apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It looks like you! goes far. Enough said.

You certainly made some brave choices.

This is one of those situations where the truth doesn't help anyone. A white lie (don't go overboard, though!) is the kindest comment.

Lie, lie, lie. Friendship is worth a white lie.

(plus one ugly item will unsterilize a whole room)

what would the truth achieve anyway? matters of taste are not worth losing friends over. and sometimes "ugly" things can have more soul than a roomful of desinger furniture …

You did exactly what I would have.. never answering the question but talking enough about the piece not to hurt their feelings. Now lets just hope your friend doesn't read AT!

I would just say it wasn't really my style.

"Wow - look at that! You put a lot of work into it. How did you decide on those colors? It's really eye-catching."

And pray that suffices....

My first friend to buy a home (15 years ago) was able to save up to decorate the living room a few years later. Her husband wasn't really thrilled about the purple toned, silvery wall paper.

While he was papering and she and I were painting he grumbled about it and asked me what I thought! Ugh.

Now my friends expect me to be nothing but blunt and honest. I said, "It's not what I would pick... but if Debra likes it... it looks nice."

Both husband and wife were validated.

Delicious nice/nasty snark from my friend's Cousin Bess, a Southern Belle of the first water:
"Oh how unusual!"
"Wherever did you find it?"
"What would you call that colour?"
"It suits you, it really does."

It's usually just my good friends who ask me what I think, and I always just tell the truth. About furniture, finances, and love interests. Hmmm. Maybe that's why I only have a handful of good friends? :-)

I always turn it back on them and ask "Do you like it?" That usually gets me out of it, but if they persist, I just say that I'm such a minimalist that any sort of adornment is too much for me. (Those who know me know this is true.) That is always my safest escape hatch.

Quite likely your friend, being your friend, reads AT and thus now knows you hate his/her paint job.

Ha Daily Nuance! That's precisely what I was thinking...I am hoping the situation described is actually a made-up-for-blogging example of a situation we can all relate too, cuz...if it's not...what's way worse than your friend telling you your DIY project is fugly is finding out on the internet that your friend told EVERYONE EXCEPT YOU.

I hope the scenario has been altered enough that Friend won't recognize themselves. My feelers would definately be hurt.

Ouch.

Daily Nuance & typicalguineapig - don't worry, I know for a fact that AT isn't something that interests them hence the ugly furniture ;)

[& that's not their furniture pictured]

Wow. If your friend is touchy then I'd go with the white lie, but in general, if I'm not close enough to them to be comfortable telling them when something sucks, then I really don't care if they're furniture is ugly and I just nod and smile.

That said, some people just have interesting senses of styles and in the end it doesn't really matter so the white lie is really the way to go.

Maybe it's something where you'd say, "Oh, that's just right for you!"

For a second I thought it was me but the item I painted was a table and it is only one color!

You know, the dresser with the mod flowers could actually be chic in the right setting. It's kinda Muriel Brandolini.