After the Honeymoon: How to Marry Your Decor

As marriage season is in full swing, after the parties and honeymoon the happy couple will go back to their home. And what awaits them? Stacks of gifts and two lives that now have to be merged. This includes furniture and home accessories!

Luckily for today’s couples, eclectic styles are really in. “Marrying” more than one style is what the art of interior design is about right now. You will need to think carefully how to best incorporate all of your stuff, especially when it comes to beloved pieces you may not agree upon. Bringing in a “mediator” like an interior designer can really help to figure out how to solve disputes over what goes and what stays. It’s not uncommon for interior designers to say they are also therapists- we’re skilled in handling these types of disagreements.

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

• Think about this when you register.  As you are selecting items to build your home together, this is a great time to start thinking about what pieces each of you already own, that you'd both like to keep.  This will also help to ask for things that will  look great in your home, and compliment what you already have.

• It’s not up to one person to decide.  More and more the idea that the woman is the one who dictates style is becoming an antiquated notion. Men care too. That’s why the whole house should be a collaboration with input from both sides. Sometimes men will say they don’t care or are fine with anything, but even in those cases thought should still go into what will make them happy, even if they don’t vocalize it.

• You both need your space. While the whole house is a collaboration, you should still have places in your house where your personalities can shine and you can get things done. It might be a craft room/area for her, or a special space in the garage for him. Whatever you do, try to carve out “his” and “her” spaces where each of you can explore your own interests and enjoy your personal style.

• Expect the unexpected. Doing an eclectic style right is all about releasing the need to be too matchy matchy. You want there to be an element of the unexpected.

• Don’t sweat the small stuff. Does he really love the neon beer sign he’s had since college? Can she not live without her cat figurine collection? If it really means that much to the other person, find a way to make it work. Put the beer sign in a discreet spot at your home bar or create quirky places where the cats seem whimsical and playful.

Remember, marriages are forever but couches and the latest styles are not. Learning to embrace your partner’s design perspective can be a first step in many of the compromises you will be making in your happy life together!