Just tell him not to do that. My husband is not obsessed with anything since I don't have one.

Reading lamps....he likes to have good ones whenever he sits down no matter where that is..and of course that is true probably of us all .

He is also very sensitive to day light...seems like a conflict with the above but due to his eyes the light outside is a problem for him. Unfortunately we don't have any drapes in our home. We have only lace curtains at the windows. He would love to be able to have dark rooms to sit and rest or read etc. We are still trying to decide how to incorporate his likes and mine. His study outside has blinds on all windows and he does go out there for "relief " LOL. c

Although he likes to have a say-so about any major purchases (not thta I give him the chance part of the time), the only thing ~ decorating-wise~ that he's been obsessed about lately is picking out the perfect replacement gas grill for the patio . . . which he finally did last weekend. What obsesses DH most, though, is GOLF and the University of Oklahoma football and basketball. ;^D
Lynn

Trailrunner,

I may be telling you something you already know and if that's the case, I apologize but does your DH have blue eyes? I've heard that people with blue eyes can experience a higher sensitivity to sunlight. I have blue eyes and that was surely the case for me.

What I've found out though is this is sometimes an indication that there is a deficiency of beta carotene in our system. I was skeptical when I heard this, but started eating carrots anyway. I was surprised with the results, it helped a lot.

"Just tell him not to do that"

newdawn, you crack me up.

Trailrunner,
I feel your poor husband's pain. I don't have blue eyes, but mostly yellow with brown flecks. They're very light colored and painfully sensitive to light especially the glare from the outside. Overcast days are the worst. I love lamps too (hate overhead lighting) and the light they give off. My MIL has white shears in her living room on her huge window and I can't sit in that room unless it's at night. I would not be happy in a house that I had only one room to retreat to :( .

Back to the original topic. My husband is obsessed with BOOKS and book ends. He's constantly buying books and obsesses where to put them and how to arrange them. If I move one or re-arrange for some reason he knows immediately upon walking in the door from work(even if he's not in the same room). He's always asking me to be on the lookout for interesting book ends. Drives me CRAZY.

No pink! No flowered bed sheets or curtains.

No yellow-hates, hates, hates yellow painted walls. It's really the only decorating issue he cares about.

Stereo equipment, including, but not limited to
big-ass speakers and stands
turntable
amplifier
CD player
DVD player
Laser disc player
Blu-ray player
17 ft. screen
projector
record cleaner
and a bunch of other gizmos.

Since I watch TV for a living (not really, but I work in TV and film) some of this stuff is shared. But the 1000 albums, including Florence Foster Jenkins, Birdcalls of the Northeast Woodlands and Songs of the Lakota, are all his.

lukkiirish. thanks for your answer. He is an albino so yes his eyes look blue but when you shine a light in them they are pink! He is my own bunny rabbit LOL. So there is no help with the beta carotene although I am going to mention to him that he could try it for his eyes in general as they are getting worse...I am SO glad you mentioned this. THANK YOU ! c

Ah, yes, I forgot about the original topic (sorry) my DH is a "brainy man" and loves loves loves his books. I too have the same problem as Bliegh (who btw, must have a stunning set of eyes), there is just no room for them all.

Trailrunner, you're welcome, that totally makes sense! LOL Yes, even if it doesn't help, you can't go wrong by eatting them. I've seen babies who've turned orange though because they were fed too many jars of carrots. Too funny! LOL

Heehee, I think my kids have had a slight orange tint to them before. They'll eat bags and bags of baby carrots. Had to slow them down a bit.

Funny about the eyes, I have people all the time ask me where I bought them (they think they're contacts). Had a roommate/friend in the Air Force who wouldn't look at them as she said they were cat eyes and something bad would happen to her if she looked into them. She always stared at my forehead or chin. Quite uncomfortable.

Sorry again for being off topic...my DH is going to MAD at me when he gets home. I'm packing a bunch of books for the storage unit. Just too many to leave out for staging our small house to sell.

In his view, shabby and chic are mutually exclusive. Can't stand anything with the paint worn off, or mussed wrinkly slipcovers. I'm with him on the covers, but I do like the occasional weathered wood thing.
He also can't bear anything with writing on it...like wallpaper or linen pillows, or framed or painted quotes. He hates, hates, hates plates hung on the wall.
But, to my eternal gratitude, he loves gorgeous china, and can't have too much.
Our deal is, we blend our tastes very well, but either of us may have veto power. So no shabby tables for me. In exchange, I don't have to have any shiny black things. I do have a few framed literary things, and a couple of letters from notable people to some of my ancestors...but they are also either beautiful or interesting parts of my family history, so he tolerates those.

Bleigh, When I was in Home Goods the other day, the woman checking me out at the counter had eyes like you've described yours are. They were so stunning, I couldn't resist telling her how fabulous I thought they were. :c)

Our house history and bringing it back. He wants to know everything he can about the man who built the house and what it would have been. He was pouring over an Eastlake decor book last night LOL

Hey Bronwynsmom -
My sister just stayed in a hotel in London and the carpet design was yellowish handwriting (personal letters? a famous document?) on a red carpet. She said it was annoying enough when you could almost make out what it said, but worse was the pattern also repeated the writing backwards. She found it very distracting. Imagine your poor DH in a place like that!

My DH collects sports cards (ie. baseball cards). Luckily, he has no interest in displaying them but the problem is the storage of these thousands upon thousands of cards in many, many, many boxes. They drive me a little crazy since they take up so much space - under beds & in closets.

I can't remember him ever expressing an opinion decorating-wise. I usually ask "what do you think of _____?" and as long as he doesn't hate it, it's good.

I am enjoying reading everyones issues. I think I have it fairly easy.
Newdawn/Jane, it's not quite that easy! First, I would have to get him to hear what I am saying, remember it the next day, and most of all, care. Something about hell freezing over would apply.

LOL...OMG, that is too funny bumble! My DH loves his fans too and says 70 is too hot, so I can totally relate! LOL

When did you marry MY husband, Bumblebeez??? We have a constant battle with him and his fans. He moved into the apartment first in our relocation last year while I stayed behind to sell the house. He bought 2 fans--for living room and bedroom. As soon as he enters the door from work, on goes a fan. I can't stand it and have to point it away from my chair--I have a dry eye condition and can't tolerate any breeze in my face.

He didn't have this set up before (just ceiling fans that I'd constantly have to turn down--and the GR fan which I let remain "broken" until getting the house on the market). I tell him those blasted free-standing fans are NOT going to make it into the living / sleeping areas of the new house. So, every time I get annoyed at the fan (air and noise), I tell myself it's just a few more weeks.

It's just a habit--he'll run them year-round no matter how cold I keep the house (he'll just cover up). I've come very close to hiring a hit man to take out the fans....you know, just a little snip here, a little snip there--a hidden wire or something.

Anyway, glad to know my husband isn't the only fan obsessed man out there! AND that I'm not the only light-sensitive wife either (I'm gonna have to try some beta carotene).

newdawn/Jane wrote: "Just tell him not to do that. My husband is not obsessed with anything since I don't have one." I think after reading the first sentence I could have guessed the second sentence.

There for awhile my hubby was obsessed with landscaping. Not exactly decorating, but then again.... it really is. We're just doing it outside! We work very well together both inside and outside.

Gosh, you mean there are more men like that bumblebeez? I learned it helps, though not always, to repeat things three times just to get his attention. Of course there's always sneaking the remote away when he's not looking, or actually touching it, and pausing the TV to get his attention. If I still had my girlish figure I might trying getting his attention another way. No wait, that wouldn't work. We'd both be distracted then.

I don't have blue eyes, mine are green, and I'm very sensitive to light. I wear sunglasses all year round unless it's dark. And even then I wish I cold find some of those night time yellow lenses again because oncoming traffic lights really is quite painful for me. I have to look at the edge of the road. Because of this I rarely drive at night.

My husband is obsessive about our bed being made how he likes it. He makes me get out of bed and does it again if not happy.

I get veto power on my study and the garden, he gets it on his study and the master bedroom, the rest we compromise.

Hmm, I think I could deal with that silkvelvet. A man who makes the bed....

On another note, dh has recently bought a plug in fan for the car, the ac doesn't blow hard enough for him.

You'll pee orange, too, if you eat excessive carrots. ;-)

A friend from long ago worked at a health food store and ate tons of carrots. His skin was distinctly and weirdly yellow.

Rearranging/repurposing rooms for ME! Like right now, he's setting up a 3rd floor room as an office for me. Will I ever go up there? No - minimal natural light, too far from where the kids are, etc. Yes, I told him that it is not suitable for me.

Hmmm...maybe this is part of some Jane Eyre drama...if a nanny shows up, I'm in trouble!

His TV, sound system etc. When we built the new room he had 4 little shelves built for speakers on the walls. They had to be exactly as he specified even though I've hit my head a few times while vacuuming & did a little silent cursing. But oh well, we only live once. :)

Rocks.

I have rocks all over our house. He loves them (so do I) and I've incorporated them where I can. He recently brought home an 18" tall triangular sliced geode. Now I'm trying to find a place for it.

Also anything, ANYTHING he can make a mold on. He takes an item and makes latex molds of them. It's a weird concept, but that is what he does for a living, so I am constantly finding random things he's molding in various stages in our house.

Sheets: Must be very soft! He actually encourages me to buy very-high-thread-count sheets from Overstock or Tuesday Morning.

Antiques: He loves vintage and antique items. Especially different and spooky ones!

Furniture: Must be comfortable. And located in spots and arrangements where one can chat and converse with others.

Lighting: Lamps.

No Blue walls. Ever. In any shade. In any room. Trust me -- comes from childhood decor trauma. LOL!

Does see-saw about the level of clutter. So do I. Can stand clutter for a short period of time -- but then the room/house/garden must be tidied.

Has Learned Over Time: white paint can help many rooms and many decor problems. Also learned that decor items can be "worked into" a room -- but it may take me a little time and involve my personal and private "puttering" time. Laughs when I carry items around the house until I make them work!

Actually feels "creeped out" in some folks homes -- for various reasons. I do too!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

me (wink)

Hilarious thread. My husband is obsessed with space, and sitting areas. There are only two of us now, and he wants "sitting areas" all over the house. We already have a living room, a sun room, a tv room in the basement and a spare bedroom. They're all places to sit and read. We hardly ever do that, but he's now starting to eye innocent storage cupboards, threatening to annex them for a comfy chair, a table and a lamp. And to justify this, he says we (I) hoard too much.

And every so often I notice he's pushed all the chairs in the living room much closer to the wall instead of being IN the room and part of it, as if to make a dance floor. He loves the big empty space but for what? I say put many sitting areas in the living room... lol.

Mine likes all surfaces cleared off and organized. Me, I tend to let things lie a bit before I put things where they belong. Makes him crazy.

This thread is so funny! I should be in bed but here I am wiping tears (I always tear up when I laugh hard). No obsessions that I have thought of - yet. But I have enough for both of us!

Overhead light. He longs for overhead light. But three years ago we moved into an MCM home with NO overhead lighting and NO way to install any short of pulling off the roof. So we have LOTS of lamps and he still grumbles about it.

And, in what appears to be a common theme among husbands, he adores wood. He cannot bear to let loose of any piece of scrap wood. No matter the size. When we were doing the kitchen, I had to clean up scrap wood and bag it up while he wasn't looking. I'm talking about 18" long pieces of 2x4. "You never know when you might need that." I told him I would buy him a whole 2x4 if he ever needed one.

He also thinks TV trays are permanent pieces of furniture.