Guys, we’re talking to you today. And we want to be perfectly honest. Your bachelor pad may be scaring people away.
Consider this, you’ve spent hours scoping out the beautiful lady across the bar or in the office next door, and you’ve finally worked up enough courage to ask her out on a date. The date goes well, awesome! But then you’re embarrassed to take her back to your apartment. Even if it was tidied up, you know (and we know) she’d still be scared off.
We’re here to help! Here are the 8 updates you must make to your bachelor pad so you and your guests will feel the most comfortable. And, no, we’re not talking about which color bean bag chair matches your favorite sports team color the best, or just how big of a TV can you fit on your living room wall. We’re talking about ideas for the mature single guy; the staple items a man should have in his home that are timeless and appealing.
8 – A place to eat besides your couch
Dining tables come in all styles, sizes, finishes, and budgets. Figure out how much room you have for a table (we recommend about 3 feet from the table to the wall or other obstructions to make sure it’s comfortable for everyone while seated). How may people will you have over for meals – is it mostly just you with the occasional guest (table for two!), or do you have your kids over sometimes and want them to feel welcome at your place with have all the comforts of home they’re used to (table for 4 or more?). If you don’t already have a dining table or at least a knack for entertaining, you likely won’t be needing anything too large, but if that’s your thing, go for it!
If you’re lucky, your place may already have a kitchen island for bar height seating. Great! Pull up a few bar stools and, *Instant Dining Area* (just make sure your stools are the right height, counters are often built in one of several standard heights – check out our post Choosing the Right Bar Stool Height for Your Counters).
7 – While we’re talking about eating, you need dishes, glasses and silverware
I hope you’ve graduated from the red solo cups, 3 mismatched plates from goodwill and whatever plastic silverware you can find leftover from the drive-thru by now and at least own a few wine glasses and real forks. If not, it’s time. You don’t need anything fancy, basic white plates, bowls, mugs; a set of matching glasses (wine glasses, too) and full sets of silverware will do the trick. Stick with plain white so it’s easier to find a replacement if one gets broken.
IKEA, CB2, or even Target have the basics that won’t break the bank, but also won’t send your *new friend* running when it’s time to serve breakfast and juice in the morning. Aim for 6-8 place settings, just in case you happen to have a group over for dinner.
6 – A Bar
Okay, now you have some glasses, maybe some bar ware and a few decent bottles of liquor. You need a place to keep it all. Invest in a sturdy piece of furniture (you don’t want a rowdy night with friends to end in your rickety bar cart getting nudged and all your glasses and bottles crashing to the floor). Think outside just a built-in wet bar (though those are great, too), but consider a sideboard or a freestanding bar cabinet.
Please – Please don’t fill an entire wall with your collection of empty Jagger bottles circa 2001-2015, or your 67 shot glasses from every bar you’ve been to on vacation. Display only what you use regularly and like. It should be a reflection of your personal style and tastes as well as a functional piece of furniture.
5 – You need Art on your walls
Maybe you spend most of your time at home watching the game on your 60″ TV, but if the rest of your walls are bare, your place is seriously lacking in style.
Now, you don’t need to have a curated gallery of pictures of your family or original works of art, but if you still have your college posters taped to the wall, please take those down!
Make sure your art is large enough to appropriately fill the wall (don’t just hang a single 5×7 photograph on a large wall), and, most importantly, hang art that reflects your style. Do you love to travel? Hang enlarged photos from your trip, or find images of places you’d love to go someday! Do you like modern art? There are excellent resources to find prints or original art on any budget (for more art ideas, see 4 New Ways to Use Art as a Design Statement in Your Home).
4 – Lighting Options
Lighting can do wondrous things to the way you feel in your home. If you have the right lighting plan, you can flip a switch for a bright work light, change it up for a romantic dining experience, and dim it down for a great moving-watching experience! Correct lighting can improve your mood, and make you look better. Now, maybe you don’t plan to do widely varying activities in every room in your house, or maybe you don’t have the budget for a ton of lighting schemes. But a couple of key lights can really make a difference.
- Reading lamps by the bed – while most bedrooms have an overhead light or two, the switches are not often next to the bed. Turning on a bedside lamp and the overhead light off gives a sub-conscious signal to your brain that it’s time to wind down for bed, and can lead to a better night’s sleep. (It also feels more romantic – if that’s what you’re going for!)
- Plenty of bright lighting in areas you do work. If you have a home office or desk area, make sure there’s enough lighting there so you aren’t straining your eyes to see. Also, your kitchen needs plenty of lighting to make sure you can see everything you’re cutting and cooking.
- Softer lighting for dining and relaxation areas. There’s a reason most traditional dining rooms have a light above the table and restaurants typcially dim the lights just before dinner service, you want enough lighting for seeing the food and eating, but having that fixture on a dimmer switch can help you completely change the ambiance depending on who your dinner guests are.
3 – A mirror with good lighting
One more area that needs to have the lights addressed is a place for you (and your guests) to make sure you’re presentable to go in public. Add a mirror near the front door with a light source above to check your clothes and hair on your way out the door. You will make sure you’re always looking your best when you leave the house, and your lady friends will definitely appreciate this when they come over.
2 – Bedroom Furniture
If you aren’t a recent college graduate, you need to have your mattress up off the floor. Also, make sure you have a place to put away your clothes. Though you will likely only have a few guests visit your bedroom, often those are the most important guests. You want your place to be a peaceful place that reflects your style and shows that you are an adult.
Start with a bed, not just a metal bed frame. It’s great if it has a headboard, or you can add art above the bed if you’d prefer that over a headboard. A night stand on each side of the bed (which is a great place to put those reading lamps we talked about earlier), at least somewhere to put your phone at night. And last, a dresser or chest of drawers to put away your clothes. Of course you can add more furnishings if space & budget allows, but start with the basics.
1 – Bedding
Your comfort, and your guests comfort starts with good bedding. At the minimum you should have a set of white sheets (the best quality for your budget), 2 pillows for you, 2 pillows for a potential guest, and a comforter. Bonus points if you have a second set of sheets, a down comforter, a duvet cover and decorative pillows, but those are up to you, your style and your budget.
If you’ve just ended a long-term relationship, that’s a good time to invest in new bedding as well. No need to be reminded of the past every night when you go to bed and every morning when you wake up. A crisp, fresh, clean set of bedding can really set you on the right foot for the day ahead.
We hope these ideas will help you update your bachelor pad, whatever your style. Our goal is to make you and your guests to feel relaxed and at home in your space.
If you’re still having trouble with where to begin, want some ideas on how to pull it all together, or are looking for someone else to do it for you, we’re here to help! Call or email our designers at Interiors by The Sewing Room today!
(309) 755-0045
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