Home decor... don't just leave it to your partner!

[merryone]

My friend has been sick of the cream coloured carpet in her living room for years as it's definitely seen better days, she's sick of the curtains, sick of the rather tired wooden floor in the kitchen and has been suggesting for years that they get laminate flooring throughout and replace the curtains and nets with blinds, hubby has always been indifferent to the idea and has said yes, but never put the wheels into motion. Recently hubby got an inheritance so of course my friend suggested that they went ahead with the home improvements, to cut a long story short he told he was happy to bankroll these improvements that she wanted on the condition that he could spend some of the money on a boy's trip to Vegas for a couple of weeks. To cut a long story short, he went on the holiday and she got the workmen in. The knackered carpet was replaced with laminate which extended into the kitchen, the curtains and nets were jettisoned and blinds were fitted. Not only that she's been working at home for 3 days a week using a laptop whilst sitting on her sofa which has caused her all manner of pain, headaches etc etc. She decided to take up her employers offer of a free desk/chair delivered to her home, she ran this past her hubby and he blindly said ok. He was still away when she messaged me and said she'd got all the work done and she was thrilled. She sent me some pics...Oh dear - The laminate flooring she chose was pale grey, the blinds she's had fitted are vertical and a strange shade of red, the desk and chair are massive and very "officey"...."whaddya think she said" My honest response would've been - It looks like a waiting room in some kind of clinic, it's awful!" I just said "very smart" He has returned from his holiday and has literally freaked out! She has called me in tears as he's furious because he said it looked like the waiting room in a dental surgery! (It does to be fair). I don't know what shocks me the most, my friend's serious lack of taste or her husband letting giving her free rein to decorate the place without any consultation or interest. Had she chosen a warm honey coloured laminate and bought a rug or two, some venetian blinds and a chosen a less obtrusive desk it would've looked like a home. They are barely speaking to one another at the moment! I'd say it was his fault for being so indifferent - The kitchen floor which was actually nice could've been restored. It's good to talk!

 

[merryone]

I can completely understand why she wanted to replace the worn out stained cream carpet, personally I'd have just got another carpet in a more practical shade and most definitely shown my oh pictures of what I liked even if he didn't seem that interested as it does save argument further down the line. When she said she wanted to laminate the whole ground floor I thought it would make the place seem a bit "cold" but also thought she'd be adding a rug or two to make the front room a bit more front roomy and the pale grey laminate replacing a decent wooden kitchen floor is criminal. Her hubby is still throwing his toys out of the pram and the latest is that he's decided that he'd rather watch telly in the bedroom upstairs 'cause he can hardly bear to look at the surroundings. Somehow they really need to get their heads together on this and try and come to a compromise. I really cannot understand why she has set up her work station in the front room, especially when they actually have plenty of other places in the house where it would fit in better. The blinds and laminate were expensive so they're kinda stuck with that. I think she needs to gently remind him that he did give her free rein to do what she liked and showed little or no interest in the matter, and say I'm really sorry that you don't like it - Then they'll be in a better position to run ideas past each other how to make it liveable for both of them. To me, a large rug for the centre of the living room would be an obvious starting point, then maybe some nice big cushions to go on the sofa and chairs and they should most definitely choose them together. Seriously when she's asked him how his holiday was he's just grunted "good"
There is fault on both sides, her because she knows from past experience when she painted the feature wall in the living room a metallic mauve he hated it and said it looks like a bliddy spaceship and painted over it in dark grey (which does look quite smart) so she should've insisted that he looked at some of her ideas, and for him if it's something you've got to live with show a bit of interest fgs! They need their heads banging together!

 

[Muttley]

My living room is very neutral. Beige carpets, cream walls and blinds and a light brown three piece suite. I don't have a dining room, my kitchen is small so I also have my small dining table in there as well.

However I add colour with cushions, place mats/coasters and vases. I would hate red blinds and I'm not keen on feature walls. I love looking for homewear accessories which I like to rotate, the big Sainsburys near has a really good selection and John Lewis stuff is great and not necessarily expensive. I just view the basic colour scheme as a blank canvas to work on.

As for your friend, I don't know how they move on from this.

 

[merryone]

My living room is very neutral. Beige carpets, cream walls and blinds and a light brown three piece suite. I don't have a dining room, my kitchen is small so I also have my small dining table in there as well.

However I add colour with cushions, place mats/coasters and vases. I would hate red blinds and I'm not keen on feature walls. I love looking for homewear accessories which I like to rotate, the big Sainsburys near has a really good selection and John Lewis stuff is great and not necessarily expensive. I just view the basic colour scheme as a blank canvas to work on.

As for your friend, I don't know how they move on from this.

That is a good idea but pale grey flooring would've been quite nice had it been a carpet and of course had she left the kitchen floor as it was and just paid to get it restored. It's the hardness of it all. Those vertical blinds are for businesses and even coloured ones don't soften the look, they just scream "salon". I'm not sure how much money they've got left after these little escapades but it'll be a case of ripping it all out and starting again, or trying to soften the look. She thinks it looks great and is really happy with it. It's easy for me 'cause I don't have to live with it and to be honest I'm glad that I managed to dig deep enough to find the word "smart". Hopefully someone else will give her some feedback, perhaps a close member of her family, but unless he calms down a bit, they'll never be able to move on. I'm sure they'll get over it somehow!

 

[Peppermint Patti]

We've got pale grey laminate in the second bedroom/computer room/dressing room with dark grey wardrobes, dark grey blinds and black/silver curtains.Lounge has wide oak laminate that looks like real wood with knot holes etc cream curtains and vertical blinds. I'm thinking of changing the blinds to the day to night ones at some point. I have a beige and chocolate rug and the walls are a soft blue/grey.