Interior Decorating for Your Fixer-Upper House

Lessons on House Rental, Interior Decorating, and Other Marriage Challenges

When a son and his bride of two years embarked on a house fixer-upper a month ago, I requested the story rights. I estimated this would be a tale of the strength of a marriage, as well as an epic battle of home decorating decisions. The absolutely delightful twist to the plot is the fact that the money source is 1500 miles away - in the hands of his in-laws. Ouch! Let this article be a lesson to any new home dwellers that do not investigate all of the ramifications of agreeing to be tenants for a relative. Also, interior decorating takes time, money, and most of all mutual agreement, not compromise.

It is late fall. Fresh out of the military and living in an apartment with a pit-bull puppy, the young couple desire space and "freedom". "Freedom from what?" is a logical question, but in the eyes of these kids, the gated apartment community is fencing them in. My husband and I begin hearing some noise that her parents are offering to buy a house in Texas as an investment and "allow" them to rent it cheaply. We offer our rather negative opinions on the subject and dire warnings to our son that he needs to be very careful before entering into a contract-type situation, especially with in-laws. We see him putting a lot of his time and effort into a project that does not gain him any equity, tax deductions, or benefit other than some more square footage to heat and air-condition. (And yes, we understand there is the intangible factor of pleasing his wife.) 

In this era of instant gratification, he does not want to hear about the concept of living in the small apartment, saving money, and buying his own house in a year or two. He is in full house search mode. Also, he and his lovely wife have not explored interior decorating of their apartment in depth. I personally do not believe they are ready to tackle home decorating ideas in tandem. My husband and I shut our mouths, since it is not our idea or money.