After the honeymoon is over the exciting time of making a home together begins. The top three decorating mistakes newlyweds make all boil down to being unsure of your tastes. Additionally, the need to want to impress others with your new house may make you choose items that you wouldn't normally. Consider these three things before you make the leap into picking out everything for your home. They are common blunders and most of us make at least one or two when starting the interior design process.
Letting Someone Else Decorate For You
When my husband and I had our first apartment, we actually considered letting his sister come and decorate it for us. Not having confidence in myself and my abilities to make a place that he would like, I almost caved. This is along the same lines of not even attempting to cook anything that didn't come out of a box the first year because of his gushing over his mother's cooking. Do not buy into to it. I made some mistakes over the years (our first bathroom was a pink nightmare) just as I have burned some suppers, but now he loves my decorating and my cooking. We, as women, put too much stock in the old cliches of trying to compete with other women in our man's life. We can't. We'll never have the special place in his heart that his mother or sisters occupy. But honestly, why would you want to? They'll never have the special place in his heart that his wife has either. So, get over it and go for it. You'll never create a place for just the two of you if you let someone else take over.Mimicking Someone Else's Style
Along the same lines as actually letting someone else decide your design style, one of the top decorating mistakes newlyweds make is to copy the familiar or go the opposite way just because. I grew up always having yellow kitchens, my mother-in-law's kitchen was white and hunter green when I met her. Our kitchen for the first couple years was every color scheme but those two. I finally decided that I felt more comfortable in a yellow kitchen and since I am the one that spends the most time in the space, I won. My husband and I went and found a yellow that we both like and our kitchens have been that color no matter where we have moved ever since. But it is not my mother's yellow kitchen, it is mine. I have retro cowgirls cooking over open flames and touches of red all over the place. It is a mix of a sense of comfortable nostalgia and individuality. It doesn't get better than that.Filling Up Every Available Space
Whether it is with the latest trends or every hand-me-down that you can get your hands on, filling up your entire home right away is one of the biggest decorating mistakes that newlyweds make. It took me a long time to realize that it is OK to have an empty guest room until I can find and afford the perfect furniture. The wall above my sofa is actually blank now because I am waiting for that perfect piece of art to fill it. With a cross-country move, I realized how much stuff that I had that I didn't really even like. Filling up your home with clutter that doesn't express who you are will only lead to stress. One beautiful statue that expresses your personality on a shelf is a lot more interesting and dramatic than a bunch of common accessories.Finally, take the time to find your interior design style. Another common decorating mistake that newlyweds make is to not go shopping together. Even a few small key pieces that you have both picked out can be used as the inspiration for the design of the rest of your home.
Reference:
How to Build a House and Home as Newlyweds
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