Spousal Design Conflict Tips~Family Room Design Plan

At the end of this post, I'd love to hear how you decorate around spousal design conflict.

I was recently asked to design a living room that posed a bit of a challenge.  I love a good challenge but this one really made me think.  How do I design a space for spouses with completely opposite design preferences?  A space that both will equally love.

After the wife described her style preferences to me, I pictured her dream living room to look a lot like this beautiful space from Centsational Girl... 

{Centsational Girl~Click Here Before Pinning}

She loves light, airy, fresh, traditional designs. 

He is a Historian with a passion for dark, heavy, ornate, design.  If he could have it his way, he would live in a real castle.

My challenge was to incorporate both tastes, equally strong in opposite directions, into one cohesive design that reflects both husband and wife.  

I looked at it this way, if these two got together:

{Kate~Centsational Girl}

{Robinhood}

What would their space look like??

After working on this project, I came up with a few helpful tips for spousal design conflicts:

1.  Find a common thread between the two tastes and use it to the max.

(In this case, they both liked metal finishes.  I used mercury glass lamps for her and vintage pewter display for him).

2.  Find at least one piece that both agree upon and build the entire room around it.

(In this case it was a painting).

3.  Use art and accessories to bring both personalities into the space.

(In this case, the overall room palette was neutral but, the art and collectibles played up the castle theme and the fabrics and crystal chandelier said traditional chic design)

4.  Remember there is no right or wrong way to decorate.  Design is subjective.  It's ok to mix different styles within a space, eclectic interiors are hot.  Let the room reflect both of you, no matter how different your tastes are...you will have created your very own unique style. 

5.  Have fun.  In the end, this will be a great bonding experience as long as you both play nice during the process. One great way to make it fun is to have him pick something for the space that he thinks she would like and vice versa.

Has anyone else out there struggled with a spousal design conflict?  How do you decorate around it?  I would love to hear what has/hasn't worked for you.