Decorating Compromises for Newlyweds

Every designer has a horror story about the challenges of working with couples, whether the duo has been a pair for two months or 20 years. "Her things, his things. It’s a real challenge merging them into a look that they both can love," says interior designer Sarit Catz, owner of Refuge Design (www.saritcatz.com) in Short Hills, N.J. "Seems like at least half of a designer’s job turns out to be couples’ counseling," she says.

"In my experience, it is the exception and not the rule that couples have the same taste in interior design," says Jayne Pelosi of Boston-based Renaissance Interior Design (www.renaissanceinteriordesign.com). "Even the gay couples with whom I’ve worked seem to have distinctly different tastes, so it may not be gender-related," says Pelosi, who has come to believe that the opposites-attract scenario is at play here. "We know that in love, opposites often attract, so it’s not surprising that these ‘opposite’ couples may process information differently. They probably have distinct natures, different temperaments; it stands to reason that they will be attracted to different colors, textures and decors."

But blending two collections of furniture, not to mention various spoken and unspoken feelings about style, can be done. "It may take a bit of time and work, but when solutions are found you end up creating a shared home, and the experience can help cement the relationship," says Catz.