A lot has been going on in the W household lately. In fact, I have many blog topics swirling around in my brain that I plan to develop in the next couple of weeks, but today's topic is home decor.
More specifically, home decor when you're married and have very different decor tastes.( Or for those of you who aren't married; home decor in a committed, long-term relationship when you have very different tastes.)
When you are married/in a long-term, committed relationship, you will compromise constantly. It is a big part of what keeps your relationship harmonious and healthy. Home decor is our newest compromising challenge...
My husband is many things. He is intelligent. He is hilarious; the man makes me giggle on a daily basis. He is extremely handsome. He is optimistic. He is even-tempered. He is rational and logical. He is fit and strong.
He is a WHIZ at movie trivia. He is in love with horror films. Actually, he is in love with films in general. And that is all well and good, except when he tries to sneak this sort of thing into our living room decor scheme:
Oh yes, this currently hangs in our living room. Moldy, smelly, rotting, half-dead hell demons will soon be roaming the Earth.... and they WILL EAT YOU. Oh, PS. Welcome to our home! Please make yourself comfortable!
Um yeah. Not exactly the impression that I want our visitors to have when they walk into our home. :)
Here is an example of the type of art that I have hung in our home:
Shitty photo, but lovely art. I like cool blues, greens, and grays--this painting is almost entirely made of them. It also has a worn out, extra-distressed looking frame that I adore.
I've hung wedding photos in our apartment too, but since they would give away our identities and I am blogging anonymously for now, I chose not to include them here.
Sooo as you can see, we are having some trouble meshing our decorating styles. I want our space to feel relaxing.
Will wants....zombies and mobsters. And it's not that I don't like mobsters and zombies as much as the next girl, but in my living room where I spend 90 percent of my time when I am home? I don't know...
Here is a shot of one corner of our living room:
I actually like the Goodfellas poster, (and the Cubs helmet!) but you can certainly see that this movie poster style decor is very different than the look that I envisioned for this place.
Below is another photo that I chose to hang over our dining room table.
Again, you see it is definitely right up my alley. There are cool greens, blues, and grays galore.
Calming. Relaxing. Soft hues.
Annnnnd then we're back to Will's style on the opposite wall:
Busy. Loud, vivid colors.
I know in many households the issue of contrasting home decor tastes can be solved by something known as the "man cave". The man cave is decorated 100% in the man's style. He can do with the room whatever he pleases! It is perfectly okay for the man cave to be adorned with ratty old furniture and sports memorabilia. It can boast a leaning Tower of Pisa crafted entirely out of beer cans. It can proudly display glowing neon bar signs. It can display zombie movie posters galore.
But alas, the man cave option doesn't work for us. We live in a 900 square foot apartment that has 4 rooms; a TEENY kitchen, a bathroom, our bedroom, and our living room/dining room.
One idea I am toying with is moving my paintings into our bedroom, and making that the relaxing space. Then I'd let will have the living room/dining room. Our kitchen is much too small to hang any art, and our long entry hall could be adorned with our family and wedding photos.
The only problem is that we are doing one of three things in our bedroom; sleeping, passing through to get to the bathroom, or "it". And when you're doing one of those three things, you're not really stopping to appreciate the relaxing art.
Sooo...
Any suggestions you all can offer on how to solve our decor dilemma are greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Emme
PS. How stinkin cute is our chubby Puss-in-Boots?!
More specifically, home decor when you're married and have very different decor tastes.( Or for those of you who aren't married; home decor in a committed, long-term relationship when you have very different tastes.)
When you are married/in a long-term, committed relationship, you will compromise constantly. It is a big part of what keeps your relationship harmonious and healthy. Home decor is our newest compromising challenge...
My husband is many things. He is intelligent. He is hilarious; the man makes me giggle on a daily basis. He is extremely handsome. He is optimistic. He is even-tempered. He is rational and logical. He is fit and strong.
He is a WHIZ at movie trivia. He is in love with horror films. Actually, he is in love with films in general. And that is all well and good, except when he tries to sneak this sort of thing into our living room decor scheme:
Oh yes, this currently hangs in our living room. Moldy, smelly, rotting, half-dead hell demons will soon be roaming the Earth.... and they WILL EAT YOU. Oh, PS. Welcome to our home! Please make yourself comfortable!
Um yeah. Not exactly the impression that I want our visitors to have when they walk into our home. :)
Here is an example of the type of art that I have hung in our home:
Shitty photo, but lovely art. I like cool blues, greens, and grays--this painting is almost entirely made of them. It also has a worn out, extra-distressed looking frame that I adore.
I've hung wedding photos in our apartment too, but since they would give away our identities and I am blogging anonymously for now, I chose not to include them here.
Sooo as you can see, we are having some trouble meshing our decorating styles. I want our space to feel relaxing.
Will wants....zombies and mobsters. And it's not that I don't like mobsters and zombies as much as the next girl, but in my living room where I spend 90 percent of my time when I am home? I don't know...
Here is a shot of one corner of our living room:
I actually like the Goodfellas poster, (and the Cubs helmet!) but you can certainly see that this movie poster style decor is very different than the look that I envisioned for this place.
Below is another photo that I chose to hang over our dining room table.
Again, you see it is definitely right up my alley. There are cool greens, blues, and grays galore.
Calming. Relaxing. Soft hues.
Annnnnd then we're back to Will's style on the opposite wall:
Busy. Loud, vivid colors.
I know in many households the issue of contrasting home decor tastes can be solved by something known as the "man cave". The man cave is decorated 100% in the man's style. He can do with the room whatever he pleases! It is perfectly okay for the man cave to be adorned with ratty old furniture and sports memorabilia. It can boast a leaning Tower of Pisa crafted entirely out of beer cans. It can proudly display glowing neon bar signs. It can display zombie movie posters galore.
But alas, the man cave option doesn't work for us. We live in a 900 square foot apartment that has 4 rooms; a TEENY kitchen, a bathroom, our bedroom, and our living room/dining room.
One idea I am toying with is moving my paintings into our bedroom, and making that the relaxing space. Then I'd let will have the living room/dining room. Our kitchen is much too small to hang any art, and our long entry hall could be adorned with our family and wedding photos.
The only problem is that we are doing one of three things in our bedroom; sleeping, passing through to get to the bathroom, or "it". And when you're doing one of those three things, you're not really stopping to appreciate the relaxing art.
Sooo...
Any suggestions you all can offer on how to solve our decor dilemma are greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Emme
PS. How stinkin cute is our chubby Puss-in-Boots?!
LoL! Luckily enough for me Bryan barely had enough "stuff" to call his apartment a "home" before he moved in with me, so we didn't really have to worry about decorating issues. (Thank God we are both minimalists, which are know you and Will are too; rock on to no excess junk!) All he had was 4 or 5 of his house plants and outdoor plants, and we were able to find a home for and the rest of his stuff ended up in the garage. The few furniture items he had were totally bachlored (sp?) out and were either given away or sold at a garage sale. All I can say is- at least apartment living is temporary and when you live in your "forever home," you'll both have plenty of space to each have your own areas for decorating. I know when lived in my duplex people kept wanting me to get stuff to decorate or decorate in a certain way and I just told them all no- that I was waiting for a place I actually owned. Sometimes just a good "no" without sugarcoating works nicely on things you reallly feel you can't compromise on-- it took me a long time to learn that one and many people lots smarter than me, lol. LOVE YOU BOTH BUNCHES! XO
ReplyDeleteBuuut but but what if we are nomads or apartment dwellers and we don't buy a home? Ya never know! Love you too sister, thanks for always being a faithful reader! I start my new job Friday, and I am looking forward to seeing you in a couple weeks! Are you guys planning on heading home on Friday or Saturday? Love you!
ReplyDeleteHaha- we'll see. Even if you are nomads I bet you'll eventually get a condo or something somewhere that you can decorate. We will be up Saturday night because I have to work until 4:30 Saturday, boooo :( I am gonna call you tonight or tomorrow! Liked your Lake Michigan footage :) P.S. Lovin the pic of Dad, hehehe. He'd be glad to know he is in your blog.
ReplyDeleteSo you'll only be there Saturday night and then have to leave right away on Sunday? That stinks! LOL-- I love the picture too! He looks so happy to be cooking!
ReplyDelete