I thought I was hopeless at interior design. Picking a paint color for my daughter's room gave me the creative spark I needed.

The author has learned that anchoring a room's design around a color helps make things feel more put-together.

Courtesy of Jillian Pretzel I've never had an eye for design.

My own spaces have been a hodgepodge, but I wanted my daughter's room to feel special.

Starting out by picking a color helped anchor my other choices.

When I was expecting my first baby, I spent untold hours trying to decorate her nursery .

Every time I sat down at the computer to pick out furniture and decor, I'd start strong: I'd find a crib I liked, then try to match it to a wallpaper that seemed to have the same "vibe." It would always spiral from there.

Maybe I couldn't find a bookshelf that exactly matched the crib, so I'd scroll through hundreds of shelves searching for one that popped out.

Usually, none did.

So I'd consider floating shelves instead.

Not knowing which wood finish to pick, I'd switch gears and look at lamps.

But what kind of lamp would be best? It went on and on.

I always ended up frustrated and exhausted, with no progress.

"Come on," I'd pump myself up in the mirror.

"This should be fun and easy." But I knew the problem: I simply didn't have an eye for design .