I'd go with his choice, because even if it wasn't 'my' style, I'd rather feel like he's taking an interest and equally invested in our home together. Plus, if I'm being completely honest, I think his taste is probably better than mine. ;) He rarely has an opinion on anything house-related, so when he puts his foot down, I go along with it: and on each occasion, it's been exactly the right decision. Example: I wanted the whole house painted out in ecru and antique white because it looks awesome with oak floors and I'm kind of a minimalist. Hubby insisted on painting the lounge room in yellow. YELLOW. I thought he'd lost his mind... but I went with it, because I get my way 99.9% of the time, so why quibble about the 0.1%? He insisted that 'in Winter, you'll be glad we have this warm, cozy colour'. And you know what? Every Winter, I love that room. It's an odd duck compared to the rest of the house, but damned if it doesn't actually work surprisingly well. It'd definitely be too much to take as a house-wide theme - but contained as it is, it's pretty great.

To Ella Kate Thrupp....."a woven piece"...as in a wall rug or a tapestry suggested by yours truly and Tribbletrouble441452k7 Trek? Or maybe you have a more novel idea in mind? Have you come across any "woven" art in your professional travels? I have a friend who actually weaves tapestries on a loom as they did centuries ago thread by thread. They are exquisite and each a unique artwork. She works professionally on commission Very time consuming, meticulous and expensive and she also does it simply for relaxation and sells them. Wonder would there be anything along this line available commercially today? Such a "woven piece" would make an enormous impact in any room, so beautiful and unique in a bedroom especially if a design woven to order...but Yikes $$$$$. Afterthought...a painted MURAL designed to order might be a touch of luxury if you engaged somebody to do it and they presented you with a series of pictures for you to choose from.....that would not fall down! I did one for a friend's guest donga in Charleville QLD...she wanted a fantasy and had a lot of input herself, it was a collaborative effort and she got exactly what she wanted. Can't go wrong with a mural...can always paint over it when you want something different.

I had 3 female joeys and two bedrooms which led to constant 2 -v- 1 situations so nights were generally a game of musical beds. There was always one child who needed time out or was given time out. When we added the extra bedroom, the serenity was bliss. They could still share when they wanted but it was all up to them, it was not forced on them so relationships definitely improved after that. I think the age of the children and the age difference is a very important aspect. Younger children are more than happy to share for the security and comfort when the lights go out. Older children need their space and privacy especially for study. Children after puberty can get extremely sensitive about their bodies and need privacy more than ever in this adjustment period. You cannot expect to put say an 8 year old with a 3 year old - by 8 kids are usually developing attachments to "special" keepsakes, something 3 year olds don't understand and this can cause a lot of resentment when things get broken or trashed. Pre children I always felt them sharing bedrooms would lead to wonderful relationships, the children would learn to share, care and appreciate each other. Now I'm older and wiser, separate bedrooms is sanity for everyone.

Re interior design we clashed from the beginning - often still do! I like colour, filled walls, vibrant rugs - think Mexico. He professes to like the minimalistic approach (his illusion. His office and bedside table - an unmitigated mess). He tells people we have a 'mixed marriage not without it's tensions.' However we've mainly reached a compromise now with bits of dash and colour and bits of neutral space. I give in more and more now and only dig in when it really matters to me. Oddly he's now started saying, 'that looks nice ...'