Newlywed Lessons: Learning To Man Up Your Home

Posted on the 31 December 2012 by Wifessionals @wifessionals
Hi! I'm Sarah and you can usually find me over at The Pitts. As an avid reader of Wifessionals, I quickly realized that I could absolutely relate to her series on Newlywed Lessons. I've recently found myself in a place that ALL newlyweds come to after getting married. Though not a newlywed myself, I am lucky enough to be newly-cohabitating with my significant other!

When it was finally decided that Mr. PG and I would be making it official – in the living-together sense, that is - my never-ending quest to perfect my apartment has entered a new phase that I began to affectionately call "Manning Up".
While I love my baby blues and greens and pristine white furniture (kind of), it's time to move on. With the addition of a male to the abode in mere weeks, my apartment seriously needs to man up. With all that comes with the journey of cohabitation – space, spats, spending, spooning – redecorating was, for a long awhile, in the back of my mind. But it struck me during one particularly long conversation regarding the specifics of our impending move that I had A LOT to do.
Like, a lot.
If you're thinking of beer pong tables, beer posters and a keg in the corner... well, to be honest, that's what I was thinking too.
Panic attack ensued.
Not my beautiful apartment! And then I woke up and realized I wasn't moving a fraternity into my one-bedroom.
Thankfully.
No, redecorating wouldn't be a disaster - it would be an opportunity to change things up and maybe expand my comfort zone a bit! I mean, cohabitation is all about comprise – right?
And then I got excited.And then I shopped.Thanks for nothing Cyber Monday - love, Sarah's Wallet.
I still have some things to do that we're going to do together to make sure that he's adequately represented in the space, but I definitely got a great jump-start.

My Manning-Up To-Dos:


1. Bedroom: The black furniture theme in my room was a good foundation for the revamp, especially given how it contrasts with the new colors I was adding. My old color scheme was baby blue, green and white, but now...
A rich garnet quilt to layer on top of my white duvet cover to create contrast.


Boom! Mustard! Love the combination with the garnet quilt, and will go great with my gray carpet and Euro shams.


Balances out the bright colors, and matches well with the dark furniture. Plus, it's just the best pillow I've ever seen.


2. Closet: Ok, cue the tears.Everyone... I need to clean out my closet. And I mean REALLY clean it out. I'm beside myself. Not like "Hey I'm going to give some stuff away today" cleaning out, like "I need to make room for someone else" cleaning out. What?! But I welcome the challenge. If any co-habitors have any suggestions for me on how to best accomplish this (other than get a place with bigger closets), I'd be eternally grateful!
3. Kitchen: HA, it is what it is. Moving on.
4. Living Room: Now this re-do required no twisting of the arm whatsoever.I've been dying to do it for awhile, and saving up just incase an occasion arose that would really push me over the edge. And here it is! Right now I have a white couch with light brown pillows and throws. Now I'm thinking... Blue and brown rug to stand out against the beige carpet, and coincide with the accessories I already have.Deeper, more masculine tone, but a beautiful compliment to the light blue rug.Matching ottoman that opens up to reveal a secret storage space. Perfect to reduce clutter!
And now that it’s all done, I couldn’t be happier!Really, I swear.The apartment is just… warmer knowing that we share it, and love everything about it together.Now time to focus on the important things like, oh, I don’t know, actually living together :) SJ


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