How To Merge Styles With Your Roommate And Avoid Decor War

By Megan Patiry on March 13, 2014

This article is brought to you by CORT, a subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathaway and the world’s largest furniture rental and relocation services company. To learn more about how we can help college students like you, click here.

Personality is often one of the biggest factors to be considered when moving in with a roommate. Are they loud, quiet, a partier or a bookworm? What many fail to consider, however, is how these personality traits will be expressed through personal decor styles; after all, it’s common to reflect personality through objects and surroundings. For example, consider the living room of a librarian in a single-family home as compared to the living room of a bachelor in an urban, one bedroom apartment.

Quite the opposing picture, yes? This is due to a difference in personalities, which may seem like a huge mountain to climb when you’re moving in with someone. In actuality, the merging of two styles can often result in a very aesthetically pleasing, style-highlighted space. Modern style and decor options now make it easier than ever before to combine styles, and the steps below show how to implement them.

Get Rid Of The Junk

Photo by Matthew Williams courtesy of Real Simple.

Spring cleaning season is nearly here, and in the world of moving and decorating, it should be treated as sacred. Getting rid of the old junk that inevitably gathers in your apartment is one of the first steps you should consider before moving in with a roommate. On top of merging styles, you don’t want to have to worry about one another’s dusty magazine stacks from 2000, or the bags of clothes sitting around you always swore you were going to donate … from 3 years ago.

Getting rid of junk can also aid in the feel of a room, leaving it more open and less cluttered, which automatically improves any aesthetic. Plus, by getting rid of and going through old, unused objects, you and your roommate can make a generalized assumption on the kind of decor you don’t want.

Make It Eclectic

Photo by Camila Pavone via HGTV.

Eclectic design is design that moves away from the “everything must match” mode of thinking and into the idea of combining styles – whether they’re styles from different time periods or regional styles. Eclectic can be challenging to pull off, but when done right, can serve as an aesthetically-pleasing solution to differing styles and tastes.

You’ll probably both have a mixture of styles already. For example, you’ll have older pieces you’ve brought from home and the newer, more modern pieces you may have purchased in preparation of moving out. The key is to organize these pieces so that they highlight and contrast one another, as with the antique paintings above the more modern couch and coffee table shown in the photo. Play around with textures and layouts to find what looks best.

Consider Colors

Here is where you discover the true beauty of color. When your roommate is the queen or king of purple and you’re bathing in electric yellow decor, you may initially feel your heart sink at the seemingly non compatible nature of the colors. However, remember in that long-ago art class when you were asked to memorize the complementary color chart? Well, here’s a reminder that’ll change your entire view on color schemes:

Photo courtesy of The Vintage Home.

Notice how this interior combines summery yellow doors with a lighter purple on the chair cushions, resulting in a nice “pop” that is pleasing to the eye. This is why these colors are referred to as complementary; they literally complement each other when you view them together.

Photo courtesy of Apartment Therapy.

Complimentary colors are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, with the most common being red and green, yellow and purple and orange and blue. However, keep in mind that there are varying shades of complementaries. The photo below illustrates how red and green can be combined in a way that doesn’t immediately make us start dreaming of Santa Claus:

Photo from Mires Paris via Lamps Plus.

“Naturally, it’s hard to see these colors together without thinking, ‘Christmas,’” according to Nancy Mitchell, assistant editor at Apartment Therapy. “The secret to this, I think, is to pull one of the colors away from the traditional Yuletide emerald green and bright crimson red.”

This same concept can be applied to the other complementary colors as well, by toning them up or down until you find a nice contrast. With color concepts, you can find interesting ways to mesh decor and still enjoy (and even highlight) your individual favorite colors.

Reupholster 

 

Photo courtesy of LiveLoveDIY.

So you both love the shape of your roommate’s coffee table or desk chair, but one of you doesn’t mesh with the pink color or weird checkered print. First off, don’t throw it out just because of the color. These types of pieces have great upholster potential; they can be sanded down, painted over or covered with pullovers.

Pick a color or design you both agree on and a day you’re both free and get to creating! In the long term, this will save you hundreds of dollars if you consider the price for most furniture. Plus, as a bonus, you get to create something you’ll both admire.

Shop Together

The Nest editors recommend shopping together for small items at first, such as frames and lamps, to see where your styles overlap, and to then branch out to more prominent items. One easy way to do this is to look closely at styles you and your roommate are attracted to, such as modern, sleek designs or vintage, floral patterns, and establish these styles as a base for your merged decor. This will make the entire process easier, as you will start to know which styles to stick with when it comes to pleasing your roommate’s eye.

Looking for a more convenient way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Rent stylish furniture from CORT and save time and money. For more information on furniture rental packages, click here.

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