for me when someone starts trying to justify something and persuade me how i react depends on the circumstances i guess. for example if its a friend, my mother, my T etc then trust me i listen good before sticking to my guns! lol. but if its someone doing a job or someone i dont know very well/trust then yep i tend to be seriously skeptical to say the least. with that painter you were talking about i think id be kicking his behind out of there after a reasonable time limit is exceeded alright!
about the bar stools, when i find myself trying to make a decision where there are so many things i cant get my head around them i sometimes remember to try to keep things in perspective. to remind myself that getting the worst bar stools (for example) on the site wouldnt be the end of the world so that leaves me free to just look at a few samples and ignore the rest. maybe i ll miss the best ones and regret it later but its not life threatening! lol. your idea of leaving the site to come back later is essential too though. some days we re just not in the head space to be able to deal as well as other days.
btw i love the idea of having bar stools in the house. ive decided i want to buy about six different properties so i can design each one differently. one of them ive decided isnt for living in. its just going to be nothing but plain walls that i can cover in bookshelves. another one im thinking is going to have a different vibrant colour in each room. i also want one to be in the mountains, one in the city and one by the beach. im going to start buying next month when i win the euromillions lottery. rofl!! anyway i do envy you the chance to do up a whole house yourself and im living vicariously through you with all your updates so thanks!