Choosing a Home With Your 'Blended' Family in Mind

SOUTHBURY, CT--(Marketwired - Aug 26, 2013) - With 1,300 new stepfamilies forming each day, there is a constant flow of families starting over in a brand new home. The interior decorators with Decor&You, one of America's leading, full-service interior decorating franchises, understand how difficult moving can be and share four key tips on how to handle one of life's toughest transitions.

"The process of starting a life over with a stepfamily in a new home can be both exciting and challenging," said Decor&You Founder and CEO Karen Powell. "Whether you are moving across the country or across town, the pressures of blending two families can be stressful on everyone. It's important to make sure every family member has a voice in choosing the new residence and creating an environment that everyone can call home."

Decor&You shares the following tips on how to create a smooth transition into a new home while taking your "blended family" into account:

1. Carefully consider the size and floor plan of the home you buy. While there is no single "right" home for a blended family, a house with as many bedrooms as bathrooms will allow the family the opportunity to learn how to live with each other without feeling too crowded. Allow the children to decide if they prefer to have their own bedroom or to share a bedroom with a sibling.

2. Turn a first-floor den into an extra bedroom. Turning the lower-level room into a bedroom allows teenage children or college students to feel independent and maintain their privacy.

3. Consider a renovated house with bedrooms at both ends. Buying a home with bedrooms on both ends and a common living space in the center allows blended families to maintain a degree of physical distance, while still meeting in the middle at mealtimes or for recreation.

4. Include everyone in the decorating process. Involving the entire family in decorating the new home makes starting over much easier and allows all members to feel included. Give a few options for different elements of shared spaces and let each family member share their opinion.

With professional interior decorators that furnish and refine homes and businesses in 20 states, the Decor&You vision is to make it easy for people to achieve comfort, style and enhanced value when they invest in their interiors. Decor&You decorating experts use the company's proven StylePrint^® Design System to create a seamless process from design to execution for its customers. From furniture selection and purchase to managing the installation, Decor&You ensures a worry-free makeover process for every client.

For more information about Decor&You decorating services, visit the Decor&You company website at http://www.decorandyou.com.

About Decor&You
Established in 1998, Decor & You, Inc. (Decor) furnishes and refines America's residential and commercial interiors through a nationwide network of professional interior decorators, who make it easy for people to achieve comfort, style, and enhanced value in their homes and businesses. Decor decorating experts use the company's proven StylePrint^® Design System to create a seamless process from design to execution to ensure a worry-free makeover process for every client. A socially conscience company, Decor also advocates for change in the decorating industry, with a focus on bringing safer, higher-quality and greener decorating options to American homes. Decor was honored recently by The World Franchising Network as one of its top 100 businesses in the services sector; by Entrepreneur Magazine as a top home-based franchise and No. 446 in the 2012 Franchise 500 rankings; and by RedHotFranchise.com as No. 47 on its top 100 Hottest Franchise list. For more information on Decor&You, go to www.decorandyou.com.

Decor&You^® is a registered trademark of Powell Investors Group, LLC. All rights reserved.