Combining Decorating Styles with Your Roommate

When it comes to decorating your apartment, it can get a little overwhelming. What shade do you paint your accent wall? What furniture should go in this corner, or that corner? Does this lamp make the room look modern or classy? Inspiration is everywhere, including Modernize.com, a website that is all about the decor. Transform your space and get professional opinions to make your decorating dreams come true. Guest blogger Bryn Huntpalmer from Modernize.com shares how to mix decorating styles on today’s blog post. Thanks Bryn, for your contributions!

You adore the modern minimalistic style but your roomie has a thing for the glamour-chic trend. Your husband wants to design your living room based off the industrial piece he found at a garage sale and you’re thinking you’d rather have a more country look for your home. Part of having a roommate is learning to compromise. Before throwing in the towel and allowing one specific decorating style to dominate your apartment or house, find out how to successfully combine decorating interests.

Find Common Ground First

Begin by finding common ground. Take a few weekends to browse furniture stores and find things both of you like. Focus on staple items for the room you’re decorating. For instance, a living room needs a couch and other small furniture pieces. Try to purchase these items in colors you both enjoy and in a more neutral design. Your goal is to purchase quality furniture that doesn’t adhere to a strict style.

For most homes, a grey or black couch is versatile enough to match all different styles. Don’t worry about throw pillows or other accents in the room yet. Together you can add those later. Before moving on to other areas of the space, you should have the largest items picked out together that you both are happy with.

One of my favorite stores that offers quality couches in timeless styles is Crate and Barrel. Their Verano Sofa is modern but has a classic twist. The overall style of the couch can work with all types of aesthetics. It also comes in multiple different colors which is great for planning a room around.

Pick Accents Separately

Once your room has its staples, you can branch out and add smaller accents. The key here is to try and not overwhelm your space. It may be a good idea to find a color scheme you both enjoy and go from there.

In this image, you can point out a few specific colors used like red, pink, teal, black, and different metals. Once you and your roommate lay the foundation for a color scheme, you can add your own specific accents. It won’t matter what style they are as long as they match the color scheme.

Glitz, industrial, rustic, and modern accents all come together harmoniously in this room. The floor lamp is modern with a minimalistic flair and the overhead light is a glamorous chandelier. They work together because they share gold hardware. Another example is the hand-carved side table and the gold circular coffee table. These two pieces are very different but blend well because they’re presented in neutral tones and brought together with similar accents placed on top of them.

Even though the process of picking out separate accents that reflect your own personal style and incorporating them into your shared home may seem like it’s not working, it will. At the end of the process, you’ll have a curated room that is a reflection of both your preferences while being anchored by a color scheme and neutral furniture pieces.

Don’t Be Afraid To Change Up Your Design

Of course, some pieces your roommate wants to display will make your nose crinkle. If you absolutely can’t stand the hot pink deer head they want to hang over your mantle, you can always compromise for a period of time. Change up your style depending on the season. During the spring, display glittery candles and gold vases to make you feel happy. When winter hits, let your roommate roll out their geometric rug that reminds you of the 60s. Another thing to change out easily is throw pillow. You can purchase these inexpensively at home stores and they will change the look of your entire room.

I know changing styles is a lot of work, but it’ll add a fresh feel to your house. You may also realize that once the hot pink deer head is up, you grow attached to it…or not.

For more home design ideas and inspiration go to Modernize!