Decor Dilemma: How to Stylishly Cohabitate With Your Significant Other

When adults move into one home, it can mean a lot of doubling up on things. The odds are that you both had kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms before the move . . . but there's no room for two tables, two couches, and two beds! A good rule of thumb is to start from scratch, donating your old stuff and shopping for new pieces. However, because that's not always a possibility, try to sacrifice equally. Keep one partner's bed, the other's couch, and so on. Unless one of you has objectively better stuff (like a leather Restoration Hardware couch vs. a stained Ikea love seat), it shouldn't fall on one person's shoulders to sacrifice all of their treasured pieces.

The solution: Sacrifice equally.

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It's not uncommon when cohabiting for one person to take the reins when it comes to decorating the home. If this is the case in your new place, your significant other might be feeling a bit left out! Even if they don't communicate it to you, it's not a comfortable feeling to live in a home that has no traces of your own personality. To avoid totally steamrolling your partner's taste, be sure to represent the two of you in your decor — whether that means framing their childhood photos for your gallery wall or decorating the bathroom in their favorite color, showing sensitivity to your significant other's preferences is extremely important when moving in together.

The solution: Seek equal representation in your decorative choices.

When moving into one person's home, the homeowner has a very important responsibility to their new housemate. Because they've already had a life in their home, it's vital that they create something of a blank canvas for their partner when moving in — if the new resident doesn't feel like they've contributed to the home, it will always feel like they're a guest in their significant other's house! Try painting the walls together or rearranging all the furniture to suit your partner's taste.

The solution: Make changes to the home together so that the new resident can feel like more than a long-term guest.

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If your penchant for mustard yellow isn't well received by your purple-loving partner, you both need to compromise. Narrow your home's color palette down to shades that you each enjoy — if no common ground is possible, you'd both better start getting used to whites and neutrals!

The solution: Avoid polarizing hues in favor of a mutually beneficial color scheme.

When decorating a new place with her new husband, Lauren Conrad found that her dude had different requirements for furniture sturdiness than she did. "I think he really appreciated my ability to recognize his needs and accommodate," she noted of her choice to invest in a durable coffee table instead of her lucite pick, which allowed him to kick up his feet after exhausting days at work. If your partner likes to heavily flop down on the bed or tuck their still-sneakered feet up on the couch with them, consider their needs instead of forcing them to walk on eggshells. Try a wooden bed frame instead of a dainty wire headboard or a gray couch instead of the white fabric one you'd been eyeing. Living in fear of your furniture isn't fun for them, and constantly nagging somebody you love isn't great for you either!

The solution: Keep their unique needs in mind with your furniture choices.

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If you've still got some decor items to shop for, make those calls together. After all, how frustrated would you be if your partner bought an expensive, taste-specific couch without your input? To avoid arguments or exhaustion in the store, determine your intended style ahead of time; whether that means creating a midcentury modern Pinterest board together or scouring the retailer's catalog at home, this type of preparation will help you both stay sane.

The solution: Get mutual approval on major purchases and shop together.

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So it might not be an episode of Hoarders, but if one of you hangs on to sentimental knickknacks, living together can get cramped. Tiny memories can add up when they're in the form of raggedy college sweatshirts, boxes of old greeting cards, and the like. To avoid conflict about the collection of beloved junk, narrow it down to a single box — whichever sentimental items you'd want to grab in the event of a fire, consolidate those in one storage container. The rest of your knickknacks have got to go! Scan greeting cards, take pictures of your sweatshirt, and then bid them adieu.

The solution: Keep one box, then donate the rest.

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They've got a full-size Lord of the Rings sword replica. You've got a few large, splattered canvases from your Jackson Pollock phase in art school. Neither of you will ever part with your beloved (albeit ugly) possession, so the only option is compromise. Whether you both stick your items in a hallway closet or proudly display them in the living room is your prerogative, but no one party should have to hide their treasured decor accessory while the other gets to keep theirs out in the open.

The solution: Find a balance between both of your nonnegotiables, determining a fair way to style them so that both partners can live with it.