Conquering the challenges of wedding two households to create your home
A lot of romantic movies would have us think that once the wedding is over, the couple rides off into the clichéd sunset and lives that proverbial happily ever after. They don’t show us about what it’s like to move in together, to make a home of a house.
If, like most couples, you’re preparing for moving in together at the same time you’re planning your wedding, you probably realize how difficult it is to find a place, sign the rental or purchase contracts, and make other arrangements for where happily ever after begins. Since it’s important to make your space personal, we’ve put together tips from an expert and from newlyweds to help make that transition easier—so that you can focus on creating the wedding of your dreams!
Merge Step One: Purge before merging
Before you move in together, both of you have to do an inventory of what you own which you want to bring to your new home. This involves some tough decisions, especially if you’re moving into a small apartment when you’re used to living in a big house. Here’s a rule of thumb, advises Annie, married last year: “If you haven’t touched or used it in a year, then you can likely leave it behind.”
Don’t do this alone. Your groom may have items of sentimental value and he may resent it if you get rid of it. There’s always a workaround for a challenge, and the best way to do this is to talk to each other, to communicate about priorities. It’s another great preview of your marriage; you’ll see how you both handle challenges and crises.
The bright side: unless you’re moving into his home or yours, this is a golden opportunity to start from scratch and avoid clutter.
Merge Step Two: Planning it out
A good date night can be spent together looking at magazine or Internet pegs of what you want for your home. If you two can talk to each other and communicate what you want, it’s a great step to take towards your lifetime partnership. “While Tony said he wanted to leave our home’s design to me, when we went through my collection of home pegs, I noticed he preferred clean, simple spaces. So I took that into account, along with space to expand for when we have kids, when I furnished our townhouse,” shares Nini, recently married.
You also want to set aside personal space. Love isn’t a 24/7 thing, no matter what romance novels and love songs say. You’re still individuals, and remember, you fell in love with each other, not with yourselves as a couple.
Merge Step Three: Do an initial layout
This is where you may need the help of an interior designer. Now that you know what you’re bringing to your new home, you need to determine how best to use the space. If you’re highly visual, you can use scale models of your home and furniture to determine what fits where. You also need to consider flow; you don’t want to put a breaker cabinet right where it will be in the way of anyone bringing food to the dining room from the kitchen.
Merge Step Four: Do it!
WE Picks:
Here are some items you might want to consider for your new home.
Crate and Barrel GreenPan cookware brings glam and a superior performance to the kitchen.
The Sardinia Collection by Portoro Interior offers you an array of dinnerware that can be a good addition to your new home. From dinner and appetizer plates, bowls for soup, rice or fruits, egg holders that can also be used as marmalade or salt & pepper holders.
Prestiz the home appliance brand making a noteworthy contribution to the lives of newlyweds. Offering a range of products designed to enhance daily living, the brand’s collection of AV, kitchen, and lifestyle appliances offers exquisite gift options that underscore practical functionality that any couple would love to receive.
Make your home look and smell classy with this Two Scents candle warmer set. You can also personalize your warmers and candles!
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