Take a peek at the inner workings of many a design firm, and you might be surprised to find a married couple at the helm. Ever wondered if your spouse might be the perfect counterpart in your business? To better understand how these partnerships thrive, we asked five duos to share how they make it work. Even if joining forces with a significant other is the last thing on your mind, these stories highlight a challenge everyone can  relate to: how to collaborate closely with anyone and get along.

Rare is the Hinge profile that highlights CAD skills. Most first date chitchat doesn’t cover install timelines, and wedding vows rarely include promises to monitor cash flow. But look around the industry, and you’ll see a surprising number of couples who end up running a design firm together, in sickness and in health.

For many designers, that arrangement is not part of the day one plan. But as a firm gets busy, a spouse is often called upon to chip in here and there. Little things become big things, and sooner or later that designer may find that they’ve made the ultimate inside hire. In some ways, the industry is uniquely suited to romantic partners who work together. This business requires a high level of trust among collaborators; it calls
for both right- and left-brained thinking, allowing couples to split the work according to their strengths; and the erratic schedule often bleeds into home life anyway—why not just embrace it?