I think some folks can go over board and not realize it. I remember a post a while back where a gal posted all the pictures in her house that she decorated and redecorated. It was like a box of crayons exploded and every knick knack was displayed. Lots of chandeliers and hanging things from the ceiling.
Way too much..but then again, it's personal style and if you want a box of crayons to exploded in your space, go for it.

At least it's less permanent than getting a tattoo...

An addiction interferes with ordinary life responsibilities...so if you're not making good decisions in other parts of your life because of your decorating habit...then the answer might be yes.

To a less severe degree, I'm a bit of a compulsive unclutterer...sometimes it is easier for me to take on an uncluttering project than doing other things that are important to me (reading, drawing, etc). So I'm observing a self-imposed uncluttering moratorium between now and Christmas so it can't be an excuse for not doing other things.

It's definitely my drug of choice.

Addiction? No. Compulsion? Yes. I'm never truly satisfied with my personal space. I can walk into a client's home, design the hell out of it, and they are thrilled. I think because I see my home as some kind of mad scientist's laboratory I'm much more willing to experiment and try new things/trends/arrangements/etc...

@Rachel C Brooklyn, that's exactly what I tell my mother when she comes over and sees I've painted the bathroom ceiling gold or my kitchen cabinets hot pink! It could be worse ma ;)

Maybe. Probably!

However, to me it's getting the space to please me, then mostly I leave it alone. (I might not EVER rearrange my living room -- it's set up in the only comfortable way that looks good to me as it is, and I'm happy with it. If the sofa breaks and must be replaced, the new sofa might change that dynamic, but most likely it will just sit where the current one does...)

So for me maybe it's less an addiction which seems like an ongoing thing than a compulsion to get it "right", or at least what seems "right" to me. (Budget constraints being a part of that -- with the money to buy absolutely ANYTHING I probably would be totally stumped, my style is working with what I have or can afford to get, and that's never going to be the things featured in Architecture Digest!)

I really own what I do, though. We renovated the Adult services floor of the Library where I work, and I was essentially "project manager". Now any threat to the carpeting (dirty shoes, illegal coffee, etc.) and I am personally annoyed! Don't you stain MY carpet!!! ;^)

Some people are way to serious for this article. ;0)

I say..yes! :) I decorate and redecorate all the time. I love it! :) Just wish I didn't waste money on it.

I have a similar condition, but I call mine Design ADD. I wrote about it for Shelterpop a few years ago: http://www.shelterpop.com/2010/11/30/design-add/

I understand what your saying...taking that negative connotation off the world "addiction." I'm totally addicted...and I don't go overboard as far as over-decorating, but I will change up a room on a whim. I'm committed to my addiction.

I absolutely agree that decorating is addicting, but for me I have an addiction to starting sewing projects and not finishing them. I have three going on right now with several knitting projects on the side..

I definitely get a little compulsive about shopping online for house things, even boring things. I can look at 15 pages of rugs or cabinet pulls or lighting fixtures no problem, even if I don't have money to buy them. It wastes a lot of time, but in the grand scheme is a pretty harmless way to numb out when stressed.

Hm. I have my color fan deck in my purse most of the time, just in case. Touché, I guess.

I love looking at and dreaming about what I would like to change in my environment. I buy when something no longer works with the rest of a room or when I can upgrade to a better piece or when I see something I fall in love with. Furniture and objects are one of my primary interests and I look at decorating as a hobby. I am definitely not a minimalist and like my rooms to be full of interesting and beautiful things but after35 years of collecting I find that I need to take something out before bringing anything more in.

I'm with JenPDX. An addiction interferes with ordinary life responsibilities...so if you're making good decisions in other parts of your life then you are probably fine. I am definitely drawn to experiencing the pleasure of transforming a space. I find it delightful. And what is wonderful is that it doesn't ever have to be finished. When an item wears out or ceases to please you or the seasons and light change, you can change what you don't want anymore and start again to bring the room balance again. I am not addicted, but I enjoy playing with my space to make my mark.

I will never understand the desire to use a clinical term and a clinical model for something that brings pleasure. It's so puritanical. Clinical addiction wreaks havoc on one's life; it disrupts and destroys human relationships; it causes neurological systems to go awry and burn out; it ends marriages; it turns children away from parents. Decorating has never done this in my experience.

They tried to make me go to rehab and I said, "No, no, no."

Not to be too serious, but yeah, I think decorating could function like other addictions. I'm sure there's a chemical rush in the brain that comes with finding that perfect something, and we can become addicted to it (just like gambling addicts and sex addicts do). Baby Smalls comment about numbing out is apt. If we chase that rush or that numbing at the expense of our relationships or obligations, it's a problem, not a pleasure.

If it leads to over-spending and debt and arguments over money, then it's not harmless. Not to mention the environmental and ethical considerations of producing all the knick knacks and whatever..

I think it is more of an affinity towards change and the element of excitement that builds as you get closer to making your project happen. It gives us something to look forward to.

I know someone who'd I say was addicted. Their house is absolutely gorgeous, but she ALWAYS has a new project going on. And many of the projects are serious business: knocking down walls to change a small bedroom into a dressing room (I have to say it's incredible), building new kitchen cabinets by hand in the basement, building an antique looking fireplace where there previously was none. Between that and new paint and redecorating the house never stays settled for more than a month. It's all very beautiful, but seems exhausting. She should have been a decorator.

There's healthy, happy addiction............ and then there's home dysmorphic disorder.

@Creative License - heh heh.

Mindless spending/buying can be a true addiction for which decorating can serve as a justifiable excuse. Decorating, when driven by an aesthetic ideal and creativity, can hardly be an addiction. Addictions are boring and repetitive, just the opposite of creativity.

Might be - after ordering the new sofa a couple of weeks ago, I've been spending countless hours scrolling through pages of table lamps, seeing hundreds that would be "OK", but nothing that really made me want to "pull the trigger", then the other night - there it was - but I was so used to scrolling, that I kept on going, but then it dawned upon me - my heart is thumping! - scrolled back up, and I realized - I'm in love! The lamp has not even arrived yet, and the process has begun again - this time for floor lamps and throw pillows. But you know what really makes it seem like an addiction? It's the fact that since I've gotten rid of everything that doesn't fit the new decor, and I'm sitting on the one remaining chair, next to the one remaining little side table, beside the last lamp (all of which are destined to go once the replacements arrive) - I've never enjoyed my space so much! I LOVE living with so much empty space - so why the heck am I so compulsivly trying to fill it up again?!

This is definitely speaking to me. I'm not sure if I just get bored too easily or if I'm simply overflowing with creativity. Either way, as long as you don't go so far as compromising your financial security or risking relationships because you can't seem to ever leave Ikea, I don't see anything wrong with being creatively preoccupied.

This is exactly what lead me to my love of pillows... I keep the big items in my room neutral and then "redesign" often by changing out the pillows!

I don't know if it is technically "crazy" to move, remove and replace furniture and all the trimmings constantly or not. But I do know you better turn the lights on when you come over to my house...even if you've just been there....no telling where anything is!!!
I just keep trying to find the "right" combination, but I hope I never do because playing with my real-life doll house (which, I never had one of those growing up), is a whole lot of fun, even on a non-existent budget!!

Within the space of a year, my stepdaughter redid her kitchen three times. The house was being renovated when she decided to buy it, and the seller/renovator let her pick out the appliances and cupboards she wanted. She went with blond wood and orange walls. Months later, she decided to change it. The orange was out, and new green tile was put in, and she changed the fridge, though she kept the cupboards. Some months later, she changed again. Dark maroon high-gloss cupboards with dark gray countertops and backslashes, plus all new appliances. This is just the kitchen. She has done the same with the rest of the house. She makes minimum wage and is also a clothes horse. (Debt, anyone?) I think she is chasing a lifestyle--that she thinks that if she buys the setting and the costumes she can make the right play unfold on this stage.
That said, do I try to upgrade my home? Sure! I am working on recovering some 30-year-old club chairs. We just rearranged the laundry room so that I no longer bonk my head on a low pipe every time I try to get to the dryer. Every place can be improved. I wouldn't want to become complacent.