My mother has such questionable design taste and it sucks. I’m now twenty one and I have definitely developed my own individual taste and style, which conflicts greatly with my mother’s. It’s causing some issues in our relationship and it’s causing her to tell me to move out any time I offer up a design opinion that doesn’t align with her own.
But seriously, how can I not put up a fuss when I come home and see my mum installing ocean print wallpaper in every room of the house? Who would want to live in a house where every room makes you feel like you’re drowning? I don’t want to have nightmares that I’m submerged in water every night. But of course when I told her my concerns she told me that it’s her house and if I don’t like her design choices then she’s happy for me to leave. I would never tell her this but it actually makes me really sad when she says this. It’s like a stab in the heart every time. I love my mum and I don’t want her to jump to me moving out as the easy option any time I upset her. Oh well.
Last night I sat her down and proposed the option of potentially installing some less in-your-face wallpaper, like Australian botanical wallpaper. Melbourne homes feature this wallpaper a lot more often than ocean wallpaper. I’m not sure if it’s a stylistic choice or what, but I wanted to let her know that it was an option. In response, she said that she’s happy for me to get the Australian botanical wallpaper installed in my room, as long as it doesn’t disrupt the overall aesthetic of the rest of the house. That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear but it was also nice that she didn’t automatically tell me to move out. Maybe whenever I have an opinion or slight criticism, I have to sit her down calmly and talk it through to get my way.