4 Things To Keep In Mind About Your New Roommate’s Decorating Style

By Victoria Robertson on November 30, 2015

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As the fall semester comes to a close and second semester nears, many students will be switching roommates. Whether you and your old roommate didn’t get along or if you’ve simply moved residence halls etc., there are many reasons why roommate switches occur between semesters, but no matter: you’ll be ready.

When you switch roommates, it’s like first semester freshman year all over again; it’s awkward, uncomfortable and oftentimes difficult as you both learn boundaries and other important information about the person you’ll be living with for the rest of the semester.

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And of course, along with it comes new decorations, and you and your roommate will need to determine what works and what doesn’t. So without further ado, here are four things to keep in mind about your new roommate’s decorating style.

1. You might not like it.

Newsflash: you aren’t going to like everything about your roommate. No one does. Even the best of friends dislike certain parts about living with one another. So don’t put your roommate up on a pedestal, because that makes for a long semester.

Instead, be aware that you probably aren’t going to like their decorating style. It may not fit yours, it may completely clash with yours or it might just not be your taste. But is it really worth fighting over?

Just because your roommate’s style doesn’t match yours does not mean it’s the end of the world. So don’t treat it as such. Be flexible and be willing to live around posters that you might not like. It’s really not that big of a deal.

2. It might be meaningful.

Don’t be quick to judge, either. Sometimes, your roommate’s decorating concept might actually mean much more to them than meets the eye, so it’s important not to offend or make comments about objects that are negative.

While it seems silly, it’s very easy to make a quick comment and offend someone (it happens literally all the time now) so even the most harmless, meaningless comment can have certain implications.

Understand that their decorating style is their own, and that it’s more than possible some elements actually have meaning to them, and that you need to respect that, just like they’ll respect yours.

3. It’s okay to make suggestions.

Just because you don’t want to offend your roommate doesn’t mean you shouldn’t communicate with them. Feel free to make suggestions, or offer to decorate parts of the room together, incorporating both of your styles.

Especially when you are just meeting one another, it’s important to communicate and include each other. It’s easy to go off and do your own thing all the time, but it makes for a much better roommate situation if you both get along, and doing things together is the perfect way to achieve that.

Maybe suggest what you can do in the community areas, and then in your individual areas, you can both go off and decorate as you want. It’s a quick and easy way to talk to your roommate, get a feel for who they are and start off on the right foot.

4. Be flexible and willing to compromise.

Like I said before, there are certain aspects of your roommate’s decorating that you aren’t going to like, and they’ll feel the same about yours. If your roommate makes a comment about one of your items, don’t pick a fight over it. If it means something to you, say that. If it doesn’t, talk about what you’d rather have there.

Not every disagreement needs to be a fight, and the sooner the two of you establish what you like and don’t, the better off you’ll be. It’s difficult living with another person, someone who has their own likes and dislikes that probably aren’t going to match yours. Just roll with the punches and be flexible; it’ll make the entire process much easier and hopefully give you a good start to the rest of the semester as well.

Moving in with a new roommate isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be made harder either. By communicating with one another, compromising and being a caring, flexible person, you’re bound to hit it off, and the rest of the semester will be smooth sailing.

So something as easy as decorating shouldn’t get in your way in the least, so long as you make sure you follow these few tips and keep an open mind. Happy decorating!

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