the key is to get rid of stuff, it is free, and it doesn't require any new furniture.
We have about 600 sq ft right now for the two of us (plus two cats) and its the biggest place we have had so far (and a very strange arrangement, two tiny tiny bedrooms plus a tiny kitchen, and a big living room). And it also has no unique features, but I am quite happy there. We have no clutter and lots of empty space thanks to being very picky about what we bring home, and very willing to get rid of thigns we dont need.

I want to be the first of many (and I'm sure there will be many) to tell you that you have a lovely home. There are many wonderful elements (chessboard, life drawing sketches, happy desk space) and I would move into your bedroom in a heartbeat.

I don't have any words of advice for the BF moving in, as mine still occupies his own space (most of the time), but I hope you can take my words to heart and know that you have done a fantastic job!

plan it out before he moves the stuff in, not after. it'll be much harder to commit to purging once it's all stacked up around you. (and keep a close eye on your closets and such. my mom says many a man sneaks in things he isn't allowed to move in and just hides them where you never look.)

I also want to say your bedroom is lovely! It all looks very comfortable and clean (clean is very important to me!) and happy.

I want to jump in here before smallER-space dwellers start complaining about how BIG your space is and just say that your place is really great and I think you're starting from a good place to consolidate households. What I've found to be useful for tips and especially inspiration is looking at books and mags on small spaces and--when I had TV--watching Small Space Big Style on HGTV and other such shows. Also, all the previous Smallest Coolest contest entrants and winners are at your fingertips on AT - that's a mammoth amount of tips and inspiration.

One thing I notice is that you have a lot of wall space you could utilize for storage, either with shelving or with storage pieces of some kind. You can go cheap or $$$. For instance, a potentially cheap way to go if you can't invest in storage furniture is to curtain off a storage area and then either put your storage on shelves, or bins, or whatever works. On AT, we've seen many examples of entire walls curtained off to cover storage.

Blueroses/Rachel- I can empathize with you! Before my husband and I got married, he moved into my apartment--about 600 sq ft. I didn't have any closet space for him so I packed up most of my books from a 86 X 36 bookcase and he stored his clothes, nicely folded, on the selves. It was kind of like living in a sporty men's clothing store. I reminded myself during that time that our relationship outweighed the cramped conditions. All the best to you!

Also, our very own Maxwell has been on HGTV many times with cool solutions--check here:
http://search.hgtv.com/hgtv/maxwell-gillingham-ryan/search.do;jsessionid=2eacb6b87e8740c8faf9d405d687?searchType=site

as someone who just moved in with the bf, my advice to you is to make as much storage as possible available before he moves in. think about how much you have and double it. these things and yours will all need a home either in your apartment or the trash. . .

Your bedroom is really nice!

I think that a series of tall bookshelves along the wall next to the sofa and some nice looking storage boxes to put on the shelves would be good. This will let you store all your books and various other items that are currently on the floor, and hopefully will be able to contain alot of your boyfriend's books and other stuff too.

Can you share the desk? If not, maybe you could add a fold-down section to one of the bookshelves to make a secretary desk for one of you.

For clothing and such, it's kind of hard to tell by the photos how much space you have, but if you're not already using your underbed space, that could be an option.

It doesn't have to be a lot of money, but my first goal would be to find one large (but appropriate) storage item--a credenza type thing. Your living room could definitely support at least two new items. Try yard sales, Craig's List, etc. It'll be a couples thing to celebrate the moving in and make your place more efficient. Maybe he even has something he's bringing that could serve this purpose.
Other than that, just remember that part of small living is big editing--get on a "purging" schedule so that you are removing stuff from your home way more often than bringing stuff in.
Nice place, love your stools and bedroom especially--good luck!

When I moved in with my husband at first into a small apartment, it was definitely tough, but I think you have a great start! I love your bedroom! We both had to give up a few things. But at the same time, he brought some really nice furniture which meant I could give up my less than nice chair.

Since you and your boyfriend will be living together, for this merger to work well you will now have to think differently about your apartment. Once he moves in, it will be "our" apartment, not "mine".

If I were you, I would make up a floor plan as well as evaluate your closets for a capacity redesign. You want to measure your furniture and his and then work together to decide which pieces you wish to keep or remove. Examine your existing closet storage for capacity increase opportunities. If you both fail to compromise on selecting pieces, you may wish to use this opportunity and the information you have gathered to find a larger residence.

When you both have agreed on a plan, rather than throwing out or selling off excess pieces, arrange for some sort of storage and keep the "unwanted" pieces there until well after the dust settles from this household merger. Maintain a detailed list of boxes and their contents so that stored items can be accessed. If you do this right, you can move his things in and your collective, "unwanted" pieces out to storage on the same day which will likely result in less stress.

Good Luck

Just wanted to echo the above comments and say that your apartment is lovely! I really really like your bedroom and that gorgeous wall color.
I also want to echo the shelving idea for some storage. It looks like you have some stuff on the floor that doesn't have a home so that sort of stuff boyfriends stuff could go together on some sort of floor to ceiling shelving (I'm thinking something like the Container store's Elfa system). Make the most of closet space with organizers, risers, hooks, really deck them out. Since you'll be nearly doubling the amount of stuff in your space I would also go through your things and figure out if you have "stuff" you don't really need or use. The last time we (boyfriend and I) moved I did this and was amazed when we put together 4 boxes of crap and clothing that we didn't need.

I think it's clear why your boyfriend is moving in with you - you have a beautiful space!

The advice to double anything that is storage related is probably the main thing to tackle: A full-size bookcase, a second set of shelves/drawers for the bedroom, and maybe a second desk, if needed (could have them facing each other if you reversed your living room setup.)

I actually would avoid getting a storage unit as in most cases the rent on anything you put in there is quickly going to outpace how much the items in it are actually worth.

Your bedroom is beautiful! I'd use it as the inspiration for the rest of your cute little home. A fun paint color, curtains and layers of pretty fabric. As for storage, you seem to have a lot of unused space under your desk. You could cover some plain cardboard boxes (in fabric? paper?) and store them under there. Or cover the whole desk area with velcroed fabric to make a hidden storage area. When your boyfriend arrives, you'll probably need some new drawers/shelves, etc. How about the Salvation Army? Or craigslist? Or friends/family. Get some ugly old furniture and paint it. Black maybe? Or gray/silver?

You have a great space to start with! I'm in the same boat- my fiance just moved in to our (formerly my) 500 sq ft apt last week. We've been sorting and stashing, purging and cleaning. It was really important to me for him to feel like this space was now his space, too.

My desk is in my bedroom and it's the only space that is off-limits to him for storage. I have a few sentimental family antiques and I offered to store them at my parents' house. I have a lot of furniture that's functioning well (so far) and two giant bookcases that oddly, were not doing a good job, visually, in our tiny living room. We're buying a bed today from west elm- just a frame- no headboard, so that we'll have space underneath for stuff. We're putting up shelves close to the ceiling in the hallway and living room- a trick I saw on AT about a year ago for our books, action figures, pottery, etc. We're replacing a bathroom etagier with more shelves. And he's painted our hallway his favorite color- Benjamin Moore Aztec Brick, which makes a warm, spicy statement as soon as you enter.

I don't know if any of these ideas will work for you but figure out on what terms you want to work it out ahead of time.
Oh yeah, and I also got rid of half my non-furniture stuff (clothes, books, art supplies, fabric destined for projects, etc.)
The best part is that now we wake up together every morning!

Ditch your boyfriend and move in with me.

I'm in Denver (Capitol Hill) and my apartment is way cooler...

You can bring that lamp, the ikea looking lounger, the wall clock, and a few of your prints.

I think your apartment looks great! Like others have said, you should purge as much as possible before your boyfriend moves in.

You should get some drawers or baskets to go under your bed for additional storage. If possible, I think you should get rid of your desk. You have a laptop that can be stored under your couch when not in use. Your desk seems extremely large and looks like it has a lot of pictures, vases, and knick knacks on it that don't serve much of a purpose except to be asthetically pleasing. I would put a shelving unit, entertainment center, or armoire on that wall for more storage for books and possibly clothing. If you want to put clothing on the shelves, you can hide it away with doors or a curtain to cover it up.

My partner and I started out sharing a 450sq ft apartment. We're both computer geeks, so we squeezed two computers onto a long desk. Three years later, in a much bigger apartment, the same trick still works for us. We spend a lot of time together at our desk. And if one person is at the desk, the other one can feel a lot more alone on the sofa or in the bedroom... a big part of small space living is having enough alone time.

We also love books, so the entire study has walls covered in bookcases. Otherwise, we don't keep much "stuff" around. Having a passion is ok, but it's not ok if it takes over your life and makes you feel trapped.

Yes, what a cute apartment! It may not be the most unique architecturally, but you've done a great job with what you've got! As a fellow gal who has just moved in with her bf (1 month ago!) my advice is also to edit, edit, edit. Both you AND your boyfriend need to take an honest look at all of your stuff and decide what you really need and what you'll actually use.
If your boyfriend has lived on his own for a few years, you are also going to have a lot of "redundancies" when you combine households, especially in the kitchen (take it from me! you would never believe how attached we all get to our pots and pans :) So take an honest look at every room in the apartment and try to donate/sell of as much of your stuff as possible before the move-in.

My suggestions may mimic a few of the suggestions above:
• evaluate the closets with an eye for maximizing this space (vertical space is our friend!). Target has some great (affordable) metal shelves that I've had in my closets for a few years now. I put non-everyday kitchen items, linens, extra tp and paper towels, you get the picture...and best of all, they're stackable, so you can build up. These aren't exactly the shelves that I have, but something like it: http://www.target.com/Whitmor-Supreme-4-Tier-Shelving/dp/B0007MHD1K/ref=bxgy_cc_img_b_1041784/602-4827694-0790255

• Purchase an armoire for more closet space. This is obviously a bigger purchase, but without it, my boyfriend would not have a clothes closet. We moved into a decent-sized vintage apartment with (gasp) ONE closet (something about older houses being taxed per room and closets were considered a "room"?) Seriously. And even my minimal clothes have to fit in, so this way, we can put the armoire in another room (our bedroom is also tiny!) and he can store a majority of his clothes there. And bonus: It just looks like a nice piece of furniture. I believe my bf got his at Ikea.

• Underbed storage! Again, Target has some plastic bins for $8 each. I just throw some cedar chips in there and switch out my dresser/closet clothes when the weather changes.

• Baskets. And I used to make fun of my mom for all the baskets she bought. But forced to find storage wherever possible you may just begin to love a nice lidded basket. These can sit around or stack in the living room, under the desk, in the bathroom. I've got guest linens, extra toiletries, desk supplies, craft stuff and more in these. I like to go to my local tjmaxx and home goods stores for these since they can be pricier. Ikea also has some cute, affordable ones.

• Use those walls! We've got a pot rack, a magnetic knife rack, small shelves for our phones, hooks for the keys...and this is just in the kitchen. Have we all emphasized vertical space enough? :)

These should all give you a good start. Best of luck in living with your boyfriend. There will always be challenges and those moments of thinking each other is slightly crazy, but know that in the end you love each other and that all that apartment stuff and the possessions are just stuff! You'll find a place for it all. Your place looks so neat and organized right now, so I'm sure you've got "the touch"! Cheers!

As one who moved in with the boyfriend...and moved right back out boyfriend-free exactly a year later....let me provide a few tips for harmonious cohabitation.

1. It is no longer "my" space. It is "our" space. Suss out where his stuff goes before he arrives and how he will be welcomed into the space...my ex and I had a two bedroom condo and he still didn't want me to have any closet OR drawer space. He also didn't want me to have any say in the decor...thus the horrible sports couch...a sectional which is just four recliners attached by a chip bowl and drink tray. AWFUL. He also always reminded me how it was "his" place. I felt like a perpetual, somewhat unwelcome guest in 'his' place.

2. Do not get 'rid' of your stuff. Put it into a seperate storage...a parents basement, a friends basement, even public storage. You will be very glad you did if it doesn't work out...I was able to retrieve my sofa, a side table, an old trunk-as-coffee-table, dishes, a blender, etc. from my parents house so that I didn't have to start ALL over again...and I still lament the things I did throw out. I'm just glad he never managed to talk me into giving up my cats!! Your cats never break up with you...

3. Make sure you have the storage/space sharing situation figured out well before he moves in. Also, figure out the budget, the bill sharing, any communal savings...act like you are married..I wanted to do this before I moved in...he hemmed and hawed until my lease ended and I had no choice but to go through with it....then I figured out he expected me to pay ALL the bills while his income was all discretionary...he thought he should only have to pay the mortgage. Hmph.

4. Have an exit plan! No joint purchases until you are married....

Keeping my stuff in storage, keeping a secret bank account (my cash was his, and his cash was his), not joining in on big purchases, and NOT getting pregnant were the smartest things I did in that relationship. I still wish I could go get my bistro dining table though!!!

Hi, Rachel! I'm going to point you at one of the Good Question Posts about living in 400 square feet: http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/good-questions/good-question-how-do-we-live-in-400-square-feet-058024.

There, I suggested the following:

I highly, highly recommend buying or borrowing the AT book. I know, shameless endorsement of this site, but that's why we're here - because the principles taught in the book are often more important than actual interior decorating.

Most importantly, sit down with your BF and a floorplan of the place you're worried about, and describe what you each NEED to get by. If you NEED separate work areas, play with the floorplan a bit to see if you can incorporate it. If you both like to cook and the kitchen is your favorite room, make sure that room is comfy for you two.

Bottom line is to make the space fit you, not the other way around. It's doable, I promise! I live in 375 square feet, and a few last tips that I can pass on follow:

1. Make sure every piece of furniture you have serves multiple purposes, whether storage or functionality in some way.

2. Never buy anything that doesn't fit or isn't comfortable. It will look awkward in the space, and it won't work for your lifestyle.

3. I highly, highly recommend using 12-20 inches out from one wall to build in bookshelves. It helps with storage issues and takes up so little space. By painting the shelves the same color as the wall, they blend in. By painting a contrasting color, they become a focal point.

4. Use hide-away spaces. A desk that folds up and out of the way, tables that nest, a murphy bed (check out the Moddi bed - it's really awesome! I converted it to fit a Queen-sized mattress in it), chairs that stack, tables that pull out or collapse, and bars, poles, baskets and bins that pull out, up, or through other items for clothes drying, hanging, nick-nack hiding, magazine concealing or shoe storage.

5. Go vertical - use that space to the ceiling! My bathroom is literally 4 foot by 4 foot - it has eight meager inches between a corner shower stall and the sink. I built shelving there all the way to the ceiling, and now have more than enough storage for my bathroom supplies!

6. Let nothing go to waste. I applaud you for embracing the less-consumptive lifestyle and taking the plunge into a smaller space. You can do this; look for waste and ponder on how you can use the space more efficiently.

Head up! If you need to, email me and we can chat about other solutions just for you. (You can reach me at dee(dot)scott(at)gmail.com.)

Well, I'm sorry that I don't really have any suggestions, but I'd like to make three comments:
1. Thank you, Rachel, for showing us a perfectly decent, but very typical apartment. I think this reflects the majority of apartments (at least mine, and I don't even have as nice a floorplan), and I wish we'd see more of these where people do a good job with what they've got. Which leads me to:
2. Rachel, your apartment is beautiful...you've really done a nice job decorating and arranging it.
3. I'm gratified to hear someone else say, "finding the right furniture to hide/store/utilize space, and not wanting to always be spending money."

Weed out your stuff, and his, and get a storage space for duplicates/stuff you want but can't fit without a headache.

If you're not ready to commit to a bigger place, you don't need the hassle of worrying about who has to get rid of what. Don't toss out the things you still like and don't ask him to do it, either. That's not a recipe for happy.

If you're together in a year and want to commit to a space together, reconsider what you want to keep, if anything, that's been in storage. If you're not, your stuff is still around to fill up the space or to be donated. It's a small price to pay for not having to worry (and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than paying for two apartments).

First, I have to say you're apartment is really nice. That door out to the balcony is really cute and I love your bedroom! I would try to find some tall storage pieces. You definitely need things that go up, not out.

i'd say first of all know what ur bf is bringing. does he have tons of furniture? clothes? tvs? find out what he plans to do with his junk first. i've found whenever i have had a bf move in or vice versa, the only thing guys have spent their money on is TVs, DVD players, HiFis, computers and game consoles. if thats all it is, then u'll need some media storage.

If he is bringing furniture with him, go and see what it is, if its some cringe worthy piece thats gunna make u hate it each time u look at it, ask if u can buy something else like it. He might have stuff that could fit in to ur apartment given to him by a stylish aunt or something. He might only bring clothes and a few keep sakes, who knows until u ask, then all u gotta do is make room in the closet or buy a lil wardrobe for him.

Lovly apartment btw :)

Is that a Chumby in the bedroom? I have Chumby envy. How do you like it?

Let me guess sweetie, the cup is half empty? Listen, I was going to post advice on what to do, but since it's all been said (and very nicely by most of you), I'm instead going to give you unsolicited advise: Smile! you live in a great neighborhood, with great amenities, you get plenty of sunlight, and your man is moving in (and if he's not a smooch, he's going to help with utilities and stuff, right?). You're not dodging bullets to get to your leaky apartment with drafty windows and a slumlord that thinks you should kiss the ground he walks on b/c you're in a rent-controlled matchbox in NYC's Upper East Side. Not my story at all, but just trying to say that there are much worse things...

Good luck!

When I recently moved in with my partner, I thought about everything beforehand. How much stuff we each had, what we could get rid of, and where everything could go. That really helped! At the beginning I thought we would have to buy new storage space (shelves etc) but in the end we actually got rid of lots of furniture and storage. I made an approximate floor plan on floorplanner.com (free), which was amazing b/c it helped us both visualize the space and flow, without all the heavy lifting.

Your apartment is fantastic! I know you don't think so but you have done such a great job with it. Not to mention the fact that you don't have a huge load of stuff in your house will make this move in a lot easier.

I love your living room so much. you've made such a comfortable sitting area and that art on the walls is so absorbing even though it's so simple.

And your bedroom is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing designwise. Just plan out where your boyfriend fits in. Bring in whatever art he may have, if he has any pieces of furniture that could really be helpful with storage. Another bookcase maybe?

It does look like you don't have room for another desk so I would make the desk you have available for the both of you.

If you moved your desk down the wall a bit to allow more room at the door, you might even be able to fit a chair on the wall where all of those files are. That would bring in another piece of his furniture to make the apartment more his.

Rachel--

I really enjoy your space - especially your bedroom and that chic little loveseat in the living room.

To get ready for the BF to move in, your new mantra is this:
"Purge and Merge"

You're both going to have to work together on deciding which things will work in your combined home (some of his and some of yours), and you're both going to have to work together to get rid of the items that won't work (some of his and some of yours).

Since I don't know what the BF has to contribute - some suggestions on what you have:

The shelving unit in the bedroom needs to be replaced with a dresser/credenza with tons of drawers - perhaps he has one or you can choose one together from Craigslist? That shelving unit can go into the Living room and serve as a sofa table behind the loveseat for books/lamps/etc.

Someone else mentioned lining that back wall with bookshelves - and I agree, since you already need more shelves. BF probably has a TV that he wants to bring into your home and this wall is where it needs to live amongst the bookcases. Get some with doors on the bottom to help hide the clutter - and also look into getting some end tables with drawers/doors for more enclosed storage.

Lastly - invest in a storage unit for all the things that you and your BF will not be bringing into the home but aren't sure that you want to get rid of - It will make the "Letting Go" easier, and if it doesn't work out w/ the BF in a year or so, neither of you will lose out.

A little off the subject, but where is your sofa from? I like it.

My sweetie and I have the veto rule; it can't be used all the time, but one of us really hates something, we can say "Not in the common area, please."

Another tip: be open to your BF's suggestions. I may be better with designer names and colors, but my sweetie is surprisingly good with furniture placement. Things that I never thought could fit, have ended up looking great. The current mantra: "Let's try it for a few days, and see where we are at."

If you're willing to spend a bit of money, a wall of relatively inexpensive shelving from Ikea along the living room wall opposite your desk would go a long way. You can opt for drawers or cabinets below for the bf's stuff and shelving up top or you can take another commenter's suggestion of using cute baskets to keep stuff out of sight. Or you might want to put low shelves along the wall under the windows. Another idea is to put a credenza-like piece along the back of your sofa for stashing stuff.

PS-- love the blue paint you used in your bedroom.

Hey everyone, thanks for the comments and suggestions...

1. The blue/grey bedroom paint is "loft" by Ralph Lauren. I love it. Love love love it. I love my bedroom. :)

2. The couch is vintage, from California. Don't know any more than that. :)

3. The boyfriend is downgrading from a 1500 sq ft home to move in with me, and he was willing to sell a LOT of furniture (bedroom set that was totally huge, 2 couches, desk, dining room furniture, etc). He wants to move into a bigger space, but I really want to keep it small. He's already figured out that if I could, I'd keep it small in the living room only and make it work. ;)

4. He did put a bunch of stuff into storage. That will help. I am hoping that the rest of the stuff can be gone through this weekend (he has WAY MORE clothing than I do!)

5. He is also bringing into the relationship a LOT of artwork. Some of which I have no problems putting up, others.....mmmmm.....maybe when we have more space (he loves movies and has a TON of movie posters).....

So, I'll probably try some of these things, and see what I can do...I'll send in more pics after a while, see what everyone thinks. :)

thanks!!!

Your place is absolutely beautiful. Especially the bedspread. =)

I think you may have coined a new phrase: bland new. (Was that intentional or not?)

My advice is for the both of you to live simply. I do my best to not own anything I'm not consciously aware of and/or use regularly. What is the point of having boxes and boxes of -for example- cookware in storage? The less stuff in your house the more room you have to breathe, to exist.

You might want to try adding a wall of enclosed cabinetry in the living room along the wall where you have the bookshelf. It would add a great deal of storage and could add an architectural feature to the room if you pick a nice door style. You could use something like the Ikea akurum tall kitchen cabinets with the white (or red) gloss doors - the gloss finish will help keep the room light and bright. The additional storage costs more up front than renting a storage space, but over the first year, it will probably pay for itself. And it will give your boyfriend someplace to put all of the stuff he wants to keep handy. Best of all, he can be as sloppy with his storage as he wants - you just close the cabinet doors and the room looks great.

In Michelle Kaufman's Glidehouse, each room has a wall of closets, made of aesthetic plywood, hung on barn door rollers/hangers. When the doors are slid closed, the room looks empty again, in a good way:) I think you could remove these later.
1. www.mkd-arc.com/
2. Homes
3. Glidehouse
4. There are a few closet pics there:)

You've already gotten a lot of great decorating advice, so I wanted to pass on a quick book recommendation:

Before moving in with my boyfriend (then fiance, now husband), a friend gave me a very good book: Shacking Up by Stacy and Wynne Whitman.

http://www.amazon.com/Shacking-Up-Living-Without-Getting/dp/0767910400/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220824208&sr=8-1

The book goes through all the things you should think of, discussions to have and potential problems to solve before moving in - including a huge section on how to approach the actual combining of households and sharing of space.

Aside from that, best of luck, and add me to the throngs who *adore* your bedroom!

Howdy, it's the boyfriend!

The loveseat belonged to my Grandpa, for two hundred years, and he demanded that I stuff it into my little Subaru and drive it from Laguna Beach to Denver. I'm glad my girl (and all of you) like it so much! He'd be happy to hear that.

I have a TV. It's one of those twentieth century TVs that isn't flat, cool, or even useful for anything other than throwing off a tall building with a high-speed camera on the ground to capture ten thousand frames of beautiful destruction unfolding. We decided an LCD on the wall opposite the loveseat will be perfect... but we disagree on size. Har har! I want 42", she wants 24". I can compromise on that, since it will also be a monitor for the computer. :)

I do have a lot of clothes. Harsh seasonal change requires having warm and cold weather stuff. I love all your suggestions, except for the dude on Capitol Hill, hahaha!

This is a cool website.

A lot of the advise I would give has already made it's way onto the boards, but I think it's important that you hear it from numerous people so you can understand how important it is in a relationship to rethink the space if one person is moving into the other person's apartment.

Speaking from experience (my bf moved in with me last May after a year of basically living together between two apartments and always having one empty)...one of the key components is communication Prior to moving anything.

What worked for us was basically pretending that we were moving into a completely new space together, not that he was moving into 'my' apt. This also took an adjustment on my part...just b/c I'd 'always' stored this there or done something a particular way didn't mean that's how it was going to be in the future.

We sat down together and made lists of all of the furniture we had, decided what we each were not willing to part with and what was negotiable. We measured the furniture that were knew was staying and I got a floorplan from my building manager that had all measurements on it so we didn't need to do this, and basically plotted out furniture arrangements.

I took a lot of furniture home to my mom's basement. He mostly had a lot of hand me downs and we donated those to a local charity as it still had life left in it for someone else to enjoy.

He came with a huge tv, video game consoles and 4 remotes. I still don't know how to turn the tv on, but that's ok :)

It also took some brutal honesty about our 'decorating' styles. My apt had clearly been decorated by my mother (country/colonial) - which, I like...at her house, but it's not truly MY style. And his....Fight Club and Animal House posters with a dancing groundhog from Caddyshack.

I wanted him to feel that this was 'our' space so I made some sacrifices as well. I took my dining room table/chairs home to store and he brought his. Mine are nicer and more stylish...but a good runner and some minor decorating has turned a blah table and chairs into something that's become 'normal' and part of our home. He sacrificed too of course, his waterbed went home to his parents.

We picked up a few new pieces of furniture together (and I concur with the no major purchase together until marriage sentiment above)..but paid for them separately.

In organising the new furniture layouts in the individual rooms almost nothing stayed where it had been when I lived there alone, the influx of new furniture and new 'paths' through the apt demanded change, and being flexible to do that was key.

We were very honest about how things would be split should we do the same. Perhaps it's being law students but we even drafted a Roommate Agreement regarding issues that could come up in the future....guests staying over, how we split the bills and who covers late fees, who cleans what and when, that he cares for his cats and their nasty litter box and I care for my beagle independently, even down to who does the dishes and who does laundry.

Yes, it's a relationship/partnership...but unless you talk about these things up front, it can lead to misunderstandings so easily later.

And, this is totally random here, but...hangers. Sharing a closet can be torture...but we recently converted all our work clothes (which is all we can fit in the closet on hangers) to the super slim flocked hangers that you've probably seen on QVC but can also get at Bed Bath and Beyond...and it gave us So Much Space!!!! It was worth the $$$ we spent on them, and we did it together..which is what makes sharing space so enjoyable :)

Good luck!

1. Switch to a lift-top bed, it's like having a bookshelf apiece for storage, as it gives you access to the previously wasted space taken by the boxspring. Search AT, there've been previous discussions with resources listed, you can find these beds for as little as $600 or make it yourself for well under $150 (car hatchback arms, which can be obtained from a salvage yard for a few dollars, thick plywood and 2x4s, paint or batting/foam/upholstery).

2. Make space for him to move in, really and truly, and then take the measurements and have him choose his favorite things to fit that space (3' for hanging closet space, 4' of book shelf space, you get the idea). Moving in is far easier when you know how much you can bring from the old place (and that the rest gets Donated or, gasp, Stored).

3. Living large comes from having a Designated Space for every activity (rather than from the size of the dwelling). Designate a space for reading, with a basket or container for holding reading material; a space for playing the guitar; office space, etc. Those who are happier in smaller dwellings generally are because they assessed How they live and made it work. I know people who live in near-mansions that still can't make it work because they haven't assessed what they need from a home... so they just keep buying bigger and hoping everything will work in the next house (go figure!).

4. And finally, redecorate, so it feels like Your Place. If you can't afford a big redeco, purchase some great art or make it together, whether that's painting, sculpture, photography. For photography I buy disparate frames at a local thrift shop, specifically seeking out solid wood frames and then repainting them all the same color, it's a great way to stretch your dollar and benefit the local community.

Forgive me for sounding condescending....but why have him move in? I don't know, maybe becuase I am divorced, who knows...but I LOVE having my own space. I can decorate it and do with it as I please (within reason). I can spend the weekend at my lady's place, but it always feels good to be home again.....and vice-versa of course.

Let's be honest, most relationships end. Don't get me wrong, I wish you all the best.....but I, personally, like knowing no matter what happens I have my own place, my own car, etc.

All that said, you have a nice place! Kudos!