There was a discussion started in a thread by neorich about his contemporary design plant containers. Neorich just made the one post and never came back (sigh... hate that), but it got me interested in the idea that contemporary design principles are very "masculine" : rigid, angular, no color, all about surface and visuals, nothing soft... So I went looking.
Google: " how to decorate a bachelor pad" and here is what you get
even when it is contemporary, like the bottom two pictures, it is colorful and bright, with things that trail, fabrics, etc.
Look at House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, Home and Design and other high end decorating magazines. Almost all you will see is just like the top pictures. So how did the feminine get left out of contemporary design?
I don't know about being left out. The bachelor and single woman may be on their way to a partnership, sometime in the future. Which style do you think will predominate after that?
I was single for a good number of years, even a single dad. Maybe I put too much emphasis on functionality. Things change.
I just reached into the fridge to get the carton of milk, a water bottle fell out!! I don't drink water out of a bottle. I get it from the tap. Almost every time I'm interested in moving something in my home, I have to find room to move something else that is in the way. The kitchen utensil drawer scares me! It's all I can do to get that big drawer open then ... I can't find anything! Bowls are stacked 10 deep on the shelves - why? Only 2 people live in this house.
I was thinking about these curtains that DW made ... she didn't buy them, but cut and sewed the fabric. I lobbied against them beginning before the time she made the fabric purchase. They are too dark and heavy! Where's the sun??? I'm the only person that hangs out in this south room!
Those "contemporary designs" are probably looked upon by most women as templates, to be added to until the exterior walls bulge and cabinets come crashing to the floor!
I think the feminine design looks softer; more inviting and lived in. Although, I tell you when you live in one place for a long time things do pile up.
I think bachelor's pads are more crash joints. The decor is spartan, and angular and they do seem to like the dark colors like black and leather everywhere. There is a lot of black and white and neutrals in the bachelor pad examples. You know a leather couch looks nice and soft but it is hard on the back since it doesn't give you much support and unless you live in a cold climate or in air conditioning, they make you sweat. The windowless treatments are in vogue now and it does make the space look more wide open. Looks great in a magazine but curtains and drapes do help muffle street noises, dust and where I live I don't need the neighbors literally looking in.
I do have white cabinets. It was not my first choice but at the time I had the kitchen remodeled, the gray I wanted would have taken a couple of months to get. It is actually not that hard to keep it clean since the surface is washable and I did insist on finger pulls and cleats not plastic shelf pegs and knobs. The cabinets previously had been painted chocolate brown. In fact nearly everything in the house was chocolate, chocolate trim, chocolate doors and kitchen cabinets and a dark tile on the floor. Even the redwood walls had a dark stain. Before I bought the house it had been a rental for 10 years.
I doubt bachelors spend much time at home and I guess the most important things are the bed and the big screen t.v.
I used to go to open houses to get decorating tips. These are some of the things I found
I hate open plans. Frank Lloyd Wright was an avant garde architect and designer, but while his pieces were beautiful too look at they weren't very live able.
The great room concept is great unless you are a clutterholic. A small space looks larger when you take out the walls but I really don't like a living room, dining room and kitchen in the same space. In my house the dining table is the drop point from everything to clothes when I get home, groceries, and everything I buy until I figure out where I am going to put them. I have a 70's kitchen designed when kitchens were functional but there was really only room for one cook and not enough space for all my pots pans and gadgets. All the over flow is in my junk room. Since I actually cook and live in this kitchen, the counters are never clear. Besides the dish rack, I have onions in a basket, garlic in the garlic keeper, rice cooker (its is a necessity here), tea, condiments, and cookie jars on the counter all of the time. And I will not put a garbage can next to the rice under the sink which is what a lot of people end up doing.
Modern homes have a lot less storage space than older designs and the contemporary materials have a lot of plastic and man made material.
People love the induction ranges but when you use them after about a month the rings start showing up and people use the range top as a counter which is not only dangerous, it is bad for the workings underneath. When induction ranges break they are more costly to repair. Coils last longer and are easily replaced and are pretty universal so you can easily get replacements, just don't get the cheap ones. I have only replaced one coil in my range in 20 years and it turned out the problem was not with the coil but that I had gotten the wrong size bib pan so the coil did not sit flat.
Analog causes fewer problems in the long run than digital. Touch panels crack if you have to push on them all of the time and the face cannot be replaced, you have to replace the entire panel.
Plastic shelf pegs and particle board can't carry as much weight as cleats and pine shelving. and extra shelf support helps too. Besides once you have figured out the space for your largest bottle, who moves the shelves again anyway? I love pull out racks in drawers. I hate it when I pull the drawer too far because it isn't always easy putting it back on the track.
Garbage disposals are great, but they need a lot of water and you have to be careful not to overload them. On for two seconds, lots of water to flush and repeat. And tape that key to the disposal so you can find it when you need it. A plunger works magic when the sink backs up. Buy boneless and try to do the washing on the side of the sink that does not have the disposal. I have mangled a few spoons that way.
Unless you have good habits and always clean up after yourself, it helps to designate a spot for drop offs. A table or coat rack by the door so you only have to pick up those areas and not follow the trail of clothes on the chairs, shoes kicked off on the floor and eventually get to the pile on the dining table.
DITTO all on livability. When you are married or in a relationship you have to keep the sensibilities of your partner in mind when decorating. G's den is rough cut cedar walls - a real pain to clean. Tile floors and a stone fireplace wall and hearth. The ornamentation is hunting and fishing prints and dead animals. His idea of design is matchy matchy and furniture pushed up against the walls. I have created sitting areas in this huge room with unmatched pieces that add warmth and interest. I have also incorporated an assortment of lamps, throw pillows and area rugs. All are man friendly but the room is comfortable for any gender. A man cave does not have to be unfriendly to women.
I am not at all into modern design or retro 60's except for accent pieces. I am very eclectic and have a mix and match of styles and periods. I find that adds interest and speaks to who I am. If you were to visit my home you would know that it is Elizabeth's home. Kind of nuts.
My favorite accent pieces are Mission style. I love Frank Lloyd Wright but find many of his beautiful designs unlivable. Any space has to be livable. I love Stickley furniture but can only afford a couple of knock off pieces.
I adore Art Deco architecture. My favorite building is the Chrysler Building in NYC. I think it is jaw dropping beautiful but not a style that I want to live with.
I really do my own thing and don't pay much attention to designer styles. I shop flea markets, thrift stores, Dollar General, Ross, TJ Max, Big Lots, Fred's, Kirkland's and numerous local junk shops. Amazing what a little paint will do for a piece of junk. Oh - fabric. I upholstered 12 chair seats with 2 different coordinating fabrics for $35. Remnant Shop. Had enough left over fabric to make 2 throw pillows in each pattern.
I am kind of a crazy person when it comes to design. I love using old books, suitcases, hat boxes, trunks, old doors, old window frames and other crazy stuff that most people would throw away. I find a way to repurpose and incorporate.
You will never see my house in a designer magazine but I love it and it really is kind of crazy.
Any building is just enclosed space. If it is multi-story, it's just more enclosed space in the air. Yes, it should not offend the eyes.
Inside, it starts as space. The walls should not require a blow torch to clean. Furniture should be comfortable for the purpose intended, sitting, sleeping, etc. Decorations should have appeal to whomever shelters within the building. I have a wall in the utility room where I must still have some license for decor. There is a drawing of "Flower the Teddy Bear" my daughter made for me when she was in elementary school and a picture of Gandalf and Gimli the Dwarf with the Misty Mountains in the background ... I've had it for close to 40 years.
Accents, of course. Different cultures have enjoyed very different shelters. I'd prefer that smoke exits thru a chimney rather than thru roof boards, and rather have cooking elevated off the floor. Broth can be boiled in a basket with hot stones but there is a risk that I would choose the wrong stones ... those ignorant of the facts require greater safety.
I think whatever style you choose whether modern colonial, eclectic, it should be something that is comfortable to live with and practical.
Just like when you are choosing a plant or pot for a space. The plant has to fit in the pot with enough growing room and you need to choose the proper plants for the space. It is hard to grow a full sun plant in the house. If the pot is indoors you need to figure out how you are going to water and move it around to keep the floor clean.
Even the style of pot matters. If you are keeping pots in the house all of the time, it does look better if they are in the same style, either all the same color or form. Even eclectic does not usually mix too many styles or periods together.
Men and women have different priorities in terms of what they value. If men are not cooks, they don't really care how the kitchen is stocked. However, a cook may still lay out a kitchen differently from a baker.
Men seem to like to have a comfortable chair and a big screen tv on their list and also a place to display their hobbies whether it be fishing, golf, or hunting.
A friend of mine who liked to argue, he was a lawyer, had this ongoing battle with DW. He insisted that the toilet paper come off the front of the roll and not the back and he kept asking everyone their opinion over and over. I finally said that whoever changes the roll should get to choose and he stopped asking me.
Whatever choices you make, it should be something that fits your lifestyle and be comfortable.
I think the idea of a man vs woman home is only partly true, I think it is more about the individual.
My wife and I have similar tastes, although she can live with more clutter than I like. The big thing to us is to have a house that is comfortable, there are lots of places to sit and recline. We are both artistic and have our art work as well as having traded art with other artistes, we have been given art, so the house has plenty of art and statues around it. I want to make an out door room some day.
