All joking aside
all furniture you personally like looks good together, despite whatever a decorator might say.
I'm not a fan of a carefully decorated rooms. Of course, alot of you guys like a clean, uncluttered formal look in the living room or den, but I rather like the natural mixing and matching of the pieces I like and own. After all, I'm not placing furnishings for a retail showroom!
So, if you have a midcentury room and you want to put a comfortable Laz-y-Boy in the room, have at it.
I faced this very same problem,
until I wrested all decorating decisions from my then live-in boyfriend/ now husband.
It was a slow, painstaking process of surreptitiously replacing his thoughtlessly chosen, over-sized bachelor pieces with my picks. Sometimes I even had to help the decision along by intentionally damaging things.
(You think me sociopathic? You didn't SEE his bachelor furniture! A custom-made grey laminate (yes!) suite including an oversized bed that featured a two-tier headboard with built-in lights, roll-top cabinetry, swing-out night tables, and a footprint that mysteriously veered out at the bottom. The only thing that saved me from stubbing my toes nightly were the lights (yes!) installed on the bumpers (yes!) on the foot of the bed. Where'd he find such a bed? Why, his good friend the prop-designer custom built it to his specifications! If ONLY I had photographs to show, no jury in the world would convict me. They'd give me a medal!)
Seriously, just veto your partner's picks, patiently explaining why your choice is the better one. Show them pictures of beautifully appointed rooms. They'll see the light. Eventually.
Shit woody, I'm the man and...
Shit woody, I'm the man and the one interested in design / architecture. Blanket statement alert!
Put the items in the same room. Eventually it'll occur to them (assuming you picked someone with some amount of intelligence) "Hey this thing is prettier and better made than that thing. Wouldn't it be cool if everything we had was that nice?"
My wife had no well made modern items to speak of, but she was spotting Eames chairs in no time ... and bringing them home! I will have to admit, she still isn't quite used to the price tag of those items when it comes time to purchase...
Usually once you get your first place TOGETHER that isn't all "yours" and include them on some decor choices that don't replace your beloved items (paint, textiles, finishes) they feel some amount of ownership. Often times they will see what items (i.e. theirs) don't help the situation.
Then, if you can stomach it, get rid of a piece or two of yours that they don't particularly care for (for whatever reason ... it looks weird to them or isn't comfortable) and replace with something of equal caliber that you BOTH like (to your taste of course). Ensure them that it is important to you that they be honest about their likes/dislikes. Once they see it come together beautifully you can bet they are sold .... as long as rule #1-10 aren't broken.
1. Make it comfortable.
2. Make it comfortable.
3. Make it comfortable.
4. Make it comfortable.
5. Make it comfortable.
6. Make it comfortable.
7. Make it comfortable.
8. Make it comfortable.
9. Make it comfortable.
DO I need to type #10?
Brent,
is he really not trainable? It took me 3 years to semi-train mine and I really had to stress the money aspect, i.e. Look, honey, at this chair I bought today for $85 AND HERE IT IS ON 1ST DIBS FOR $2000.
But now he is a hunter, as well, even though he has a penchant for picking up gross 70's plastic stuff off of a flea market table and thinking I will like it. Um, no, honey, good try, though!
Riki
He is trainable. Recently he showed me an Architectural Digest so I could see a modern house he likes. So, that gives hope. He doesn't have a deep passion for conventional furniture and design the way I have passion for modern design, so hopefully I'll also, in addition to training him, be able to win him over by sheer dominating enthusiasm.
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com