Life After the Wedding:3 Ways to Successfully Blend Your Design Styles

Your wedding may have been the biggest party that you have ever thrown in your life with the delicious food, five-tiered wedding cake, and the beautiful array of flowers and decorations. It was a wonderful experience and you will never forget all of the fun you had with your family and friends. The wedding was spectacular, but now your real life with your new husband or wife begins! The changes that must be made to blend your two lives together may take time and patience, but it will eventually be as you always dreamed. As you move in together, you may be wondering, “How will we blend our two design styles together to create a home that is warm, inviting and represents both of our personalities?” Here are three ways that will help you blend your design styles and create a home that you both will enjoy.

Get Organized

As a couple, you may now have four televisions, three computers, several boxes of your school’s memorabilia, and a mix of furnishings from your previous home. You should first decide which items you need and which items you can do without. Now this may be easier said then done, but if you respect each other and compromise on items that reflect you as a married couple and your life moving forward, this process will be a success. A great way to decide which items should stay in your home is to create a keep, give away (Goodwill), and a trash pile or box. Each person separates all of their belongings into each designated pile. After this is completed, go through the keep box and decide as a couple if the items necessarily belong within your new home. If you are deciding on large items, such as sofas, coffee tables, etc., think together, “Will this coordinate with rest of my furnishings?” or “Does this reflect who we really are as a couple? By asking these questions and being very realistic with yourselves, you will successfully organize your possessions and your new home.

Your Design Styles

Now that you are organized and have decided on what items will stay, what will be the style of your home? The first step is to figure out each of your individual design styles. You can do this by collecting pictures from your favorite design magazines or other popular print or online publications. Gather these pictures and have a “show and tell” with your spouse and express why you love a certain style. You may learn something new about your loved one and also that you may have similar tastes in style!

Infuse Your Style

Finally, you have an idea of what you desire in your home! You can now use your research and other inspiration from your favorite colors or fabrics and infuse those styles into your home. As a couple, you can choose items by shopping at retail stores that provide furnishings and accessories that reflect both of your design styles. Choose items that really peak your interest, you are comfortable with, and items that show your uniqueness. Mix textures, fabrics, and accessories that will create a style that is completely you as a couple and represent your personalities, beliefs, and lifestyle.

Once you incorporate these three steps, you will have a home that is inviting, beautifully blended, and that reflects you as an individual, but most importantly, as a happy married couple.

To find out more design ideas for your new home, check out my blog, STYLISHLY WED!