Hubs and I have very different tastes and opinions when it comes to decorating.

He’s a “less is more” and “keep the status quo” kinda guy and I tend to like being surrounded by unique things that everyone else doesn’t have and approaches that everyone else doesn’t use.

Because we’ve had to buy several big-ticket items, and have found some unexpected repairs that had to be done in our winter home, we’ve been working around a few furniture pieces that came with the purchase.

The burgundy sofa and love seat are reminiscent of the set my grandparents had in their home. It had been steam cleaned prior to us moving in, and I’m OK with it. I was happy to find a reasonably-priced area rug that picked up the colour of the sofa. Hubs didn’t love the rug at first, but I think it’s growing on him.

The big dresser that the TV is standing on is a piece I chose in a furniture shop near here. The living room is a large space, so it can handle big pieces like this. I liked the carved details on the top drawers because it suits the Tex-Mex feel I envisioned for our house here, and I love that it’s a convenient place to store blankets and spare bedding. Hubs wasn’t an immediate fan of this piece either, but he seems to be OK with it now.

There are two night tables in the living room that we found at the same furniture store. They’re bigger than normal end tables, but again, provide extra storage and fit in the big room. Hubs hates these and wishes he hadn’t agreed to them. He can’t get his head around “bedroom furniture” in the living room. I’m hoping that eventually, he’ll learn to ignore them.

The chair beside the TV belongs to the dining room set we purchased. We purchased two extra chairs along with the four that came with the set. We both agreed on the dining room table and chairs … surprise, surprise!

Enter the clock. Hubs wanted a big clock above the TV. I wasn’t a fan of this idea because we’re retired after all, so what’s the big deal about always having to know the time? In the end, I decided that I could compromise on this item. Yesterday, we found a good variety of clocks at Lowes, so we looked through them and I liked that this one picked up a pale teal colour in the area rug. Because I had conceded about having the clock, hubs let me choose the design and colour.

Well!! As soon as the clock was hung, I loved it and hubs absolutely hated it! He just kept asking me what was wrong with it and I couldn’t find anything wrong, except maybe that I had chosen it, and he was possibly needing some choices that were all his own, but he had asked me to pick what I liked, so I was baffled.

Finally, after I incorrectly guessed many things that were possibly wrong with it, hubs finally shared that he couldn’t read it! Because I could read it so easily, it took me a few moments to twig on to the fact that hubs is colour blind for all muted shades of blues, greens, browns, and greys. They’re all the same colour to him. To him, this was just a big blob on the wall above the TV. What is it about men that they can’t just say up front what the issue is?

We’ll exchange the clock today for something he can see, and I think this time … I’ll let him have the complete choice.

“No relationship is all sunshine, but once you’ve learned how to play in the rain, you’ve discovered the secret to surviving the passing storm together”

The Happy Wives Club