Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

Original post by Becky

Jan 28, 2004 11:19 AM

I am at my wits end with my DH. We are finishing our basement and had agreed on painting it a blue/gray/slate type of color. This is the first time we have agreed on anything related to decorating our house. We have two rooms painted and you don't even want to know the drama that caused

I really think that my husband, although he wants color in our home, is unable to match colors or envision anything that he has not seen in a magazine.

Last night he told me he wants to do the carpet downstairs in a color that is close to white. We already have a verly light beige carpet throughout the house and down the stairs. I wanted to use the same carpet. He is insisting that the color will not 'match' a blueish-gray color. He also doesn't think that the terra cotta in the kitchen will match anything other than green or yellow

The inability to come to a decision without a debate is sucking a lot of the home decorating joy out of this experience for both of us. Admittedly, I have a control problem and I am super pickey, but he has the strangest taste in home decor. At Christmas time when we had to adjust our couches to face each other in order to make room for the tree, he went on and on and on about how the ONLY way you can arrange couches is in an 'L' around the television.

Help me keep the peace? Does anyone else deal with this?

MarcellaBella Posted: Jan 28, 2004 02:52 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

Todd and I fought over the shade of green we painted the house.. HE DROVE ME CRAZY.. literally nuts.. esp. at Home Depot.. we went like 30482048 dif times and each time we'd get into an argument and I'd end up saying 'let's go home' mind you we ended up with the color I picked!

I'll tell him ideas I have.. and I'm not always too good at expressing my vision, so it may sound funny, and he will be like 'no, we're not doing that' or 'I don't like that' but then when I do it, he loves it.. go figure

Sonicstef Posted: Jan 28, 2004 03:02 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

Yes because FH and I have slightly different tastes. He once wanted to put up a picture of George Bush in or living room

NO HE DIDNT!! oh my god. I almost didnt get married at the Yale Club b/c there was a big portrait of Bush in there. But Clinton was there too so I figured it balanced..ahhah

I swear, Luke argues with me sometimes just to drive me crazy. I just dont see why he cares so much. And he easily admits I have better taste than him...why argue?

He hated the idea of the burgandy wall but I wore him down until he finally said 'fine'. He says he still doenst like it but I can tell he is just saying that so he doesnt admit he was wrong. And when people come to my house, lots of people say how much they like it etc (without being asked) and it drives him crazy. ahhaha

MarcellaBella Posted: Jan 28, 2004 03:18 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

OMG!! picture of BUSH!!

LizD Posted: Jan 28, 2004 04:08 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

What are you using the basement for? If it is going to be used as a den, wouldn't a carpet too light be more apt to staining?

Def understand about the DH and decorating. My DH idea of decorating is very different than mine, but thank God he usually gives in to me

Buttafli1277 Posted: Jan 28, 2004 04:21 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

Mu hubby usually leaves the decorating up to me. I usually do ask for his opinion on things, and we pretty much agree on the same things.
I defniately would have a problem with my hubby putting a pic. of George Bush in my livingroom!!

stacedz Posted: Jan 28, 2004 04:42 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

YES! Oh dear lord yes but I have the husband that says 'it is fine the way it is, it doesn't need to be changed Stace!' Now what makes a house a home?!? He fought me on that we didn't need to paint our bedroom (it was a light blue) because it was fine and that the kitchen tile didn't need to be replaced YET, what does he show people when they come over? He kills me, I am struggling with him now to paint the kitchen and dining room and it will be a knock out fight, I just know it. Ladies, if you have men that you just argue over what to do and it is difficult to chose colors, it is STILL better than my husband who would live in a house with bare walls (OK, maybe some sport paraphanalia on the walls) and say it is FINE!!! Mind you, he will fight me on a color and the man is color blind!! Ok, vent D-O-N-E!!!

chmlengr Posted: Jan 28, 2004 05:10 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

According to hubby, if its not his way, then its not the right way!

We often disagree on home decorating issues, and I've found that at times when I go ahead and just do it, he can't really say much and he ends up liking it.

We bought paint for our living room over the summer and were trying for a light brown/beigy color to coordinate with our dark brown couches. We end up looking at the swatches, and I found a great color, and so did he, at least he thought he did. Well, he won that arguement, and bought 2 gallons of the paint. I stuck the paint swatches in my pocket and sulked out. We got home, and lo and behold, with the swatches up next to the couches, his color looked gray, not brown, and we ended up going back the next day to get my color! Now he listens to me more often.

Jenn P Posted: Jan 28, 2004 05:16 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

I never realized how lucky I am that DH and I pretty much have the same decorating taste. We very rarely disagree and fortunately, we've agreed on every major decision thus far.

nrvbrd Posted: Jan 28, 2004 05:26 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

The only thing we are having issues with is what to hang on the walls.

I wanted that huge wall candle sconce from Pottery barn, but he said no way. Whenever he or I suggest what type of picture to hang we often disagree. So now we have empty walls LOL.

Hopefully that will change soon.

kmcwed Posted: Jan 28, 2004 11:48 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

NYCHICK Posted: Jan 29, 2004 12:29 AM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

Posted by Sonicstef

Yes because FH and I have slightly different tastes. He once wanted to put up a picture of George Bush in or living room

NO HE DIDNT!! oh my god. I almost didnt get married at the Yale Club b/c there was a big portrait of Bush in there. But Clinton was there too so I figured it balanced..ahhah

I swear, Luke argues with me sometimes just to drive me crazy. I just dont see why he cares so much. And he easily admits I have better taste than him...why argue?

He hated the idea of the burgandy wall but I wore him down until he finally said 'fine'. He says he still doenst like it but I can tell he is just saying that so he doesnt admit he was wrong. And when people come to my house, lots of people say how much they like it etc (without being asked) and it drives him crazy. ahhaha

O child yes he did. Thank God I had the wall to hold me up from falling over, Of course I said 'Over my rotting corpse, will that man hangon our wall' FH thinks he is the next martha stewart. He picks out drapes with no valances. He has a good idea and dnever follows through. Needless to say I just scrap it and start from scratch, why he bohters is beyond me. Once the HM is over, It is house fixing time. Sonicstef you will be hearing from be about MY crappy kitchen

coselige Posted: Jan 29, 2004 09:40 AM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

Oh I feel you pain on this one. DH and I do NOT share the same taste. Last year, we wanted to paint our bedroom. DH does not think in terms of color shades. To him, blue is blue. I have been trying to explain to him that this is not the case. There are color VARIATIONS.

Well, he bought a color called Wild Blue Yonder at Home Depot and thought he would 'surprise' me by painting the room, which is a sweet gesture, but hello??? It was bright blue, I'm talking 10 year old boy, football bed blue. What would make him think that our bedroom would look good painted that color? Needless to say, we painted over it.

Jan05Bride Posted: Jan 29, 2004 09:59 AM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

Coselige, you are making me laugh right now. My FH wants to paint our bathroom primary blue - it is horrid. I keep trying to push a grayer blue / historical BM color blue but he keeps going back to this Crayon Blue that is killing me. I swear, we cannot agree on anything.
The thing is we both have the similar tastes but he doesn't see to know how to 'get there' with accent pieces. It's like he likes blue so lets make the walls Blueberry! UHHH, NO!

Becky Posted: Jan 29, 2004 10:40 AM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

I am loving all of these stories. My DH tries, but is so not good at the whole decorating thing. Last weekend he was looking at a picture of drapes with a valance and I asked if he could make a valance like that, he did not understand me AT ALL. He wanted to know what a BALANCE is and how could he build it. We were looking at a picture of one and he still didn't know what it was. A balance. And he wants to decorate our house

Jan05Bride Posted: Jan 29, 2004 10:48 AM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

FH thinks Levalor blinds are all you need for a window! UGH!

kmcwed Posted: Jan 29, 2004 12:56 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

phyl Posted: Jan 29, 2004 02:15 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

unfortunelty for me at times, hubby DOES have an opinion on things around the home...MOST of them...and it seems to me with my timeline,t hat nothing ever gets done.

I wanted to get new shades for the living rm and bedroom...roman shades, that fold up differently. The ones for the LR would fold up like a semi-circle fan on the bottom...and the ones for the BR were actually two shades in one...one transclucent (so the sun could comm ein) and one over that .,,in color..that could be raised or lowered for privacy.

They were $30 for each window..and since we had a few to do I made the mistake of showing him instead of just ordering it and puttin git up myself. he didnt like them. preferred the plain off white parchment-type blinds we have now..and thats it. no more discussion

I just want to stamp my foot sometimes and say- just tell me to do whatever 'I' want since I am the GIRL!!

phyl Posted: Jan 29, 2004 02:16 PM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

...continued...and after our last fiasco of painting our bedrm together...mind you it was the same SHADE of paint as was on the walls already...I swore I would never paint another rm with just him for help!

HappyEverAfter Posted: Feb 02, 2004 10:58 AM

Re: Does anyone else battle with their DH/FH about decorating your home?

Sign me up to the club, DH does not believe in color- our house has all off white walls w/ bright white trim. Its like living in a marshmellow. Everytime I want to paint, he tells me he likes white, its 'clean' and 'simple'. I am just going to do some secret painting one weekend while he is at work
The biggest issue we have is that I have no decorating sense either. So when I make DH go house deco shopping with me, its like the blind leading the blind. We are the couple in Home Depot w. an empty cart, looking up at the selections, all confused