part may not be singularly spectacular, but they work together to create an environment that is balanced, cohesive , functional, and enjoyable.

For me, I think it's the one I left behind whenever I decide. What might I have missed. So how do I deal with it? I say to myself, trust you! You made a good decision and you LOVE what you got. Don't worry! Only helps about half the time.

:)

Shari

dont know if this helps but if you purchased plantation shutters you will love them. We are in SW FLorida and they are very popular here. I thought they might be overdone but they are wonderful and look great!

Now on the other hand the blue sofa I thought would look great is still not growing on me. I still have anxiety when I walk past it!

Oh amck, I know those pangs of regret so well! There are so many beautiful things, I would need several homes to use everything I love. That's not in the cards.

We have plantation shutters on most of the windows in our home and I have to say although expensive, you will never regret your decision once they are installed. They are gorgeous and timeless. I hope you will enjoy them.

I can't really add much to the comments above because I've felt most of those feelings, and only rarely has something felt absolutely right. Since I order everything on-line it's fraught with even greater problems because you can't see or feel the real thing. I can only tell myself that not having the perfect item that I've dreamed of having is not on a par with poverty, war, global warming or the population explosion. It's because we're so privileged that we have the luxury of worrying about getting the exact shade of wall color or the perfect couch.

I have never, ever made a choice about anything that I did not have "buyer's remorse". I think it's just the nature of the beast.

I just went through this with the new range we recently bought. Not only were there too many options to filter through but then there's the reading of reviews and analyzing what is real and what isn't. Ultimately though once it was delivered and installed, I was in heaven because it's exactly what I wanted.

I think with something custom it would be especially hard to avoid some remorse. However, having a plan B tells me you did your homework and took some time to think it through. I suspect they will be exactly what you envisioned and I hope you'll post a pic when their in to give us a peak!

Thank you all for making me feel better. There is no going back now so I will just hope they are fab when they arrive.

I'm just in the process of returning a king-size quilt, shams and bed skirt. I completely miscalculated that purchase. I hope the one I bought in its place today is the right one because I'm not about to ask my husband to pack up another giant box and lug it to the post office. I've already made him return four area rugs in the last few months in addition, and a couch had to be returned because it wouldn't fit through the door! The couch that replaced it was much too high for me to comfortably have a laptop on my lap, so we put it in another room and are now sitting on an old couch instead of a brand-new one!

Shari, just last night my husband and I were talking about what a perfect decision our plantation shutters were. We went with 4" louvers and once we made that decision I did have a bit of "oh, gosh - was that the right choice?" -- but my excitement and anticipation took over and as soon as the first window was hung I knew we'd chosen well.

I'm sure you've chosen well too and hope you can move on to the excitement phase. You're going to love your shutters.

I'm right there with you OP. Be it a car (took MONTHS to make a decision), a sofa, a purse, you name it. I also think the higher the cost the more anxiety after the purchase you have.

Like one poster said, you move onto researching the next purchase. Sometimes the internet did not make our lives easier.

Honestly, when you see the plantation shutters on the windows you will not have second thoughts. They are expensive sure, however you will have stylish rooms for many years to come. a great purchase.

I always have buyers remorse, usually because the things that I like cost than I want to pay for them. If I buy something that costs less than the item I want, I am never satisfied with that. I wish that I could just accept the fact that I like expensive things and purchase those things, without feeling any guilt about it.

YES, YES, YES, YES, YES....need I say more??!! I can relate. It's so much worse when I order something (usually larger item like a piece of furniture). I obsess with whether it was the right decision, will it fit, is the color right? And on and on...

Wow - Localeater. Very well said.

Yes, I often regret a purchase and when I do I am usually right. When we needed a new sofa for the living room I had a sofa picked that I knew would be perfect. We had to make a two hour drive to find it in person so we could test it's comfort level. Well, DH didn't care for it and instantly spied a sofa that he just had to have. It messed up my whole look for the room and the custom chairs that I already had ordered weren't going to work with the sofa he chose. So now my beautiful new chairs are in my office and never used. I had to take my chairs from the library and move them to the living room because they worked fine with the new sofa. Now I am having a set of French doors made that will fit the opening into the library and I will move the custom chairs into the room as soon as they are installed. In the meantime my chairs that worked with the new sofa are getting shabby and have to be replaced. The change of one single piece in my plan caused me to spend two to three times as much as my original plan and I am not at all happy with the results. I will NEVER take DH furniture shopping with me again.

It's funny. I often have the opposite: I'm happy(er than I should be) after the fact.

I'm not the only one like that. It's a cognitive bias called choice-supportive bias.

Holly-Kay, is your DH my DH's long-lost brother from another mother? I swear, I can have pieces of furniture picked out and DH will go in the totally opposite direction and say 'What's wrong with this one?' and then I have to explain my choices. Or just leave without buying anything. It's just not worth taking him furniture shopping with me or we would have a house full of ugly overstuffed recliners or something equally bizarro. Sorry for going a bit OT but I'm about to go new sofa shopping and oh boy do I dread it.

Edited to add: he's really a sweetheart, and I shouldn't go off like that, because I'll actually go pick out something, then take him and show him what 'we' are buying in this case.

I understand totally. As much as I love DH, he has the worst taste. Whenever we go shopping together , I never get what I want or need!

LOL. outside. Maybe they are twins separated at birth. The sofa DH picked would be wonderful in a certain type of room. A muted library that looks Ralph Lauren like. It's a Chesterfield leather sofa, covered in a rusty colored leather. It is quite a handsome sofa but totally masculine. I had a totally different look in mind.

We have a library but that is my go-to room and the sofa would overwhelm it. The living room is where he spends most of his time when he isn't in one of his garages so I felt since I could make the existing library chairs work with the sofa I would humor him. The worst aspect is the sofa I had chosen had a bench seat so would be comfortable for him to sit on because he always sits dead center. This sofa has two cushions and he sits on the crack between the two cushions. I guess I am ocd because even though it's not my butt being uncomfortable it drives me crazy sitting that way.

Here is a pic. The ugly coffee table was purchased so he could see his laptop better as it has a lift top.

Regrets? Often have them! I second-guess a lot. I know the look I'm after, but not always sure how to get there. I have a "trial and error" approach to decorating. :-) Plantation shutters can look gorgeous! Just remember, it always takes time to get used to a new look. When I moved to my first home, I lived with white sheers for 6 months before I bought curtains. Had them hung by a pro and left him alone while he worked. When I came back into the room, I was shocked by the change and instantly regretted it. I considered options to adjust the look. Then, everyone in my family saw them and loved them! They said they "made the room." I grew to love them, too.

Regrets - yes. Several times - learned that I am not good at judging the size of furniture in my home, I need a 3D mock-up before ordering something custom. Also, that beautiful windows and a great view have the ability to distract me away from my need of a functional kitchen, but we can not have it all :)

Since I usually hunt things for a long time, I rarely have regrets.

But sometimes I'm being impulsive. For example I'm saving for a bed for my daughter(she has where to sleep no worries..she just dreams about full size bed instead of twin). Yesterday they have all sorts of deals, in honor of Mother's day..I see some nightstands and I fall in love. We don't have matching nightstands in our master; we have other things (huge end table and bookshelf ladder lol) that work nicely and look fine, but it's been years that I wanted to get matching nightstands because I think our bedroom, as much as I love it, might use some relief:) So I buy these nightstands..sale and all, but it's not really cheap.

And I know-it's not that I chose wrong, they are adorable, and in worst case if my husband hates them or I have an unexpected bill to pay-they're lightweight and the store is 20 min from us, and we can return it.

But could I go without them for another year or two or three or..?

Yeah I could. So sitting here full of remorse and guilt..

Also they were new. I know old nightstands that I really tend to love are more expensive than these. I even checked our CL once again, to make sure before making the purchase. But still. Who knows, maybe I'd eventually find a bargain.

And now I still have to find this full size bed.

I can't even tell myself I gave myself a Mother's Day gift..because I already got a HUGE orchid...

Thank you for giving me this great opportunity to confess..because I didn't say a word to my unsuspecting husband yet..:)

Honestly, I rarely have regrets about a purchase. Maybe it's because of my age, and have already dealt with that issue, but really can't remember ever being indecisive. Seems like I love or really dislike something, not much inbetween, and this usually relates to style, color, pattern, etc. I'm the same way when it comes to buying clothes, shoes, etc. As for settling, I would rather wait, if it's something I feel I can't afford at the moment, but don't believe in excessive spending either, even if it's something I love. A good example is never spending over $5k on a sofa.