paint chips 2We’ve been painting this summer. It’s been a looong time since we painted the main rooms of our house. And about nine months ago our daughter moved out, and we’ve turned that room into a cozy TV room. (Which may explain my heightened Netflix habit of late.)

Our method has been that I agonize about colors, choose colors, change my mind three times, buy paint, and explain to my husband where to apply it. (After 35 years together, I guess he doesn’t go through the motions of pretending to have strong opinions on the subject, and I don’t go through the motions of thinking he might!)

My general history with paint colors is regretting the choice by the time I get the can to the car.

On the one hand, it’s “just paint.” It can be changed easily enough. On the other hand, it’s kind of a lot of work. Our home has a fairly open floor plan, so once you start, it’s hard to find a stopping point.

Because of this, I think in the past my mistake has been thinking I need to have a whole-house plan, and it has to be worthy of a magazine feature. I’ve gone slower this time, thinking about what I’m trying to accomplish, which parts of the house I’m trying to connect, what I want to preserve about the existing decor.

And I’ve made one decision at a time. For instance we painted the eating side of the kitchen without having a clue what we would do with the cabinets. It was okay. By the time I figure out the next bit, Husband is willing to paint again.

• What about you? What causes you regret? What do you learn from it?