Anyone that’s been through the arduous process of combining couple styles knows, it is no easy feat. Even when you’re the darlings of The Bachelor franchise. Ben and Lauren are spilling the details of cohabitating and making it look gorgeous with the help of Joss & Main. And just when you thought these two couldn’t possibly get any cuter, their little love nest is blowing that cuteness right out of the water.
From Joss & Main Style Director, Donna Garlough…Working with Lauren to reimagine her home with Ben was an absolute delight. She’s passionate about design and décor, and she brought a lot of her own ideas to the table. At the same time, she was open to new suggestions about what could work in her space. What we landed on was a fantastic mix of modern and traditional, romantic and edgy, masculine and feminine. And I think that’s a perfect reflection of Ben and Lauren’s life together in Denver, and how they work together as a couple. It’s not always easy to tell a Bachelor you’re replacing all of his furniture! But Lauren was so thoughtful about wanting both of their personalities reflected in their home’s design, and she wanted him to be happy with the end result, too.
Tell us about your respective styles. Was it difficult to design a space representative of each?
Lauren: I definitely love neutrals, as is evident from this room, and I like mixing more modern pieces with rustic, second-hand finds. With the light and airy colors, I feel like I kind of brought a piece of California with me to Ben’s home in Denver. But I didn’t want to make it feel too feminine—I’m moving into his house, so I tried to keep him in mind as well. In terms of design, Ben took a step back until the end when everything had come together and he could see the full picture.
Ben: When it came to this project, I did try to stay out of it. She’s moving into this house, and I wanted her to feel like this is home. If I was to choose everything, it wouldn’t feel like that. The other part is… I just don’t think about design too much. I had my couch, my futon from college, and my deer antlers above the fireplace, and I was happy with that. I trusted Lauren to take the reins and make the place look better.
Walk us through your process. What was your inspiration, and how did you bring your vision to life?
Lauren: I have a set of watercolors that were painted by a friend—they have a lot of light pastels and these clean-lined, white frames. They really inspired the entire space, and now they’re hanging above our dining table. From there, I just browsed Joss & Main—they have so many great pieces; you can really transform your whole home right from their website. I, of course, picked out way too many items for our very small bungalow home. So I narrowed down my favorites, added them to my Idea Boards, and then the Joss & Main design team was gracious enough to mock them up, pull in finishing touches, and help us zero in on a final look.
Ben: It took the stress off me.
Lauren: Yes, and I don’t think I could’ve dreamt up a more perfect home.
Prior to moving in together, Ben lived here for a year and a half and decorated the entire space himself. What would you say was his worst bachelor-pad offense?
Lauren: Probably his bedroom furniture. It was all brown, and his bedding was brown. Everything was brown.
Ben: I’m more of a rustic man.
Lauren: No, it was like, really dark.
Ben: More of a rustic person, like lodge-y.
Lauren: I don’t hate brown, it wasn’t like a wood brown, it was like a painted brown.
Ben: Brought out the colors in the room.
Lauren: It didn’t have a lot of texture, either. It kind of made me just want to go to sleep, and then just close the door to the bedroom in the morning and not let anyone in there.
Ben: Isn’t that what it’s for?
Lauren: I guess. I feel like it should a sanctuary—peaceful and a place you want to cozy up in.
Ben: Now it is.
Lauren: Before, we didn’t have curtains or a rug. Now it feels a lot warmer than it used to. We layered a couple of rugs, one being a shaggy faux fur style that I love and just screams cozy to me. When it comes to the bedroom, I don’t want it to be overdone, I don’t want a ton of busy decor—I want it to feel like a sanctuary.
Speaking of peaceful, what do you find necessary for keeping the peace in small home?
Ben: I think having your own space—I don’t think sharing every space would be healthy or smart.
Lauren: I agree—having your own space is really important when it comes to living together. We don’t have a ton of space in this house, but we’ve still managed to carve out areas we can spend time in by ourselves. I can imagine having two bathrooms would also be important, although we don’t have that. Wouldn’t two bathrooms be nice?
Ben: Yes.
Lauren: I don’t need more space; I just need another bathroom. And maybe a walk-in closet. He moved all of his clothes to the basement so that I could have all the closet space on the first level—it was really nice.
There are a lot of great new pieces in this place—what are some of your favorites?
Ben: I think after seeing everything laid out, my favorites are the couch and the Chewbacca pillows. I also love the marble table—I think it’s classy, it’s sophisticated, and it looks good with a cocktail on it!
Lauren: My favorite piece is probably the chandelier above the dining table. Aside from the watercolor paintings, it’s really what inspired the room. I wanted it to be the first thing you saw when walking in the door. I also love the couch and the pillows. I love all the different textures—I want to go around and touch and feel everything.
Ben: Can I add how cool the bar cart is, too?
Lauren: The bar cart is pretty cool. That was really for you.
Ben: I know it was! I had a bar cart that I made it was cool, but this one’s a lot nicer.
And what about your favorite room? If you had to give just one a symbolic “final rose,” what would it be?
Ben: It would definitely be the living room—it’s bright, it has beautiful windows, it still has the original 100-year-old hardwood floors, and now it has beautiful furniture. This room has a lot of character, and I would say it’s the most special room in the house.
Lauren: I would definitely say the living room—it’s where we spend the most time.
We’re going to have you finish a few sentences for us. First one: Home is…
Lauren: Home is cozy, and where the people you love are. Home is a feeling, not necessarily things—but there are pieces, like a soft throw or comfy sofa, that help make a house your home.
Ben: Home for me is really where I lay my head at night. And I think it’s the place that, like Lauren said, is where your loved ones are.
The best part of moving in together is…
Ben: The best part about moving in together is having the opportunity to learn more about each other than we would in any other capacity. From the small things to the big things, to the fact that Lauren really felt that in order to make this place home we needed some new furniture and her mark on this place. Now, I’m excited to see with the new furniture and her touch on it, how happy she is and how she operates in this environment.
Lauren: It’s really the little things… I think that’s what we missed the most about being on the Bachelor, and then having to hide our engagement. We did some really amazing things on the show—we went on airplane rides and helicopter rides and all that, but we missed the everyday things together. Grocery shopping, cooking, watching movies, getting takeout and just enjoying our home together, those are the things we waited so long for. Now that we are able to do those on a regular basis, it’s been really nice.
The hardest part of moving in together is…
Ben: The hardest part about moving in with each other is the feeling of unsettledness. I was established in Denver, this was my home for two years prior to Lauren. She moved here and started a whole new life. So I think it’s been hard to see through her eyes how new this is. For as new as it is for Lauren to move into Denver, it’s a whole new outlook for me as well. I think that’s probably been the hardest part, just getting used to that.
Lauren: I think it’s not necessarily moving in together, but moving to a new city can be hard. It’s a lot of change in itself—a home, making new friends and being newly engaged. I had my sister and brother back in LA. I was close to my family and now I’m in a whole new place. It’s a sense of starting over, which is exciting and presents a certain challenge that I like, but it also can be a little bit overwhelming sometimes.
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How To Blend Your Home StylesView Slideshow 
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Photography: Nicole Gerulat for Joss & Main | Furniture and Decor: Joss & Main
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