How to Merge Two Households

Draw a floor plan. This might seem like a bit of a hassle, but it will make your life a lot easier when you start moving into a new place or when someone else is moving into yours. A floor plan is a drawing or illustration of the floor space of each room in your house, as viewed from above. Your drawing doesn't have to be a work of art; just create a to-scale sketch of each room. Include doors, windows and radiators, if present so you know where furniture can be positioned. Measure the rooms in your new space. Write the measurements of the different rooms along the edges of the sketched walls. This way you can figure out what will fit where.^[1]

• Include the windows, doors, cabinets, the kitchen island, and other features that might affect how you arrange furniture in the room.
• Take pictures as well, so you'll remember the little details that could help you decide where to put things.

Decide where the large furniture will go. Before you even pack it up and start moving it, determine where you want each piece of furniture to be positioned. That way you can put it where it's supposed to go as soon as you move it into the house, rather than grouping everything in the front room and trying to figure out where it should go.

• Measure the furniture to determine where it will fit. Check your drawing of the floor plan and visualize how each piece of furniture will look.
• Keep swatches cut from the underneath of couches, chairs, and upholstered pieces. It will be easier to tell if items match or not before having to move them.
• Think about furniture pieces individually instead of their current arrangement.
• Follow common decorating rules in terms to help you pleasingly arrange things. For example, couches should be surrounded by a little space on all sides. In the bedroom, your bed should be the main focus, rather than shoved in a corner.^[2]

Find a decorating scheme that merges your tastes. Whether you're moving together into a brand new space or one of your existing homes, decide on a new decorating scheme that will tie all of your possessions together into a cohesive home. You might want to paint the walls, install new light fixtures, get new curtains, and so on to make the space feel like it belongs to the whole family, and not just one person.

• See if each person in the house can get some space of his or her own.
• Decide which rooms will be "family rooms" and aim to have them reflect the personalities of the entire household.
• Consider getting furniture recovered. A good upholstery shop can not only change the fabric but can add or remove padding to change the shape. You'll have a chance to pick fabrics together and there's a better chance of finding something that ties your taste together.

Box everything up by room. Now it's finally time to get ready to move by putting your possessions inboxes. Go through your home room by room and box things up. Make sure fragile items are packed with soft materials to keep them safe during transit. If you're having movers help you merge your two households, make sure to give them clear directions about where everything should go.

• Label the boxes by color, and have the person you're moving in with doing the same. For example, items that belong in the living room could have a purple label, items for the kitchen could have a red label, and so on.
• Have the boxes delivered to the appropriate room in the new home.

Respect each other’s preferences. Realize that merging two households means making compromises. Your lifestyles are about to change, but that doesn't have to be a negative thing. It's very exciting. Help each other make the transition easier by respecting each other's ideas and talking everything out if you have a conflict.

• Don’t start things off on the wrong foot by being stubborn about little things that don’t matter. If you have three hand mixers, for example, have the mentality that you're willing to give yours up for the sake of the household.
• Don’t fight about whether to keep heirlooms. If your partner wants to keep the table his grandfather made, don't fight about it, even if you think the thing is hideous. If it's a family heirloom, it should stay in the family.

Be open-minded about the result. The new household isn't going to be like your old one, and you shouldn't expect it or want it to be. You're merging your tastes with your partner's to create something new and fresh. With careful planning, you can create a new space that you both enjoy.

• Strive for a new and improved merged household, rather than trying to replicate the old house. If the person is moving into your home, be willing to make big changes.
• Remember that you'll need to make mutual decisions about how to improve the space from now on.

Get the children involved. Merging two households can be hard on kids. If children are involved in your household merge, they should be involved in the decision-making. Merging households might make them feel nervous, and it's really helpful if they feel they have a say in what their new space will be like. Get the kids involved in packing, decorating, and creating a new personal space for themselves.

• Let kids decide which toys to keep, and which to give away.
• Get kids excited about the new and improved space. Tell them moving will be an adventure.
• Try to keep the kids' sleeping arrangements similar to what they were before the merge.^[3]

Make a personalized plan that meets your needs. Merging households means merging lifestyles. Think about all the factors in both of your lives that will be affected by the merge. Have a plan for accommodating each other's hobbies, pets, and so on.

• If you have pets, where will their new hangouts be? Where will they sleep? Where will you keep their food and water dishes?
• Figure out who gets what closets and storage space before you move in, so you can keep your new household organized from the get-go.
• Make a plan for sharing “extra” spaces, like a nook that can be a study, craft room, or reading nook depending on how you want to use it.