Marrying different decorating styles once two become one
The “I do’s” are done, the honeymoon was heavenly and it’s time to make the move to living life as man and wife under the same roof. He wants to support his sports team through framed jerseys, signed footballs and foam fingers and she’s set on seeing her country chic collection of cows kept in the kitchen.
As an individual, interior decorating doesn’t have to be hard. If you want to paint your walls purple or pick up a new piece of art, there’s no one whose opinion matters more than your own. But once the wedding wraps up and two individuals become one couple, two styles and two opinions must also merge in matrimony. The first year of marriage might require some work and the same can be said about a couple’s first home.
Before any big move, taking inventory of what you have and what you need will help you decide what will come with you to your new home and what you may need to purchase. If you both have a couch but no space for two of them or a dining room to fill but no table to take with you, focusing on your needs will be more important than dreaming up décor options. You will have to take into account things like space, budget, comfort and logistics – leaving the emotions out of the decisions so your home is filled with the necessities and not just the niceties.
Chances are that, as a couple, you’ve found things that you both either love or hate. It may be vintage signs, travel memorabilia or simply a soft shade of grey. Use this as an opportunity to create a style that is unique to the two of you. By focusing on your similarities, you may just come up with the perfect colour combination that suits both your tastes.
If your spouse expresses an interest in something that has you questioning his or her style, don’t be so quick to turn it down. Just because you didn’t love it in his place or the set up in the store wasn’t exactly what you were looking for, doesn’t mean it may not work out well once it’s welcomed into your home. Being open to new styles, ideas, colours and accessories may bring about a style you didn’t know you loved. It surely won’t be the last time you try something new in your newlywed life so starting with a small sacrifice may be an easy way to say yes when you’re thinking about saying no.
Conversely, it will also be important not to force your finds onto your new lifelong housemate. They have to live with you forever but that doesn’t mean they have to live with a colour they just can’t stand or an ottoman they want out of there. If you know your partner doesn’t care for it, sending it to storage may solve the problem before it becomes one.
As a newlywed, changes can be overwhelming. You’ve just committed your life to someone else so you may not be ready to make any other big commitments in the months following your wedding. Luckily, you don’t have to when it comes to your home. There are no rules that dictate how quickly your house needs to be decorated or how long you have to stick to one style. So try something, let it linger for as long as you like it, and try something new if it’s not working for one of you. There is no need to be consumed by colours and curtains and collectibles if you’re just not quite sold on how things should look around the house.
If you’ve come to the conclusion that you can combine your styles without much fuss but you still feel like you’re lacking your identity, try finding a way to make a dedicated space for each half of your whole. If he really wants his pool table but it doesn’t match the aesthetic you’ve agreed upon, a game room might allow him to feel like he has his space without compromising your style. Similarly, he may hate to see your crafts cluttering up the couch, so creating a corner where your imagination can take off might be the best way for you both to win.
Just as with many moments in a married couple’s life, compromise may be the key to happiness when it comes to making your house a home. Know that you’re married to your partner, not the way they decorate. Deciding what’s important, being open to other ideas and learning to let go of the little things will ultimately make a merger of two styles as seamless as possible so you and your home can live happily ever after.
