My most disastrous redecorating project was something like Ben's. When I bought my original house in 1981, it had a painted fireplace. I decided I would strip it and stain the wood. Well, after several months of this, it became apparant the the various grains of wood that had been cobbled together to make it in 1936 would not look good stained. So I just painted over it after all.
It wasn't till Joe moved in that the real decorating began, because that is what he is good at. Trouble is, he's a perfectionist and finds every little flaw, so painting a room goes on forever.
In fact the best work ended up being done after he came down with a neuro-muscular disease. We had the library half-dormered, put in 19' of book shelves on one wall, and sanded and stained the floor. Read, Joe sanded and stained it. He would turn up the stereo so the health care aid didn't hear him screaming in pain--but he finished it.
Then we had the kitchen redone. We hired a carpenter, and figured out a great cabinet configuration. But the pièce de la résistance was the floor. Joe wanted it laid diagonally. But the carpenter poo-pooed his next idea as much too difficult. So Joe started it himself at night. He covered half the floor boards with tape and stained alternate ones dark, redid the taping and stained the other ones light. It was magnificent, though very time-consuming, but everyone who walked into the house said, "I love your floor!"
Then he redid the living room and painted that old fireplace in white and burgundy, very Victorian with complex patterns. Alas, we sold the house and moved to our present new one, where precious little has been done as Joe's disease limits his abilities more and more.
