Kate’s tips on how to get your partner to agree to your plans

Talk it out

Find out why your partner doesn’t like something. Colour, in particular, can evoke an emotional response.

Compromise

There’s no such thing as the wrong colour, just the wrong shade. If there is a particular colour that your partner doesn’t like, see if there’s a softer version of it that you can work with – or use it in small doses, such as in artworks and accessories, rather than all over the walls.

Play the long game

When you introduce an idea that your partner hates, if you just park it quietly and leave it there, they might come to accept it in time. Then there’s the ageold trick of making them feel like it was their idea in the first place.

Give them a choice

Put together a list of options, all of which you can live with, but which must be slightly different, so there is a sense of a real decision being made.

Set the tone

I know someone who cooks a steak and opens a bottle of wine before introducing a controversial decor idea. That often works.

Know when to quit

If someone really doesn’t like an idea and you can’t come to a compromise, move on.