apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

"Our boyfriend"?

My boyfriend is a staunch minimalist, but refuses to give up that scratchy multi-colored 1980s blanket -- grandma's handiwork can't go in the trash.

"an oversized fake-leather arm chair we found for free and an old blanket of our boyfriend’s" - life must be so complex in these polygamous households, I'd say the armchair and blanket are the least of your problems ;)

I have a very old worn out secretary from when I was 12. It's painted a periwinkle purple and has finger swirls in the paint where the old white paint shows through. ugh. It was originally my girlfriends..we painted it together without any paintbrushes...just hands and paint! It's some what sentimental, I cant let go of it!

We don't have much in our house that seems out of place (other than clutter that needs to be thrown out). But our husband has a scroll painting of peonies hung in his office that he refuses to jettison. He bought it on a trip to China in 1979 when trips to China were still relatively new. It is a cheap souvenir type thing and after 30 years and several moves is looking rather tattered, too. But still it hangs in our husband's place of business.

I wouldn't say it's out of place, but for my wedding, my grandfather gave me a huge quilt that my grandmother had made (she died when I was about 1). It's gorgeous, but just doesn't go with my more modern, sleek style.

However, I ended up/am still in the process of (we just moved) designing my guest room around it. It's too delicate to use probably, so I'm going to hang it on the wall as this big, graphic focal point.

I say, if there's such a reason to keep it, display it proudly! :)

http://cozylittlecave.blogspot.com

Our's is simple. We have a lawn gnome holding a lantern near the front door. Despite his awkwardness, he seems to match us, even if he doesn't match the room.

My husband refuses to part with a hideous painting of Charleston, SC. It was painted by a lady who was somehow related to some guy he barely knew, so it's origins are dubious. Yet, it still has sentimental value to him so I agreed to let him hang it near our front door. Which sounds more prominent than it really it is. The painting completely disappears when the door is opened and there is no lighting in that corner.

"Our" boyfriend. I'm so curious about that.

my husband has a wall-mounted curio cabinet his brandfather made for him as a boy to display his baseball trophies, science fair ribbons, etc. it is well constructed but it is made of grainy oak - which i HATE. he refuses to get rid of it, or even let me paint it white. it remains banished to the office/man cave where our guests rarely venture.

Why are you using the majestic pronouns? Three groups are permitted that usage: pregnant women, royalty, and schizophrenics. Which one are you?

Okay, I have to agree with the other comments about the odd choice of using "our" to describe your boyfriend. It's not a mystery who is writing this article - Adrienne Breaux is credited at the bottom. As such, please please please stop using an editorial we. You alone are being credited with the post, so (unless there are extenuating circumstances of which I am unaware, for example, polygamy) you should feel comfortable enough to refer to yourself singularly.

Skreinking, you forgot people with tapeworms (according to Mark Twain).

Applying the editorial "we" policy at AT is really silly. Posts about misguided color-schemes on boyfriend-owned blankets are NOT in the same category as editorials voicing a publication's stand on, say, healthcare reform.

So while the AT posts are not editorials, for some reason somebody thinks it's a good idea to pretend that the editorial "we" could apply to them, despite the regular comments questioning the bigamy/polygamy of writers and generally the poor judgement in using this policy.

We have a rust-colored sofa and 2 chairs that belonged to my partner's mother. When he had it reupholstered to this ugly color 10 years ago (my parents had a van in the 70's that had carpet the same shade as this set), they managed to flatten out the cushions. He doesn't want to get rid of it bc it has sentimental value, but I'm shopping for new upholstery.

He also bought this absolutely hideous coffee table with a half-naked girl draped over a tree that is supposed to be beaux arts-type artsy, but I hate the look on her face. He bought it from a friend he calls "The Sex Addict". That pretty much tells you everything. Hate it. HATE IT!!! I throw one of my bikini tops on her just to make it humorous.

Why must every post solicit a barrage of complaints about the editorial we? Get over it already folks!
My cherished out of place item is my grandmother's sewing machine. I grew up with it in her house and after she died, my mother and I refinished it and it became mine as soon as I moved into my first house. It serves as our landing strip, and although it doesn't match our MCM meets modern aesthetic, it isn't going anywhere. Even my husband has given up suggesting we move it.

I have a massive glass-fronted antique china cabinet that is super-useful and holds a ton of dishes, glassware and table linens, but I bought it at a time when I was more into traditional furniture. I prefer more modern pieces now and see breakfronts all the time on Craigslist that would be much more to my liking, but I just can't sever the ties to the massive hulk that seems to hold just about everything. My husband is strangely attached to a fugly chest of drawers because it belonged to his great-uncle - I keep trying to get rid of it but I'm not having any luck so far.

I was looking for a nice wooden coffee table on craigslist, but I found a modern industrial metal one that I couldn't pass up. Unfortunately, it looks totally out of place with the more earthy style I had going on in the room before. Now I have to figure out what to do about it...Argh! Why do I create these problems for myself when I have no money to fix them?

My husband has a crocheted blanket his grandmother made that - we both agree - is the color of vomit. What we don't agree on is getting rid of it.

merging my boyfriends' items with my own was the first 'challenge' of our cohabitation, but luckily he and can both appreciate what is 'longterm' and what is 'replaceable' when the cashflow increases.

the one thing that used to drive me crazy, but now i've come to terms with is the blanket his grandmother made him when he was born. he still uses it as his main blanket, which means i do as well.

it's red and (now pink from bleeding in the wash) squares with sailboats made out of french knots. errr...they WERE sailboats...now it's just a bunch of random french knots and when you look at the whole thing you can figure out they were once sailboats.

at first it was awkward while being in the 'throws of passion' and seeing g-ma's blanket at the same time...but it's sweet that he's kept it and loves it. and it's got that supre-soft worn in feel to it, so it's super comfortable.

i'm thinking that when we move into our own house tho it's going to be a restore and shadow box project...fix those french knots on one panel and display it. this way he'll be able to see and enjoy it everyday, without me having to cave in and decorate our bedroom to go with it :)

Who honestly cares if she uses "we" "our" or any other way to refer to her/ him/ it/that. Quit complaining for the sake of complaining.

I can't get rid of this antique teddy bear that was once my moms that she gave to me as a child to "Help fight the monsters". He (because of course he's a he) is too fragile to pack away in a box so he sits on my quilt cabinet. One day, I'll have a two bedroom place and he can go there until I have kids.

What is up with guys being so weird about baby blankets? Based on this nonscientific sample it's an epidemic! My fiance and I had an ongoing battle to get rid of his fugly old blanket from his childhood/teenage days... it wasn't even handmade or a gift, just an old 70s/80s cotton blanket that had been a hand-me-down from his parents. That thing REEKED in addition to being ugly and work out... the fight that finally got rid of it was so epic that I can't even describe it on AT. :(

My husband's father owned a saddle shop and after he died, hubs inherited EVERYTHING from inside the shop. I understand the need to hold on to it, but there are times when, as a vegan, I tire of being surrounded by displays of leather working tools, leather saddles, and signs advertising "custom leather" merch.

The rug in my bedroom, I picked up from the Goodwill it was brand new still in package. I think it is from Pottery Barn for kids. It is blue and green big pocka dots. I needed something for my 18 year old JRT to land on when jumping off the bed. His sight is not great I figure he would not miss those big pocka dots. It would be cute in a kids room and looks out of place in my room.

I love to cross-stitch and have at least five finished projects that have never been framed because I don't know where to hang them. My bedroom is currently evolving into a more 'vintage' style so one or two of the pieces may eventually work there, but I don't know what to do with the rest. It's such a huge investment of time and effort, but several of them are things I thought were pretty when I was fourteen, but really aren't to my design sensibility now. There's maybe one piece I might frame and give to my mom because I think it fits her aesthetic, but I don't want to be that crazy person who gives everyone ugly embroidery.

I still love doing cross-stitch, but I'm getting really picky at choosing a new design because I want to be able to display it, and so much of what is designed is that country/americana look that's just not me.

Blue and white zig-zag-striped Afghan my Grandma crocheted for me. It doesn't fit in. It will never leave my apartment. Periodically it makes an appearance. Then I start to put it under other blankets, just peeking out. Then it goes into storage. Then it gets cold and it comes out again.

I feel your pain, lurker! I have a box full of crocheted doilies that I've made over the years that likely will never grace a tabletop. They are really intricate and took a long time, and I know I would never be able to sell them for what they're worth, so they're just in storage now. Worse, I've been working on a thread-crochet bedspread for about six years now that, when I finish it, will probably be relegated to storage. :( I try to only crochet items that go with my (or the gift recipient's) decor now, but I still love making the doilies, even if I don't display them.