How Do You Compromise On Interior Design Issues?

[becka]

DH and I have been in our house for a little over a year now and we still do not have any curtains!

We have looked at hundreds but every time one of us finds something we like the other one hates it. You would think we could find something that we could both agree to but our tastes are so divergent that I don't think it going to happen.

DH likes dark colors and heavy drape types. I prefer something lighter and airy possibly even with some type of floral motif.

I really want curtains for the house because I am sick of looking at the blinds but short of one of us being unhappy with the choice I don't see it happening any time soon.

 

[snoopy]

DH gets no say on interior design issues. That was part of the marriage vows.......

BTW, Becka, cute, cute, cute pic of Nathan! He is SUCH a smiley baby!

 

[Mattsmom]

DH gets no say on interior design issues. That was part of the marriage vows.......

Same here!!!! The only input DH gets is on cost. I don't want to even think about what the house would look like if he had choices.

 

[Jeafl]

I make all the decisions, and DH does the manual labor. It works for us.

A compromise might be a cornice though. It's not super feminine, but you could have it made (or make it yourself) in a softer, lighter fabric.

 

[Cthia]

Same here, DH has no say in interior decorating. I am sure if I let him have his way all my curtains would be panel and dark colors. I am like you I like light.

I am giving one room to my husband for him to do as he pleases, the remainder of the house is for me to decorate.

Maybe you two could compromise and have him decorate one room and you could do the rest. At least he would feel like he had some say in the decorating.

Good luck!

P.S. Great picture of your son. I am glad the one I voted for won.

 

[dandave]

We're in the process of building a new house. If I let DH choose, we'd have dark panelling, lots of brick, and a lay-z-boy in every room. He doesn't get to choose!

 

[aahmom1]

DH gets no say on interior design issues. That was part of the marriage vows.......

Ditto that! DH has learned to listen to me, even if he's not so sure at the moment. it usually turns out very nice and he's happy with it.

Just decorate the way you want Becka.

 

[becka]

I am probably the only woman in the world with this problem. I have to have the one man who actually thinks he wants to be involved with these types of things.

I actually don't mind his involvement in some areas but he is driving me crazy with this one. I have actually thought about just going out and buying something I really like and then put it up and hope that it grows on him but I don't want him to think that I completely ignored his opinions on the matter.

DH does have his own "room" that he is getting to decorate. It is actually the spare guest bedroom. He keeps all of his hobby stuff in there. DH never really grew up so he has Star Wars posters, a model R2-D2, Hot Wheel cars, etc. in there. Thankfully the only guests we have know my DH pretty well and they are not suprised by the decor.

 

[cinlee3]

My DH could care less about how I decorate. He always likes the end result though and is actually proud of me.

 

[Jenzebelle]

DH and I have almost completely opposite tastes.
We generally try and reach a compromise when it comes to decorating, but as long as I don't do anything he really hates (like florals or pastels in the bedroom), then he doesn't care what I do.

 

[aahmom1]

I don't think you're the only one Becka, a lot of husbands 'think' they have taste, they just don't. LOL LOL

 

[ChiTownZee]

You could always sign up to go on "Designing for the sexes" I love that show!

 

[ryanpatricksmom]

He picks the electronics, I choose everything else.

 

[vald1977]

You're not the only one, Becka. My dh puts in a lot of effort in how we decorate. I am lucky that we both have pretty much the same taste. If one of us really doesn't like something, we don't get it. If all else fails, go nuetral with the curtains! Good luck .

 

[Disney845]

Oh Becka, I can so feel your pain!!! SO and I are currently in the process of building a house. We have run into so many obstacles along the way, from what floor plan to build, to what community to build it in, to what elevation, and what colors on the out side, brick or no brick.....it is so aggrivating. In our situation SO has some very strong ideas. We have come to certain compromises. He gets certain rooms and I get certain rooms. He really has this "plan" for the kitchen which includes very dark cabinets. I would prefer lighter and airy colors...so he gets the kitchen (it means a lot to him, and if he designs it, he can darn well do the cooking in it, in my opinion ). We are buying new furniture for almost every room, so that is a bit of a challenge for us. Other than the kitchen, SO has full reign over the game room....oh excuse me, I have been informed to call it the "Home Theater" . We are going to have to agree on the dining room set (but I think I will get my way on that). I have been given the Master Bedroom to decorate as I see fit. I tease him that I will be doing white wicker furniture (we both hate white wicker, but I only say that because he is so set in his ways about the kitchen and HT). We each have our own offices, and any other areas (such as living/fam, guest bath/beds) will no doubt fall to me, since he is so wrapped up in his kitchen.

I think it is fair if you guys both get some rooms to decorate as you see fit. I think there should be a veto policy though on something you absolutely HATE, like for us the white wicker in the bedroom.

 

[jfulcer]

Teach your husband these phrases that the rest of us DH's already know and live:

"Yes, honey I like those drapes."

"Whatever color blue you want to paint the room is fine by me."

"How high above the window do you want these drapes you picked hung?"

"You should just buy it now because if you don't and we come back they will run out."

"Yes Dear"

"Yes, honey that is a good choice of colors"

There are many others he could learn. There's a whole series on clothes, shopping, child care, and the ever dreaded "Do I look fat" questions. He must not have received his husband manual yet. It should come shortly and will make your life better.

 

[apagano]

One of you is going to have to give in on this one. Is there anything else you disagree on? Maybe you can make a "trade." You pick the drapes and he's not allowed to complain, he picks something else and you're not allowed to complain. Or vice-versa. Just remember: while these may appear like monumental decisions at the time, about a year from now your life could change so much that the drapes will seem insignificant by comparison.

 

[Disney Doll]

DH doesn't really care about things like curtains. He's more interested in design issues that are permanent, like bathroom fixtures etc. We are doing a major renovation right now, including replacing stairs, finishing a second bathroom, creating a large pantry closet out of two smaller closets. DH has had a lot of input into the bathroom fixtures, tile etc, as well as the stair well finishing etc. He wouldn't really care about curtains and such, though.

 

[disykat]

In general, I keep my mouth shut about the cars and he keeps his mouth shut about decorating. We do try to keep the each other in mind and agree on color etc. and give each other veto power though so neither of us is stuck with something we hate. It took me 3 moves and about 10 years to get dh knocked out of the decorating equation. He figured out I really cared - a decorating decision would haunt me for years - whereas he really didn't notice the difference once we got out of the store.

The first several years of marriage I had to fight him for everything that involved a nail hole in the wall. He would have preferred blank walls and no curtains - not anything to do with looks,he just couldn't see the practicality of it. He had to learn how important it was to me.

 

[disykat]

And another thing... I had a very eye-opening conversation with my father once. After telling my dh about it, he LOL and said the reality of it was he didn't care that much either as long as we agreed on price etc.

I was home visiting my parents and mom brought home carpet samples for Dad to look at. He made a big show about considering them and even said he didn't like one of the ones mom was favoring. After she left the room he turned to me said something to the effect of "They all look the same to me, but your mom wants my opinion so I give her one." I, of course, tattled to mom - she got the one she wanted and Dad couldn't have cared less.