Table of Contents
Introduction: Hearts May Become One, but Houses Collide ix
Part 1 Merger Math: 1 House + 1 House Must = 1 House
1 I've Got This 2
2 House Hunting in the Hypothetical 7
3 When Redesigning Your Life, Redesign Your Home 23
Part 2 Moving Out
4 To Sell Fast at Top Price, Stage Like a Pro 40
5 Ouch! But It Hurts to Let Go 56
Part 3 Moving In
6 Downsizing to Upsize 64
7 Find Your Beautifully Blended Style 81
8 Opposites Attract 89
9 A Break from Tradition 100
10 Big Stuff First 109
11 Color, the Great Unifier 118
12 Make a Great Upholsterer Part of Your Transition Team 129
13 When Art Tastes Collide 138
14 Accessorizing Shelves to Blend 147
15 What's in a Name? 151
16 The Kids Are All Right 157
Part 4 How They Did It
17 Sara and Austin: Letting Go and Holding On 164
18 Elaine and Mike: Uptown Girl Meets Downtown Guy 172
19 Sherry, Rachel, and Michael: All in the Family 178
20 Rebecca and Dean, Kristin and Rich, Jason and John 186
Part 5 The Crazy Quilt Family
21 Redefining "Home for the Holidays" 198
22 From Downsized to Right-sized, Goodbye Happy Yellow House 207
Acknowledgments 217
Sources 219
Index 221