Moving in together is a milestone in any couple’s life. It marks a step forward, together, with the shared hope that living together will enhance your lives and deepen your loves.
This milestone is also one of compromise. What once was only up to you to decide is now up to you both. Everything is interwoven. The actions one takes, or doesn’t take, have a huge impact on the other – and the relationship on a whole. It’s not always easy to find a new normal together, but it’s definitely worth the effort.
While we can’t offer relationship advice, we do have some tips to keep in mind when combining your furniture and home décor with your new roommate’s. Keep scrolling for our best pointers on how to mix styles when you move in together.
Determine Your Décor Styles
It can seem hard to define a décor style when you’re just starting out. Especially if most of what you own is inherited or bought mainly for its price. But just because you might not have a lot that represents a certain style doesn’t mean you don’t have preferences. And it’s important to define them before you start trying to make something cohesive from a mix of your partner’s stuff with yours or buying things together. But how?
- Flip through magazines, build Pinterest boards, and subscribe to home decor e-newsletters to gain more exposure to different decor styles and the vocabulary to express what you like – and why you like it.
- Take a good hard look at your stuff. Even if it’s a mishmash (especially if it’s a mishmash!), think about the pieces you are truly drawn to and if they have anything in common: Natural materials? Vintage? Curvolinear?
- Consider how you’ll use your new home together and what impact that should have on your home décor choices: will you entertain a lot? Netflix and chill? Cook or order out?
The more you can learn about what you like, the more certain you will be about how to express what you want from your new home – and the things inside.
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Sort & Streamline Your Stuff
One of the biggest challenges when combining your stuff with your partner’s stuff is that you often find yourselves with more than one of an item. No one needs endless sets of sheets or double dishes. On the other hand,it can be hard to admit how attached you are to your can opener, until you realize you have to give it up.
Our best advice is to 1. take a good hard look at your stuff, 2. sort it into piles of “move,” “store,” “donate,” “recycle” or “trash,” and 3. encourage your partner to do the same.
Of course, everything you are going to “move” are the things you want to bring with you on day one: your seasonal clothes, plants, personal effects, toiletries, you name it.
“Store” is for things you want to keep but probably don’t need right away, like exercise equipment, duplicate items and clothes that are not in season. (Check out our How to Rent a Storage Unit blog post for more advice.)
Next, mark anything you don’t want but is still in good shape “Donate” and set aside for local nonprofits. You’d be surprised, but you can pretty much find a place to take most anything as long as it’s not broken or stained. You can always put bigger items, like mattresses, up for free on Craigslist, and they’ll be gone before you know it.
“Recycle” and “Trash” are pretty self-explanatory. Moving is the best time to slim down your possessions and get very particular about what you want to bring with you to your new environment. Take the opportunity to lighten the load before combining it with your partner’s.
Renovate, Redesign, Refurbish
One of the most fun parts of moving in together is making your space – and stuff – look good together. Fun . . . but also challenging. Especially if one of you is 100% Swedish modern and the other is 100% Bohemian vintage. (Ask me how I know.)
A way to find cohesion is to redo what you can with your new, shared design vision. Here are a couple quick ideas to get you started:
- Sand down mismatched furniture and refinish to make it a matching set
- Add flashy hardware to an old dresser
- Upcycle old furniture for a new look
- Decide on a couple of ‘theme colors’ to paint your walls (and/or your furniture) and buy new bedding and curtains that match
- Agree on a theme for your redo, like biophilic design, coastal grandma or hygge to make the individual pieces flow together more naturally.
The options are really limitless and give you a lot of opportunity to make your existing décor work together. Get creative and have fun with it. You can figure out how to do just about anything with YouTube DIY videos, so set up some shared Pinterest boards, bust out the safety goggles, and get to work.
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When in Doubt, Go Thrifting
Sometimes, despite our best intentions, combining décor styles just doesn’t work. There is a point when you need to admit defeat and start the hunt for items that you can agree on and even own together.
Rather than buying new, we suggest checking out local consignment stores, thrift stores, estate sales and Craiglist for secondhand options. It’s better for Mother Earth – and your wallet – and can make for a fun adventure or two. Just ask John Fryer, one of our Denver CubeSmart customers who buys and resells vintage furniture he keeps in a self-storage unit.
There are a couple of key tips to keep in mind when buying vintage furniture, including:
- Check out the bones! Make sure the frame is sturdy, the drawers slide easily and the doors line up.
- Don’t get scared off by surface imperfections. At the same time, don’t buy endless DIY projects for yourself.
- Assess everything for pests – and pest damage. You already know to take a close look at upholstered furniture, but bugs can also infest wood. Buyer beware.
Coordinating décor styles and pieces when you move in together can be a challenge. But it isn’t an insurmountable one. With patience, a little elbow grease, and some good cheer, you can create a space that speaks to (and for) both of you. And if you or your partner can’t part with certain items, there’s always a CubeSmart storage unit size to fit your needs.
