Coding whatever first ugly solution you come across is horrible; taking days deciding whether to use pattern A or pattern B for something that probably will change in a few months is horrible too.

Find the balance between thinking of a better way, and the time it takes to coding it.

Personally I've found codebases that could be simplified enormously just by using a different library, which I found just by searching a few minutes before touching it. You and future developers will probably be grateful.