7 Must-Know Design Tips To Note Before Moving In With Your Partner

The day before I moved in with my boyfriend, I sat down in one of my beloved wicker Cesca chairs and stared around my one-bedroom apartment in a stupor. My belongings were partially packed up, stacked into rows of tidy brown boxes, but stray objects and clothes were still strewn about haphazardly. I felt a surge of affection as I scanned the furniture I had lovingly collected over the past two years: the seashell-shaped nightstands I picked up in a Greenpoint warehouse during COVID, my beloved puffy cloud couch, the pink laminate dresser I bought off a vintage furniture account on Instagram. These belongings were more than objects — they felt like a reflection of me. This rush of endearment was soon replaced with a sudden question, thudding through my head with the delicacy of a wrecking ball slamming repeatedly against concrete: How in the WORLD is all of this going to fit in a new space I have to share with another human being?! I felt the panic seep in.

For most couples, moving in together can be a time of joyful celebration. It’s a relationship checklist item that signals a more serious commitment to one another — and, in New York City, oftentimes couples move in together more quickly and with special zeal because it means you can pay less for a larger apartment (romantic, I know). But there are also times when moving in together does not necessarily mean you’ll have double the space — because in Manhattan, location is everything, after all. So, although I was excited to “upgrade” my life into the idyllic, tree-lined streets of West Village and grow closer with my partner in this milestone, I was also filled with an overwhelming fear of how, logistically, it was all going to work out.

Because I have a lot of things. Part of this is due to my job, which allows me to accumulate such things — beauty products, yes, but also random gifts like pasta sauce from Carbone and Dagne Dover backpacks — and part of this is because I was raised in an immigrant household where nothing was ever thrown away. My boyfriend, on the other hand, is the opposite. Stark could be a way to describe his design aesthetic, which leans towards modern and sleek, whereas I tend to gravitate towards a warm wabi-sabi vibe, peppered with vintage elements.

And now, the two of us were embarking on a new journey of making a home together that we both loved, within the confines of a lovingly-maintained, yet certainly-not-enormous, pre-war apartment in the West Village.

I was concerned. I knew I needed an expert opinion, so I called upon designers Kara Mann of Kara Mann Design and Alex Estévez of Mermalada Estudio to share their most helpful advice on how to make the move-in process as seamless as possible; both of them are a part of CB2’s new Designer Collective, a highly-curated group of designers the brand will be working with to spearhead its new furniture offerings. “It’s going to be a compromise, but the design doesn’t have to feel compromised,” Mann says of my new merger.

I took her and Estévez’ advice to heart, and also learned a few things along the way. It’s now been over four months since I first moved in with my boyfriend, and though our apartment is still a work in progress, I’m happy to report that the move has, indeed, brought us closer — and we’re happily cohabitating in a space that feels like home for both of us. We’re still on the hunt for living room chairs and the perfect wall art, but in the meantime, have found a happy balance of decor elements that reflect our shared (and at times, differing) tastes.

Ahead, read on for seven helpful tips for anyone moving in with their partner with a different design aesthetic — and with minimal space to spare.

Anchor The Room With A “Base”

The first thing to do when moving in with a significant other and furnishing a room is to decide on one or two furniture pieces that serve as an anchor, says Mann. “Start with what you love,” she says. “Have you been dying for a big comfy sofa for your space? Start with that. Do you have a beautiful vintage rug you found at an antique store? Find what inspires you and build from there.”

I knew that I wasn’t quite ready to part with my puffy cloud couch yet, so the next step was convincing my boyfriend that my beloved couch could be our couch (luckily, he didn’t need that much convincing). Once we decided on the base for our living room, we felt more at ease to furnish the rest of the room with items that complemented it.

Find Beauty In Opposition

My boyfriend will wake up at 1 a.m. to watch an Australian football game; I, on the other hand, prefer the thought-provoking programming on Bravo. Our tastes are decidedly opposite in many things, but according to Mann and Estévez, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. “I love the push and pull between two disparate things [in a space] — masculine and feminine, classic and modern,” says Mann. “Look for the harmony in opposing ideas.”

“The way we bridge different styles through materials involves finding a rhythm that allows them to fit together harmoniously,” adds Estévez. “It is like cooking; there are ingredients that seem incompatible, but by finding the right proportion, you can achieve an astonishing result.”

On the furniture front, I gravitate towards the round, curved and plush (see: my cloud couch), while he favors more clean lines and edges. Taking the designers’ advice to heart, we decided to choose a sleek marble block coffee table with sharp edges from Eternity Modern to complement our cozy curved sofa. We used Eternity Modern’s white glove delivery service and just a few weeks later, the stunning marble plinth was delivered and placed exactly where we wanted in our living room. Like magic, the juxtaposition of the couch’s curves and the sharp edges of the marble coffee table somehow just worked, and we couldn’t be happier with result.

Get Smart With Storage

The biggest problem in most New York City apartments is lack of storage. Our cozy space was no different. Though we had two closets in our long entryway and a bedroom closet, the rest of the storage solutions in the apartment are non-existent. Instead of giving up and donating 90% of my things (just 50% was fine!), we decided to get savvy and turn our long entry hallway into a makeshift walk-in closet for — who else? — me.

We did copious amounts of research and found that Ikea’s Pax system was the best for complete customization, from the length and height of the units to the doors and doorknobs. We bought three individual Pax units and two wider Pax units and opted for wooden doors that blend into the walls when closed. Honestly, I don’t know how we would be able to live in this apartment without these units — and now, I have the walk-in closet I’ve always dreamed of.

Compromise With Color

After deciding on your anchor, Mann says the next step is to decide on the color scheme. “Assess the pieces to see where the balance falls,” she says. “Can most of your neutral pieces be the base and the color items serve as accents? Or is it the reverse? Could you keep most of the space neutral with some bright accents and then choose a room or two to really go for it with color?”

My boyfriend and I decided to keep things neutral in both our living room and our bedroom, while adding pops of color with accents like our olive-toned Bearaby throw blanket, colorful coffee table books, and wall art. We both wanted our space to feel as light and airy as possible, which is why we opted for whites and neutrals (especially to contrast and brighten up our dark wood floors).

For our bedroom, we pictured a serene space that would instantly instill a sense of calm after a busy day since we both have jobs that often require us to run around the city after working hours. We couldn’t have been more happy with the CB2 Tipton Ivory Tufted Bed we decided on, which added a warm, cozy foundation for our bedroom (the website pictures don’t do it justice!).

Skip On Trends

Mann had one piece of advice she was adamant about for couples furnishing a home together: “Stay away from trends! That is what makes a space feel dated. Buy classic pieces that will stand the test of time.” Though I think at the end of the day you should buy furniture that make you and your partner happy, I can see where she’s coming from. There are so many furniture and decor items that I remember fantasizing about from years ago (who can forget the Ultragola pink mirror and everyone’s squiggle obsession in 2021?) that now I find myself shying away from. People’s tastes change and furniture is an investment — so for larger pieces, opt for things that you and your partner can see yourself loving for years to come.

Less Is More

My boyfriend and I learned immediately that when space is tight, keeping clutter to a minimum is absolutely essential. We also learned that smaller furniture didn’t have to mean smaller impact. Take, for instance, our dining room table. We chose the black marble Babylon Table and tucked it into a corner of our living room. (“Initially, this table was larger in size, but due to its success, a bistro version was created,” Estévez notes.) Though we won’t be hosting a dinner party anytime soon, we love that the smaller table opens up room for our living room to feel more spacious — and the black marble makes a statement.

Make It Your Own

At the end of the day, choosing furniture for a small space with another person should be about mutual respect (a shared Pinterest moodboard doesn’t hurt, either). “In the world of design, there are no established rules,” says Estévez. “Ultimately, what matters is that when you look at that space, you feel a connection. It should not leave you indifferent; it should provoke something — make you feel happy, calm, and energetic, make you smile, dream, and remember.”

Because a home isn’t just a place to throw your things down at the end of the day, don’t shy away from injecting some personality into your space. For example, Estévez says that things like ornamental masks or treasures picked up during a holiday with your partner can make great decor pieces, and make your space feel more like a reflection of you and your SO.

Moving into a small space with a significant other can be feel like a daunting task, but with a few key design tips in mind and the knowledge that at the end of the day, the best home is simply a happy home, you’ll be well-prepared for the next step in your relationship journey.

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