Design UnInspired?

Since we've returned home from our vacation, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the renovations I want to do in our home (when I'm not thinking about the impending holiday season). In particular, I've spent a lot of time thinking about our living room. Since the living room is a) the first room you see when you enter from our foyer, b) the room we spend the most time in and c) one of only two rooms on our main floor, I want to be sure that the design and decor is something that I love, but others can truly appreciate. I don't want it to be too trendy, but I also don't want it to be cookie cutter. For a while, I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted, yet there was something in my gut telling me it wasn't quite right. This morning, while browsing through my latest edition of House and Home magazine (The January Trends issue), something hit me and I knew I had it all wrong. That being said, I am extremely happy that B and I didn't take the plunge a month back and start purchasing some of the materials for my original design plan, as neither of us would be very pleased at this point in time.

Our home was built in the 1920's and is located just up the street from the shore of Lake Ontario. Since the first time we saw the house, the location and character have had me thinking "cottage". I want to keep that cottage feel in our home, but update it a little bit and THIS my friends, is what has made me scrap my original design plan.

I originally had something more dramatic in mind, darks floors with dark walls, a floor to ceiling ivory stone fireplace and pops of colour (mainly light blue). As much as I loved it, I know it doesn't fit the character of our home. So I'm now leaning more towards light floors (natural looking) and more of a natural stone look for the fireplace. I'll have to see what I really LOVE before I decide on the fireplace and wall colour, but at least now I feel confident in the direction I am taking.

Regardless, our living room is a blank slate so I definitely have the ability to do as I please.

So the design is a work in progress, and I'll keep you posted on my thoughts, but I am completely open to input from readers. How about you? Have you ever had any projects where you (thankfully) realized before you began work that it was all wrong? Or worse, have you ever realized it while putting your plan into action? I'd love to hear your stories!