Whether you just graduated from college or are downsizing as a newly single man, comfort is key when it comes to furnishing the perfect bachelor pad. You may not have a burning interest in interior decorating, but all you need are a few simple bachelor pad ideas to help you zero in on the right colors, furnishings, and accessories for your new look.
“There is no written rulebook that says a bachelor pad has to look like a man owns it,” says Kerrie Kelly, interior designer with Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, “although the average man does want his masculinity to show in creative touches.”
Browse this guide to learn how to create a manly space for yourself, one room at a time.
The Painted Pad
Take your white walls up a notch with an accent of color. To add a more masculine feel to a space with plain white walls, Kelly suggests finishing one wall with your choice of decorative wood paneling, which always contrasts well with white.
You could also accent a wall or two with paint using a fresh gender-neutral color. To get a feel for what’s new, turn to color experts and paint companies that announce color forecasts every year with savvy, versatile hues that may be ideal for bachelor pads. For example, consider a midnight blue to mix with crisp whites, soft grays, and the metals often found in a bachelor pad.
In functional spaces like living rooms, a statement blue color creates a subtle visual impact with an aura of relaxation, but it also inspires unplugging and spending more quality time with family and friends. It doesn’t create too much of a masculine or feminine mood, according to Ashley Banbury, a designer at Pratt & Lambert Paints.
The Comfortable Cave
One word that speaks to a man is leather. One large leather piece, such as a sectional sofa, anchors a space while adding a timeless, classic masculine feel to a room. Kelly suggests adding a seagrass wall or a stone fireplace mantle surround to provide a striking textural backdrop for leather furniture pieces. To finish the room, add accent rugs or artwork with bright colors. If you’re unsure of your artistic style, renting is a popular way to try artwork on for size.
The High-Performance Bedroom
Toss all clichés aside and decorate your bedroom to suit your tastes, but don’t forget to give a little consideration to your sleep performance. Choose a top-quality mattress that allows you to get your best night’s sleep every night to ensure you reach your peak potential every day. Add bedding with masculine patterns, such as geometrics, or stick with solid colors in textures like flannel and suede. Bachelor pad bedroom colors are key for setting the mood, so consider warm and neutral hues with intermittent strikes of rich color in artwork, lamps, and rugs.
The Efficient Kitchen
Bachelor living may bring to mind stereotypical images of messy kitchens and clothing-strewn rooms, but that doesn’t have to be the case in your home. Kelly offers another important tip to men decorating a new home. “The modern bachelor pad is all about simplicity,” she says, emphasizing the kitchen. “The less there is in the pad, the easier it is to keep clean and organized.”
Although a renovation to add more cabinetry and storage may not be in the cards to create a man-centered kitchen, there are other options. If you like to cook and entertain, proudly hang your cookware on the wall or from a rack, and display barware to dazzle your guests while giving you more storage room in your cabinets for items with less visual appeal. When you can replace countertops or add a kitchen table-and-chair set, go for masculine furniture pieces like rugged wood, stone, or sleek metal materials, depending on your style.
The Power Shower
You may not spend that much time in the bathroom, but you may have guests that enjoy spa-like treatment. Extend patterns and colors from the rest of the house into the bathroom, and opt for darker colored coordinated towels, bath sheets, and accessories in whites, blacks, and grays. The one accessory you may want to splurge on is the shower head. A multi-spray rain shower head with customizable spray patterns and lighting can transform your bachelor pad bathroom into the most invigorating bathroom on the block.
Incorporate Entertaining Elements
Many bachelor pad ideas include entertaining as a key design element. Bachelor living might mean you reside alone, but as a result you may find yourself regularly welcoming guests. To keep guests comfortable, aim to style every room with entertaining in mind. For instance, keep a bar cart handy in the living room, and make sure there’s plenty of seating in the kitchen. If your bachelor pad furniture feels stark or cold, use soft materials like plush throw blankets or velvet pillows to add an element of warmth and comfort that will have friends and family feeling right at home.
If you’re still not sure where to begin or you just can’t seem to decide on a style, CORT Furniture Rental offers easy solutions to get you started. Rent items by the piece to finish a room, or start completely from scratch and rent an entire household of furniture.
