How to Smartly Blend Your Roommate’s Style With Yours

By Victoria Robertson on December 29, 2016

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Perhaps one of the most jarring experiences of college is the transition from living with your parents to living with a complete stranger. For some, this experience is bypassed as they meet their roommates online first, or room with some friends from high school, but no matter what, the experience is more difficult than you would imagine.

For one thing, individuality is going to be a problem, especially considering two individuals are sharing the same room. So unless you and your roommate have the exact same style and taste, this is a potential cause of conflict.

To avoid such encounters, I recommend that you come up with a decoration plan prior to moving in together, just to set some guidelines and to make the process run a little more smoothly.

If you’re looking for some tips as to how to go about doing this, read below for some helpful pointers that will help you to avoid conflict without completely jeopardizing your style.

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1. Determine your musts: Both you and your roommate will have items that you insist on keeping. They could have personal value to you or you might just like them, but if your roommate doesn’t like it, it can cause a serious problem.

Let’s use an example: say you have a lamp that your great grandmother left you. And let’s say your roommate doesn’t like it. You can either get rid of the lamp, or, you can negotiate, as there’s probably something of your roommate’s that you don’t like either.

While I wouldn’t recommend doing this with every item you own, for those of great importance, this is going to be the easiest solution.

2. Create a theme: For many female college students, you have a color scheme already picked out before you even begin shopping for furniture, comforters, etc. But for those of you with roommates, this is an even more difficult process.

Again, there’s the potential that your roommate is not going to have the same style as you, and so what looks like a good theme to you may not to him/her. Rather than arguing about it after you’ve already purchased your supplies, talk with them beforehand and, if an agreement can’t be reached, at least coordinate your themes so that they won’t clash.

3. Be flexible: Just because your roommate’s style is different doesn’t mean that you have to be combative about it. It’s difficult to move in with someone new, and that’s made even more difficult if you aren’t willing to compromise.

While it’s easy to get caught up in all the petty arguments about which pillow case is the least gaudy, at the end of the day, it really couldn’t matter less. You’re in college, you’re (hopefully) living with a lifelong friend and nobody is walking into your room thinking about how a green rug would’ve looked better than blue.

So don’t completely give up your individuality, but don’t take away theirs either.

4. Work together: As much as possible, work with one another when buying items for your new room. My roommate and I went our own ways, bought what we wanted in subtle colors and while we had two very different sides of the room, that’s what worked for us. So if that’s what works best for you, do it. If you want to decorate as a team, do that.

No matter which route you choose, you need to choose something that will work for your unique relationship, as no two people are the same. So have your opinions, but be open to other opinions as well.

5. Create something new: Just because you and your roommate have different tastes doesn’t mean that you can’t create a new one. If you both want to try something new (this is college, after all), then combine your styles into a new one or do some research and come up with a style that best reflects your relationship.

The possibilities here are endless, so as long as you’re willing to compromise a little and you’re open to the possibilities of something new, you and your roommate will be much happier.

No matter which path you choose, decorating your dorm room or apartment can be a blast so long as you and your roommate can see the bigger picture. Whether you decide to compromise, do your own thing or come up with a theme that’s entirely new, the bottom line is that your relationship is more important than your style choices.

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So keep your individuality, but also keep in mind style isn’t everything, and you’re only going to be in your dorm or apartment for a year or so.

So put your relationship first, follow these tips and make this year about the both of you, because this could be a lifelong friendship that you don’t want to miss out on.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

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