Tourism & Hospitality | Thursday 1 September, 2016 12:30 pm |

It may come as a surprise that there is just one rule when two people are setting up home together: if you are not the only person who is going to live in it, then yours cannot be the only opinion that counts. 

 

Your new home must reflect inputs from both you and your spouse – personality, preferences, style and lifestyle – and a great place to start is to find a midpoint, and create your very own ‘couple style’.  

 

Couple style is a summation of everything that you can do to create a harmonious home that represents not only the two of you as individuals, but also, your unity as a couple. Use this quick guide to create an environment that reflects who you are as a couple, and the home that you will share together. 

 

Celebrate unity

The best starting point in the journey of setting up home is to itemise all the things you will enjoy doing together. Your habits, hobbies, passions and favourite pastimes, and the joy of sharing them with your new partner, will define the way you live as a couple. Ensure that your joint interests are represented well by incorporating them into homemaking.      

Shop together 

You can make level-headed decisions about furniture purchases when both of you are present. To begin the process, visit an IKEA showroom together, and study the staggering range of décor choices on display. You will be delighted at how many things you can agree upon, and a bonus factor is that you are not likely to argue about your differences in public. 

 

List favourites  

If you have several personal belongings that you already own, you will quickly realise that some may not fit into your new home. Pare these down to the essentials. Make a list of the things that you simply cannot live without, and then, allow your spouse to make a similar but separate list. Setting aside a space for personal pieces will ensure that your new home represents both of you individually, and as a couple.

 

Share usage  

If you are going to live your life together, it is natural that you will share most of your belongings.  Ideally, there should be no more than one item in each room that is designated as ‘his’ and ‘hers’, or ‘yours’ and ‘mine’, and these should be limited to smaller pieces like mementoes and accessories. By merging the use of all your belongings, you will get closer to achieving couple style.   

 

Cosy up 

Fine one or more spots inside your home where the two of you can truly spend quality time together: a breakfast nook in the kitchen to start every morning with your first cup of coffee, or a gazebo in the garden where you can unwind at the end of a long day. Make this space as cosy and comforting as you can, for here is where you will come to agreement about many other important decisions you make together.   

    

Have fun 

Every new couple must have a fun corner inside their homes – be it a small prep area in the kitchen where you can work together, a large sofa to cuddle up on while watching movies, a swing on the balcony, or a corner of the dining table to play board games. It is a great way to let out stress, spend time together, and strengthen the bonds you have recently formed. For inspiration, visit the IKEA Saudi Arabia website, which has a dedicated section called Ideas (http://www.ikea.com/sa/en/ideas)

 

Maintain etiquette 

Don't do anything drastic without consulting each other - don’t make big purchases, move or remove furniture, or paint walls until you have both agreed it will work. If your tastes in interiors are dramatically different, make some or several adjustments. Your new home can balance both masculine and feminine styles, and can easily combine the classic with the contemporary. 

 

Keep talking 

You are a team, and a team needs to work together to come up with ideal solutions. Just like in all other aspects of your relationship, communication is important when it comes to decorating a home together. Talk about your ideas, and have open discussions when you cannot come to an immediate agreement. You will definitely reach a mutual understanding when you have weighed the pros and cons. By keeping the lines of communication open, and being willing to compromise, you can design a space that truly represents both of you. 

 

Stay cool 

Designing a new home can become a very emotional process. In the process of changing your immediate environment, making decisions, solving problems and spending money, it is easy to get frustrated or frantic. Increase your togetherness quotient by staying calm and collected. Every décor problem has several solutions, and two is better than one when it comes to finding the perfect option for your home.