Coping As A Couple With Different Ideas Of Style
For the most part, living with and sharing your home with your husband is a wonderful thing. Your lives have blended together; you’re raising children in a healthy and happy home. You have your best friend on hand at all times for help, support, and guidance. It’s pretty blissful.
Except…
Well, let’s be honest. Sometimes sharing your life – and particularly your home – with another person isn’t so great. This reality doesn’t stop you loving that person and being glad that you share a home, but there are doubtlessly a few downsides you have to navigate along the way. One of the biggest aspects of running a home that can cause couples to fail to see eye to eye is: style.
When a couple have different ideas of what their home style should be, then you begin to get into choppy water very quickly. A home is a collaborative project, so the last thing you want is to be butting heads every time you have to make a decision. So how do you cope, without resulting in an argument?
What Unites You?
Couples with a style problem tend to focus on the ways in which they differ. Let’s say you prefer a more up-to-date and on-trend aesthetic; you like white walls, modern furniture, and more LED light ornaments than you really have room for. For your husband, his ideal of a style paradise is very different. He likes rustic; heavy dark wood furniture, lush carpet, and for decor to should be kept to a minimum.
If you focus on the ways you differ, sure, you’re going to find a lot of fodder – but not a lot of answers. Instead, try and focus on the aspects you agree on. For example, both of the above styles could also agree that they like a lot of open space rather than cluttering with excessive pieces of furniture.
When you have some common ground established, you have a baseline that you can build from.
What Are Your Vetoes?
Using a veto system is the fairest way of navigating a style clash. Five is a good number; five times each that you can declare something the other wants is absolutely not happening. Having a limited number means you have to pick and choose, ensuring that you only use your ultimate “no” power when it really matters.
By focusing on the areas where you agree and limiting the allowance of areas you don’t, you should be able to find a way through. It’s not simple, but at least you can be sure neither of you is going to absolutely hate the interior design choices that your partner makes. While that also means neither of you are going to get their ideal, it’s at least better to both be somewhat satisfied. Compare that to the alternative; one of you completely happy, the other hating the interior of their home. That’s not fair, so work through the above solutions until you find a blend you can make all your own.
