If you have recently bought a house with your partner, or your long-term boyfriend has just moved into your family home, you will know that some big changes are just around the corner. Once the kids have gone to bed, you’ll have someone to stay up and chat with, and you’ll probably also find that your weekly shopping bill goes up by quite a bit too! But one of the most significant things that will change in your life when you move in with your partner is sharing your bedroom with them. Of course, not all couples share a bedroom. There are plenty of people who suffer from sleep problems, and many couples who work alternating shifts. These are just two of the most common reasons why more couples than you may think to opt for separate bedrooms, and it’s becoming something that is spoken about more now. However, in the grand scheme of things, it is still somewhat rare, and you will find that most people in a romantic relationship will choose to sleep in the same bed (most nights at least!). If this is the decision you have chosen to make with your significant other, it is probably something you are looking forward to quite a bit. But moving your partner into your room is one thing – the first test of your cooperation as a couple is to decide what the room is going to be like. Remember, even if the house is yours and you are charging your partner board for the mortgage payments, once they move into your room it is no longer just ‘your room.’ You will need to be willing to compromise on certain things, from design to storage. Here are a few examples of the types of decisions you will have to make about your newly joint bedroom.

The color

Whether you’ve moved into somewhere completely new, or if you just fancy giving your place a bit of a makeover, you may be wondering about giving your room a lick of paint. The important thing here is to talk it over with your loved one, as it is just as much their decision as it is yours. Even if they act disinterested and say they don’t mind, always run your ideas past them first. Why? Well, if they decide AFTER you’ve painted the place that they don’t like it and they want to change it, it will cost both time and money to sort it out. Plus, all your hassle will have been for nothing. If your partner is bringing over some decor from their old place with the intention of putting it in the bedroom, take this into account when shopping for paint too. Your best bet is to decide on a specific color to look into, and then delve into different shades. After all, blue is one color, but there are so many different hues of blue to choose from in the average paint store. Generally speaking, paler, softer tones can make a room appear more spacious and bright, so try and stick to this end of the spectrum if you can.

The bed

You may think that when your partner moves in, the two of you will curl up cozily in your standard double bed and nothing more will be said about the situation. This is where you could be wrong, however. Average sized double beds just do not accommodate for two people, given the fact that most of us like to sleep in different positions too. The reality of the situation is that even if you do share a bed, you need your space – especially during summer when your bedroom could easily resemble an oven. For this reason, get rid of your old bed frame and mattress, and cash in on a larger version along with your partner. King size is, of course, the dream option for most people, with it typically providing enough room for even the wriggliest of sleepers. If you’re still not convinced about the quality of sleep you’ll get next to your partner, however, why not look into split king beds as a ‘meet in the middle’ option? Many manufacturers have got on board with this recent trend, so you’ll never be short of split king bed sheets either. Plus, this way you won’t get all the complaints about you stealing all the covers in the middle of winter! The next option down is a queen-sized bed, which may work for you if both you and your partner are a little on the petite side. Don’t overload the place with pillows – you may have loved a mountain of them when it was just you in your bed, but it might not be the most practical for when there’s two of you.

Storage

Now we come to potentially the most contentious issue about sharing a room with your partner: what goes where. In any relationship, there tends to be a bit of an imbalance between people’s standards of cleanliness. Stereo typically, it is regarded that women are tidier than man – but you could well be the messy one in your relationship! But many of us find it difficult to sleep in a messy bedroom, as the thought of tidying it up hangs over us, making it difficult to relax. The most important thing is to set some rules in the place right from the word go, even if it is as simple as ‘putting things back where you found them.’ Then, set about buying storage features for your bedroom, to make both of your lives a bit easier. Closet-wise, you have a couple of options. Either go for one huge one or stick to two smaller, separate ones. If your man’s technique for storing his clothes tends to be ‘scrunch it all up and throw it straight in there,’ you may want to consider the second option! It can also be worth deciding just how you are going to organize things like drawers. Are you going to have a drawer for both your socks and underwear or are you going to have drawers with purely your own clothes in? Be aware that your partner may bring quite a lot of stuff with them, so for any over-spill, storage boxes can be your savior.

Decor

It’s safe to say that although some of us are hugely into interior design, there are plenty of people who are simply uninterested in it. If this sounds like your significant other, you could have a pretty easy job on your hands when it comes to decorating your shared bedroom. But if they have very specific taste, you could have bigger issues on your hands. Sit down with them and discuss the kind of style you would like your bedroom to adopt. If they turn their nose up at it, or if you don’t like what they are describing, don’t shun it straight away. Look at some pictures of said style first, before you decide that it’s not something you want. You could end up being pleasantly surprised. Of course, if you do have polar opposite views on what you want the room to you like, you might what to try a different approach. Ditch both ideas and look for a totally new style that you can both agree on – Pinterest is a great tool for finding new interior designs you would never have thought of. Sharing a bedroom with your loved one is all about compromise, but it can also be a very rewarding experience too.