The 90% Rule Will Save You Thousands on Your Next Home Project

If you’ve ever tackled a home project — no matter the scale — you’re probably familiar with the feeling of decision fatigue. Maybe it’s a large-scale renovation that stalls because you’re struggling to choose a tile or a floor stain. Or it’s a small weekend refresh you keep putting off, waiting to find the “perfect” paint color, fabric, sofa, etc. It happens to every design-lover at some point. 

As a bit of a perfectionist myself, I was so excited when Cathy Poshusta, DIYer and blogger behind The Grit and Polish, shared her #1 rule for dealing with that familiar,  frustrating feeling. She calls it “the 90% Rule,” and it’s so simple but seriously ingenious.

Poshusta is a home renovation blogger with years of experience under her belt. I really admire her exquisite eye for design and always enjoy reading about her and her husband Garrett’s practical DIY tips and tricks. In a recent Instagram post, Poshusta explained their 90% rule and how it helps the duo make design decisions. She writes: “Instead of asking, ‘What’s the nicest option?’ we ask, ‘Does this get us 90% of the way there?’” 

Basically, it’s all about knowing when to settle for second-best. “You can usually get 90% of the look for about 10% of the cost,” Poshusta explains. In this case, she used the rule when shopping for new bamboo blinds. Instead of choosing the more expensive designer option, the couple decided to save by using a cheaper pair. “If you squint, these bamboo roller shades look almost like designer blinds, but they cost way less,” says the blogger. “[And] I like having the money we saved a whole lot more than I would have noticed that last 10% [of quality].”

I loved the idea of this “rule” so much, I reached out to Poshusta to learn more. She shared that the 90% rule also inspired this DIY skirted vanity in her bathroom. “We could have commissioned a complicated custom cabinet to meet our needs, but instead we used a simple fabric skirt that my mom sewed [to make a curtain],” says Poshusta. “It gave us almost everything we wanted at a fraction of the cost.” Poshusta says making the decision to forgo the best, easiest, or most “perfect” option forced her to be more creative, which, in turn, created a more charming solution. “That is really what the 90% rule is about,” Poshusta tells me. “Realizing there is a version somewhere below perfect that is still great and costs you much less money, time, and effort.” 

Finding satisfaction in a not-quite-perfect solution doesn’t just cut costs; it’s also more sustainable. Poshusta points out that in renovations, pursuing the final 10-percent often means removing functional walls, cabinetry, flooring, or even whole sections of a house. “Working with what is already there usually means less demolition, less construction waste, and fewer new materials,” she says.

The best thing about the 90% rule is that it helps eliminate decision fatigue. “Renovating involves approximately one million decisions, and without some kind of framework or boundaries, every one of them can become an endless search for the very best option,” Poshusta says. “It’s exhausting to try to optimize every single thing. The 90% rule gives you a stopping point.”

So, the next time you have a big design decision to make, ask yourself if you’ve found a solution that gets you 90% of the way to your ideal end result. If the answer is yes, then stop your search for something better. “Honestly, I don’t miss that last 10%,” Poshusta says in her post. “Sometimes good design isn’t about spending more. It’s about knowing when you’ve already arrived.”