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Cottage style is about creating a lifestyle at home that is comfortable for you and your family and welcoming to your friends. So even if you have a football player husband, three sons, and two dogs, with some compromise and ingenuity, you can still have a comfortable cottage style home that suits the whole family. I’m living proof, because my husband and I have personally co-existed happily with this style for years.

8 Tips to Husband-Friendly Cottage Style:

1. Forget Foo Foo. While you might dream of a pink and white ruffled castle laden with flowers, your husband probably does not. Compromise by minimizing ruffles and frills.

2. Color Cozy. Choose three colors for your décor that are favorites of both you and your significant other and that look attractive together. You can vary the intensity of the shades if needed.

3. Neutral Furnishings. Consider choosing solid color upholstery fabrics like beige or cream. You can add color, pattern, and texture by placing pillows and throws on the furniture. These items are inexpensive and can be easily updated when you tire of them, or with the change of seasons.

4. Leather & Loveseat Love. What man doesn’t love a leather recliner and what woman doesn’t hate them?! Compromise by letting him have his leather recliner in his own den while you get your own cozy loveseat in the bedroom or your favorite chair in a quiet corner.

5. Big Screen Savvy. The big screen TV doesn’t have to be the focal point of the living room. Perhaps it can be moved to his den. If the whole family wants it in the family room, put it in an attractive armoire so the doors can be closed when it’s not in use.

6. Happy Us. Create a “Happy Us” wall in your bedroom—a collage of both of your favorite art, family photos, framed memorabilia, and travel photos showing happy scenes of the two of you together. Use a dimmer switch for the lights to create a romantic ambience. A vase of fresh flowers adds a colorful touch of nature. If he nixes florals, put greenery only in a vase.

7. Cottage Collections. Collections and cottage style go hand in hand. Display your teapot collection in a lovely curio cabinet in the living room and his arrowheads showcased in shadow boxes in his den.

8. Let There be Light. If hubby gravitates to dark wooden furniture and you like painted white, combine the two artfully. Choose either light or dark as the predominant finish, and then add accent pieces in the other finish. If you insist on white furnishings, offer to keep the lines clean. If he insists on dark furniture pieces, choose curvy lines for the legs such as Queen Anne or French style.

With some good communication, ingenuity, and loving compromise, you can both enjoy creating fond life memories in your comfy cottage style home.

C2005 Kathryn Bechen. All rights reserved worldwide.