Best Home Design: Decorating for Men

Men usually don't have that much say in the decorating of your home, do they? We think because if we leave it up to them all they will buy is big screen TVs and Lazy Boy chairs. Say what you will about stereotype. It exists because it's usually true.

So consider this a "Straight Women for Straight Guys" intervention. Furnishings can be very masculine and stylish at the same time. Here are some of our favorite furniture lines that have that combination:

Thomas O'Brien for Hickory Chair:
This line is what we would describe as modern American classic. Very clean-lined. Solid, neutral colors. A little bit pricey, but it's the kind of furniture that won't go out of style for a long time.

Michael Weiss for Vanguard Furniture

This is another one of our favorite collection. Manly, but not overly so. There are some soft touches in the details that we like. Less expensive than Thomas O'Brien, and the quality is just as nice.

Brownstone Furniture:

If you are looking for an affordable line with coordinating and matching items, Brownstone is a good choice. Very inexpensive. They just added a new upholstery collection, which is really nice. We like the upholstery collection a lot more than the casegoods (industry term for wood pieces).

Bolier Furniture

If your man likes really, really simple, clean-lined things he'll like this line. Pricey (more on the wood pieces than upholstery-the upholstery products are a bit more reasonable). It could be a little severe (because it's all straight lines and geometric and muted colors).

As always, warm up these rooms with accessories--such as rugs, artwork, fresh flowers, books etc. We can't emphasize enough what a huge difference this would make.

Most men are completetely clueless when it comes to home decorating (notice we said most, not all--we've seen some amazing homes decorated by men in our business).

Men tend to like masculine, non-fussy interiors. For this reason, we like Michael Weiss furniture the best. The price range for this line is fair and reasonable, and we particularly like the clean lines.

Here are a few examples of Michael Weiss furniture (made by Vanguard).

We like this modern poster bed for its paneled headboard. It's sleek, modern and warm.

We also like this upholstered leather bed for a more masculine look. The leather/nail heads can be customized. We've done it in black leather with polished nickel nailheads. It looks really slick.