viernes, 8 de marzo de 2013

Living together


5 tips for decorating your home as a couple

Moving in with your man is exciting. It´s fun! but also it can be a little bit frustrating when you realize your interior design preferences are really different.
It´s needless to say that couples won´t agree in everything, but sometimes both of you have to let it go and compromised ( I should know, I just moved in with mines two months ago)

As a woman I know it´s difficult to let go our natural preferences, we always like to add a feminine touch.
For example I love bright colors, such as white,light brown and even pink, but I know I have to limit myself when I have to decide what to buy for decorating our apartment.
Also this goes on the opposite direction, guys also has to stop themselves because we don´t want to live in a bachelor apartment either.

So basing on my short experience for now, I am going to give you 5 tips and I really hope they will help you.

I) Make an inventory.
Before going shopping it´s good to decide together the "look" you want to give to your new apartment, so you can decide which things that you and him had in your old apartment can be kept and which ones are better to get rid of.

II)Find inspiration.
One of the first things I did when I got to our new house was to check online those things I would like to have and decide where more or less I would like to set them.
Once I decided which style of things I liked, I showed it to my other half.
With this method he could tell me which things were ok for him but he could still tolerate and which others were completely forbidden to buy ( you will also avoid some small fights at the shop).

Anyway in my case my boyfriend is pretty tolerant and he doesn´t have a strong character to make us buy what he likes,but for those men who are stronger on imposing their ideas, they can also make a selection of the things they like and show it to their woman.

III) Go shopping together.
I think this is the "key".
Most of men dislike going shopping, let´s accept it, it´s not something that they are excited to do, so for making them a little bit more excited I am going to give you a small tip.
When the day of shopping comes, you can make him a little bit happy by going to the shops that he really want to go. So on the same day spend a few hours in the shops you like and also in the ones that he likes, so both will be happy, and shopping will be more fun.

As I said going together is really the key. Not only it´s more fun to go with someone, but also you will learn about each others taste.

IV)Make it personal
Let´s accept it. Who doesn´t love the Ikea catalog? or the bed, bath&beyond one too?
I am one of those who can see something anywhere and kind of guess from which of this shops is coming from (this shows how many hours I spent checking them...)
But lest´s face it, those things are not unique. This doesn´t mean it´s something negative, but I think always having something that is one of a kind, makes it more special for you right?
They don´t have to be expensive things. I think for example going to a flea market is a good idea. It´s a great place for finding unique things and you can find good deals.
This will help you make your house a little bit more personal.

V)Make it comfortable.
I think sometimes  we buy things because of how they look, instead of how comfortable they are. 
When the time of decorating the living room comes, I think we should have in mind the hours we are going to spend there.
Sometimes the best option is not the one which looks best in the shop, but the one which will make us think about it when we are tired on our way home after a hard day.
This includes buying a comfortable couch, comfortables chairs and strong coffee table.

Most of men like to sit on the couch and put their legs on top of the coffee table. Maybe some women just don´t let them do that, but since I am not one of those, I prefer to have a table that maybe is not the prettiest one but at least my boyfriend will be happy to spend time in the living room.
What I want to say with this, is that we have to think about comfort. Not only they will appreciate it, but also we will too.

Now I am going to share some pictures that I hope will help you to get inspired when you move in with your man.
Specially I want to point out which style might be too much for us and for them, and which one is a perfect equilibrium.

Living room
I think this apartment is a perfect example of one with a great equilibrium for both sides.
A  dark sofa and a decoration with a feminine touch is a great idea.
This one for me is not too bad, but I would try to change the decoration a little bit, by introducing some flowers and a variety of colors.
In this case the chairs and the cushions might be too much for a guy.But who knows! maybe some
can still accept it.
Bedroom
A yellow color for the wall is a great idea, it can match men and women at the same time.
Also the furnitures in white looks really beautiful,and they are good for a man too.
This one can be a little bit more daring for a couple´s bedroom since they included a chair and a rug in a strong pink palette,but I think we can still go with it
Way too much girly decoration.
Same case as above, but in the opposite sense. Where are the colors here?

Home office
Perfect combination for an office at home.
This one has a more feminine style, but it´s still acceptable.
This one is too much for them.
Just forget about this, or at least try after watching this picture.
Bathroom
Just perfect bathroom for both.
Kitchen
The white furnitures, the metal look appliances, and the lime walls, make a perfect combination.
This one I think for a guy is not bad, and still for some women will be ok, but maybe we could introduce some more
variety of colors.
If I would be living by myself, I would love to have this kitchen! The fridge is incredibly cute!

I really hope that my ideas will help you with your decoration!

You can follow me on twitter at @whitecorner
And on Facebook at my profile Blanca Decor and my page The White corner.

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