I love decorating our home; it is one of my favorite hobbies. Recently, my husband has been helping out a lot. I have to credit him with his good eye for furniture placements and his choice of art pieces. I love it when we collaborate and complement each other's taste.

We had some issues before; I used to love all things feminine, but since my husband had complained about how he gets a bit nauseated with the floral and pastels, I have completely transformed. I did not realize that he was just letting me do what made me happy all along until I looked around our home. Back then, they were filled with "girly" things, all mine and my daughter's, who was 5 years old at the time of my design awakening. Our home did not say much about my husband. Every room was decorated with everything feminine, the guest bedroom was adorned with my collection of porcelain dolls, and our bathrooms had silk flowers everywhere. I did not realize I was being unfair to him until he finally had enough of it and found the courage to say that he wished I decorated simpler. He was being very nice and sweet about it, but I realized after that discussion, that the lacy floral throw pillow that I placed on his recliner did look kind of out of place. To this day I still cringe when I think about those times that I decorated that way.

I think most married women could relate, especially the newly married ones. Since we were used to decorating our rooms back when we were singles, we carried over that same feminine style after our wedding day. I remember that I would decorate using the floral themes from our wedding. Imagine that.

So, how can both sexes find harmony in decorating to show both the Ying and the Yang? Here are some tips that had personally helped me through; and for 7 years now, my husband and I had been decorating with both sexes in mind.

1) Collaborate: When we want to change the color of our room or buy new furniture, we do it together. Don't just let your man take a back seat, get him involved. Traditionally, women are asked because women stay at home. But, nowadays, men are becoming more of a homebody, when they are off, they love to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and they want a place to relax. So getting them involved makes for a harmonious and collaborative design.

2) Be neutral: When you choose a color for the rooms that are shared, like the formal living room, the dining room, kitchen and family room, you would want to use a theme that is neutral. Use a color that satisfies both tastes. Using neutral, earthy tones can help set the stage. Buy furnishings with clean lines, not to feminine like the Victorian floral sofa and not too masculine like the leather tufted seats.

Source : Josie Borlongan