Living In Sin: Décor Dealbreakers

The girls over at The Frisky are FULL of valuable insight on all things love, sex and style.

But, yesterday I was catching up on some missed stories from the past week and one in particular caught my eye...

Nine Things You Should Figure Out Before Moving In Together offers a lot of practical wisdom on chores and arguments, but it got me thinking that they're definitely missing something — forget an "exit strategy," you MUST have a décor strategy! 

For instance, my boyfriend and I have been dating and living together for 3 years now. I'm hot pink, eclectic, ruffles and polka dots. He's black leather, ultra-modern, chrome and empty walls. When we first decided to move in together, I never even dreamed of the spats we'd get in over the simplest little bits of decoration (like hanging a mail sorter...seriously, it happened).

So my suggestion: create a list of décor dealbreakers. 

Don't be shy. This is your chance to say what you love and what you loathe. List colors, fabrics, textures, styles...maybe even include photos of looks you'd love to recreate or even ideas you'd NEVER want to see in your space.

The next step: be prepared to compromise. 

So, we can't afford to get rid of our entire matching collection of black leather manly living room furniture, BUT I compromised by replacing the bulky rocker with a new one that is sleek and chic (while still black leather) and we're currently saving up for a sofa and love seat that we BOTH love. Sure, he hates pillows, polka dots and all things girly, BUT he compromised by letting me bring in black and white polka dot sheets for our bed and a few throw pillows to mask the manliness of the couch. 

So you see, compromise...it's BEYOND essential to maintaining the peace. 

So, what are your décor dealbreakers?

And, is there anything you'd add to the list of things to figure out before you move in together?

Tell me below in the comments.

P.S. This is what our sofa looks like...you see my dilemma now?  ;)

{photo cred: sheknows.com, homefurniture2go.com}