Before & After: A Couple Moves In Together and Merges Styles and Stuff

Project by: Candace Wilkes of House of Paige
Location: Charlestown, Massachusetts

Candace helped her clients with a major relationship milestone: moving in together. Taking the potential fear and frustration out of the process, she helped them keep and combine their best pieces, while shopping for new items that helped create a shared style.

From Candace: My client and her boyfriend recently started living together and she was eager to give the living room a facelift that spoke to both her and her boyfriend’s styles. They both knew they wanted the new space to feel modern, fresh and inviting.

The design plan included swapping out the sofa for a sectional, removing the existing bulky side chair, adding lighting, curtains and a new rug. We also wanted to bring some life to the space with fun wall art and decor. My client’s boyfriend had a DIY bar made from an old TV that I couldn’t let go of because of its originality, so we reworked it into the new design plan and its new home fits the space quite well!

The new sectional, floor lamp and (existing) coffee table are from West Elm. The new wall shelves, brackets and curtain hardware are from World Market. The new area rug, throw pillows, table lamp and most of the decor are all from HomeGoods. The new white curtains are the Ritva panels from IKEA. And my favorite piece, the framed art above the sofa, is from Minted.

Thank you so much, Candace and House of Paige!

Are you thinking about moving in together? Little nervous about it and looking for advice? Never fear, Apartment Therapy is here! A relationship expert weighs in on cohabitation.