the house tour begins!

Now that we’re officially moving, I decided I had to photograph and post pictures of the house once and for all. I’ll be sharing a little bit each week over the next month, so let me know what you think!

First up – our family room. When we first moved in and started decorating, Gary & I quickly realized that our tastes clashed a little (OK, a lot). Being from England, he is partial to cozy, warm hues and a more masculine feel. As I’m a New Englander who grew up on the ocean, I tend towards casual neutrals & blues with feminine pops of color. We were newly weds at the time, so it was very important to me that I find a way to ‘marry’ our styles (my thoughts on this have evolved over time, see below). Anyway, I found this amazing red ikat that had both warmth and a casual feel to it. I knew it would go great with our white built-in and neutral couch, and it could easily be mixed up with other fun prints. Now, I have to say, I love it and we’ll be keeping this theme in our family room in Florida.

Red Chair: vintage family heirloom

Pillow: Arianna Belle

Coral: Furbish Studio

Toy basket: Home Goods

 

Couch, Pillows, Cubes: Ethan Allen

Ottoman: DIY

Tray: West Elm

Topiaries: Home Goods

Lamp & Frames: Pottery Barn

Art: DIY

Vase: Home Goods

Now, back to my thoughts on marrying style with your spouse. First, I have to say, I am very, very lucky to have a husband who cooks, cleans and is a wonderful dad. Not so lucky in the “husband doesn’t give a shit about decor” category, but I guess this one’s not as important! Still, it makes things a little more challenging when your passion is interior design & you’re starting a decorating business. What I’ve learned, though, is that at the end of the day the answer is NOT to compromise by meeting in the middle. Meeting in the middle results in both parties being less than happy. For instance, I learned that when I want a white wall and he wants a red wall, the worst choice is to ‘compromise’ with a beige wall. Instead say, ‘how about a white wall with red pillows on the furniture?’ Or, ‘how about we paint this room white, and your study can be red?’ Determine what is important to each person and let them have some ownership over that. For Gary, he really wants a masculine formal living room, so we did that and the family room is more neutral & casual.

And over time men will forget what they wanted anyway and you’ll be able to change everything without him even noticing 🙂