Decorating an entire home is no easy task. However, if you add another person to the mix—especially if that person doesn’t necessarily see eye-to-eye with you on the design—creating a beautifully decorated home can seem like an impossibility.
Luckily, with a little compromise and some creative thinking, even the most dramatically different design minds can come up with a solution that both people can be happy with. To help you see how this can be possible, here are three tips for decorating your home when your design aesthetic clashes with your partner’s.
Opt For Neutral Pieces
One thing that can make decorating a home challenging is if the decision makers have very specific design ideas that are in opposition to each other. In a situation like this, Laura Gummerman, a contributor to Women’s Health Magazine, recommends that you try to choose neutral pieces for the main decor and design elements in the space. What this means is that rather than picking a piece of furniture that is bright, trendy, or otherwise ostentatious, you should opt for more classic pieces.
Prepare For Give-And-Take
While compromise is good, what can also work is if you and your partner agree to some give-and-take when figuring out the details of your interior design and decor.
According to Melisa LaBancz-Bleasdale, a contributor to Houzz.com, it can be helpful for each person to decide which items they absolutely want to use and what items they would be fine going without. While this might mean that you have to let something in that reminds you more of a hunting lodge than a family home, your partner might also be allowing you to keep something that they feel would be more at home in their grandparent’s house. But so long as you both are willing to let your partner have some wins so that you can have some wins, your relationship should be able to withstand this kind of compromise.
Embrace Eclectic Designs
Because both you and your partner are going to be living in this house, it makes sense that each person should be represented in one way or another. And since you and your partner fit together, there’s likely a way to make your design aesthetics fit together as well.
One way to do this, according to Molly Miller, a contributor to HGTV.com, is to embrace the eclecticism that blending your sense of style will bring about. If you’re able to do this, not only will each of you be comfortable in your home, but it will truly be a space that was made for you, by you.
If you’re worried about decorating your home with your partner, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you strike the right balance.