You may have heard the news last week that I finally secured my forever home (you can read more about it here), but now that all that drama is over – the highs, lows, twists and turns aplenty – the real work starts. And by work, I mean trying to convince my partner Gavin to let me replace every single piece of furniture in the house, all of the appliances, and most of the decor.
So I want to Replace Everything
It’s actually not my fault that I want to replace everything when I move into my forever home. Firstly, I’m a stylist and interiors blogger. Every single day of my life for the last three and a half years has been an endless tease. A tease that involves amazing furniture and decor imagery hitting my inbox daily, as well as going on shopping adventures with clients to choose dream pieces for their homes.
It only stands to reason, now that I’m the one with the forever home, that I get to do a massive shopping adventure for myself. The second reason I think I should get to replace everything is, well, because… I’m a decorating addict. I’ve posted before on the 10 signs you’re addicted to decorating (read it here to see if you’re one too), so I know that I cannot help myself, nor can I be stopped. The beast needs to be fed. Constantly.
So now that I’ve completely justified it to you (I justified it to myself ages ago), the tough moment has arrived; trying to convince Gavin we need new everything.
Entering Tense Negotiations
Gavin should have known, really, that I would want new everything. We’ve been together almost nine years. He knew what he was getting himself into lol! But I thought it best I sit him down to broach the subject anyway. As the saver in our relationship (I’m the spender, which I’m sure won’t shock you), Gavin is the sensible one.
He’ll say ridiculous things like “Our sofa is fine”, “There’s nothing wrong with those chairs”, and “But I love the coffee table”. A few of those sentences were spoken aloud during the negotiations, and I won’t lie; it got a little awkward. Especially when I declared it would be likely I’d have a nervous breakdown if I found myself living in the outer suburbs of Melbourne without a marble coffee table and black cutlery. I never said I wasn’t dramatic.
Thankfully, Gavin is a very understanding soul, and knows me well. We ended up agreeing on some of the things we definitely wanted to keep, things we wouldn’t mind parting with, and things we wanted to burn in a bonfire before we moved in (for me, set everything alight thanks).
One thing I will advise, if you ever need to negotiate with your other half like this, is first agree to one thing they want. For Gavin, it was a new, fandangle TV. It makes the moment when you say “we’re not taking that art to the new house” a lot sweeter.
Gavin has insisted we keep the coffee table. But I am so eager for a round marble one. What do you reckon?
Things we’ll Need for the New Place
So, here’s a quick list of things we’ll need for the new place. I will try and keep it short and sweet, but truth be told, the list is a mile long. And it will continue forever.
- New TV, entertainment unit and coffee table
- A new occasional chair for the living room (I’m eyeing these ones off)
- New rugs for the dining room and living room
- A new round dining table (my current dining chairs are staying)
- New bed and bedside tables for the master bedroom
- New bedding for the master and guest bedrooms
- New desk for the office, plus chair and a mood board, and oodles of stationery
- Combination washer and dryer for the laundry (and laundry basket)
- A gorgeous new fridge for the kitchen – double door essential
- Pendant Lighting for dining room and master bedroom
- Art for the living room, master bedroom and office
- And of course… 76 NEW CUSHIONS and 94 NEW CANDLES!
The fun part is that I’ll be creating a whole series once I’m in, detailing how I put together each room. Styling it, snapping it, sharing it with you and inspiring you to give your own place a bit of a lift.
If you’re a brand who’d like to supply/collaborate, email me here.
How do you convince your partner to go along with new purchases? I’d love to hear your tactics below!
You will absolutely need more cushions! Just work your way through room by room and as you get going your partner will agree that it needs some new things to finish it off 🙂
Surely the redecorating can become a tax deduction?
I love our coffee table! It’s the best thing we’ve ever purchased. I’m still gutted I didn’t spot your negotiation tactic of offering me a new TV before pulling the coffee table out from under me.
I am feeling you on this post, Chris – we bought our first home in the lovely Adelaide Hills about 18 months ago now and while I managed to get some great new (and some old vintage) pieces through the door in the first 6 months or so I feel like my ‘grace period’ with my husband has well and truly ended – nooooo! but there is still so much that needs replacing! I’m trying to shift our interior space to include more streamlined, mid century style furniture – our dining table and a buffet in the loungeroom were inherited from my Great Grandmother and are made from the most beautiful European Oak but the style is very Victorian. Wish me luck moving them along! I can’t wait to see the spaces you will bring together in your new home – there’s nothing more exciting than transforming a room!
See how much you can sell the great old pieces for if you really want to change them out. I was surprised by how much we could get on Gumtree for some furniture we didn’t want in the past.
Try putting some of the old beautiful furniture you don’t want up for sale. Maybe your husband will be more willing to get some new pieces if he sees you can cut down the cost by moving on the old. We’ve done that on Gumtree before with outdated stuff.