Relationship Problems Solved By Design?

Designing For The Sexes. Do you guys remember that show on HGTV?

He wants modern, she wants traditional. She wants floral, he wants stripes. It something that has come up for most of us I can imagine.


 Designing for both men and women so we can all live in harmony. It seems like this is an issue a lot of couples/ significant others deal with. I've been pretty fortunate; my husband doesn't seem to mind much how I design our home. My taste is pretty simple and not very ornate so I'm sure that helps. Of course he did have an opinion this one time though....

I saw a recent article on Houzz that talked about this a little bit further. Not only designing your home to make each person happy and comfortable, it discusses using design to strengthen your relationship. I thought it interesting enough to share.


1. The first thing the article mentions is putting your relationship first. They suggest having a quite place in your home for you and your spouse to be together with no interruptions- to TV, no cells phones. This could be your bed room, a nice outdoor patio, or even a window seat with a nice view.

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The article also mentions having reminders of your relationship around the house. This could be pictures from your honeymoon or a special vacation, tickets from a movie you shared, ect.

2. Taking the communication thing further, the article talks about removing distractions from the home. Having a quiet place where you can talk to each other some misunderstandings become limited (see item 1 above).

The article also talks about being able to close off computer and TV areas so they are not a constant distraction.

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3. Finances. A source of stress for a lot of us. Keeping organized and having everything in one place helps keep things in perspective. (See item 2!)

4. Household responsibilities. Oh snap~~ this is a big one for me. Back when I was working full time we split everything pretty evenly. But since I've become a stay at home mom most of the household chores have fallen on me. Talking about what is expected from each other is important and will save a lot of resentment. 

I always have a smile on my face when I do chores. NOT!

The article suggests rotating chores and switching it up every now and then so one person isn't having to do everything. I like that idea!

5. Keeping the bedroom romantic. Bow Chica Wow Wow!! All kidding aside this is important. If your bedroom is a mess, your home office is in your bedroom, your TV is on all the time; these are all things that could lead to added stress in a relationship. Not to mention it can make it hard to relax and sleep at night.

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The article suggests clearing out the clutter, cool soothing colors, and keeping light out at night (black out shades, no bright alarm clocks, ect.) and keeping electronics out of the bedroom.

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Some other things I thought about were having 2 sinks in the bathroom. I know this isn't a luxury for everyone. We had only 1 sink we shared in our last home and I wanted to strangle my husband every day! 

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Ok maybe not that extreme but I would try to get ready for work or bed either before or after him so we weren't tripping all over each other. Now that we have 2 sinks in our new home the world is a happier place.

I also think having a King size bed is a luxury that helps relationships. We have a Queen right now but I'm hoping for a King soon!

There's nothing I'd like more that being able to spread out and not be elbowed in the face at night!

How about you? Have you designed your home to help your relationship?

Tips for Placing a Bed in Front of a Window

I saw this great article on Houzz the other day that I wanted to share with everyone. It had some great ideas on placing a bed in front a window- a common problem that I had in our old house. (All images from Houzz)

One idea that I thought was great was keeping everything on either side of the bed symmetrical. The height the large paintings and lamps give to the room take you eye away from the window and make them all work together.

This designer used curtains to help hide the window and soften it, almost gives the window a headboard feel. I thought it was an interesting treatment, how the curtain rod cuts across the middle of the top window. I'm always at a loss on how to treat a window like this I like this idea for any room of the home.

Another treatment I haven't seen- top down blinds. They help with privacy while letting light and the view in. I wonder how pricey those are??

Here all the furniture is kept below the window line, the window becomes the headboard. Simple and effective. I only wonder how early these people wake up with the sun shining in their face?

How about pretending you don't have a window at all? Here the curtains cover the window completely when not in use. 

There were some other good ideas in the article if you want to check them out. 

Have you dealt with your bed under a window? What was your solution?