Today, interior designer Nate Berkus and his husband, Jeremiah Brent, who’s also a designer, have a home that oozes taste and cohesion. But it wasn’t always like that. When PureWow chatted with Berkus recently, the home expert explained exactly how he and Brent melded their styles while minimizing conflict—because let’s be honest: Cohabitation can be tricky as far as design goes.
When it came time to build a home together, Berkus says he and Brent relied on two rules. The first rule? Each partner has veto power.
“If one person absolutely hates [an item], it’s not up for discussion. We’re not going to try it,” Berkus explained.
Berkus, who recently partnered with Novartis’s My Home in Sight kit, went on to say that this system works for items they’re not so sure about as well. “If one person kind of doesn’t like an idea, it’s also a no,” he said. “But if one person is on the fence, then we’ll give it a try, whether it’s [changing] the layout of a room, adding a piece or even taking something away.”