{ decorating with a boy }

Moving in with your significant other is an exciting time. Grocery runs, late night dinners, early morning breakfasts. All of that is great.  

BUT. 

Decorating with a boy can be challenging y'all. Trevor and I are both very opinionated about this particular subject (seeing as I'm a decorator and he's a product/furniture designer). We always appreciate each others style, but that doesn't mean we don't differ from time to time.

See, when we moved into this apartment, we moved in mostly with Trevor's furniture. After all of my moves in the last year, I've sold a lot of my belongings so I just didn't have much to add to the mix. And while I love a lot of the pieces we have (especially the coffee table and TV credenza that Trevor designed and built), our place is feeling a bit...bachelor-ish at the moment. SWANKY bachelor, but bachelor nonetheless. #needsmorepink #okayfinenevermind #butmaybealittle?

We have a lot of leather, a lot of wood, and a lot of black and brown. So here's what I'm proposing to make things a little more interesting...

That instagram photo in the top left is our dining nook, so we already have all of those pieces (and we've since semi-styled the shelves). We're planning on painting both of the bistro chairs (taken off the curb) black, but I'm not positive which direction to go with the cushion fabric just yet. The round marble table is CB2 and those white, industrial shelves are a couple of cheapies from Ikea. They're really useful though - there are at least 4 places in the apartment that we could use them if we ever decide to move them from that area. 

We also already own: the grey wingback chair (ikea), the plycraft lounge chair (craigslist), and the couch ( also ikea). I don't have photos of the coffee table and credenza that Trevor built but there will be plenty to come soon!

Here's my philosophy on decorating with the opposite sex: Let your significant other win sometimes if you want to create a space thats interesting. If you spend all of your time trying to find a piece that both of you like for every single nook and cranny, chances are you'll come away with a room full of pieces that are just kind of "meh." You don't love it and he doesn't either, but you'll both be fine with it. And you'll live happily ever after in your "fine" house together. 

Instead...

Let him pick the chair that he loves (within reason people! no recliners with cup holders) but then take the liberty of pairing it with another piece (pillow, side table, lamp, etc) that softens it with more feminine details. You'll both feel better when you can look around the room and see both of you in the space. After all, it's your home.

Here's another tip: Start with more masculine pieces and layer in more feminine details. It just works better than going the other way around. A dark leather couch paired with faux fur and scalloped details? The perfect little trio. This space has enough masculinity for Trevor to hang out and play his video games with the broskis and be all "hey guys this is my crib," yet enough feminine details that I can have the ladies over for wine night and feel like we're not sitting in a bachelor pad. #winwin

So! What about you guys? Any recent move-ins with the significant other? If you're in a decorating debacle and need some assistance, lets work together.

lovelovelove.

-C