Combining Decorating Styles with Your Roommate

Decorating your apartment can get a little overwhelming, especially when it comes to combining designing styles with a roommate. 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? Who's art is a better fit? Inspiration is everywhere and we're here to help you combine styles with ease.

What do you do if you adore the modern minimalistic style but your roomie has a thing for the glamour-chic trend? Or 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 living with someone is knowing how 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 styles to create a style that works for everyone in the apartment.

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 the staple items for the room you’re decorating. For instance, a living room needs a couch and other small furniture pieces, while a bedroom centers around the bed, night stands and possible dressers. Try to purchase these items in colors you both enjoy and in a more neutral design. Your goal is to begin with quality furniture that doesn’t adhere to a strict style.

Pick Accents Separately

Once your room has its staples, it's time to branch out and add smaller accents. The key here is to try and not overwhelm your space with too much clutter. Find a color scheme you both enjoy and go from there. 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 can all work harmoniously when they work within the same color scheme. 

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 and 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. Throw pillows, blankets, and table-top decor are the perfect pieces to rotate throug the seasons. You can purchase these relatively inexpensively and they will change the look of your entire room.

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.

*This blog has been updated from a guest post by Bryn Huntpalmer at Modernize.com