Design It Like a Man: Tips for Single Guys Planning a Bedroom

I’m always curious about gender differences when it comes to design. Being a man, I’m particularly on the lookout for styles that appeal to masculine tastes. But basically it’s a means with no end, because it’s impossible — and impractical — to lump all men into a category of style. Everyone is different.

But there are some similarities that tend to span the spectrum of what guys want — and that differ from women's tastes — when it comes to design. (These similarities are easier to spot with single guys, because the style is unadulterated by another person.) One is the way we talk about and describe design.

Nicole Hollis, an interior designer in San Francisco, has noticed that guys usually adopt a very specific vocabulary when describing what they want. Talk almost always turns to automotive design — fine leather, hand-crafted wood, unique stitching, polished metals. Feeling, color and texture gleaned from fine art are referred to as well, and so is technology design, like the sleek and minimalist look of the iPad.

If you’re a single guy trying to design, say, a bedroom — or if you’re designing a bedroom for a single man — there are a few things you’ll want to consider. To get your creative juices flowing, try to think of the best hotel room you've stayed in. “A lot of guys travel for business, and their only introduction to luxury spaces has been at hotels, so their requests tend to mimic those,” Hollis says.

It’s a good place to start. Hotel suites tend to be serene, have great beds and have minimalist design that speaks to efficiency, practicality and functionality — all hallmarks that form what many would call masculine design.

Here a bedroom designed by Hollis for a traveling bachelor in the finance industry recalls European hotel suites in which he stayed on business trips. A suede headboard, custom-made European oak bed and white cowhide rug soften the clean, minimalist design. Practical luggage racks at the end of the bed provide a place for the homeowner's suitcases.


Interior designer Shirley Meisels says the sleekness that guys seek should be softened just a tad, an approach she took when designing this Toronto bachelor pad. “A home has softer touches,” she says. “The bedroom should be a soft place to land at the end of a long day. Add a throw blanket and cushions, something comfortable and cozy. That’s what makes a house a home.”

Chair: Design Within Reach; bed: custom; rug: Elte


Tips for Single Guys Designing a Bedroom

Communicate your lifestyle. An interior designer will almost always start a project with an interview to get at the root of how you live. Do you travel a lot? Work a night shift? Do you need blackout curtains? Watch TV in bed? Turn on the news in the morning? This will dictate the layout and put focus on important elements in the room, like splurging on a top-of-the-line mattress as opposed to built-in audiovisual equipment.


Don't be selfish. How long do you plan to live alone? Sometimes it’s not a question of if someone else will move in but when. This goes for men and women. If you’re designing a space, you might want to think about how it will accommodate another person and his or her style. Should you include a full-length mirror? More closet space? A place for a blow dryer and curling iron in the bathroom? Will the colors, textures and furnishings appeal to others or just your own tastes?

Pillows: Ralph Lauren Home


Stick with neutral colors. Guys tend to feel more comfortable with a palette of white, gray and black. Think about adding color with a piece of artwork or an accessory rather than a big, splashy red wall or bright bedding. And be sure to balance out the neutrals. “Black and gray can be really harsh for a bedroom, so I try to make it feel cozier,” Meisels says. “To soften that I introduce natural materials like linen, wool and natural stone.”

Mirrors, nightstands, Amelia bed, lamps, rug: High Fashion Home


Don’t skimp on the mattress. Many guys travel a lot for work and aren’t home very much. Having a calm and serene bedroom and, most important, a comfortable bed to come home to should be a top priority. OK, you might not want to drop $32,000 for a queen-size mattress like this Hastens, but you get the idea. Invest in your sleep, bro.


Consider your audiovisual equipment. Meisels gets a lot of requests to incorporate technology into guys’ bedroom designs. But having a TV and gaming consoles in your bedroom can disrupt sleep, so make sure these devices can easily be put away when it's bedtime.

TV cabinets, built-in wall systems and screens that drop down from the ceiling are all worth considering.


Display your stuff. Hollis notes that in her experience, men tend to collect more things than women — surfboards, vintage guitars, stereo equipment and old cameras — and they always want to display them proudly. Think about the things you collect and how you will want to incorporate them into your design.


Follow function. Guys want a place for everything. We want the plugs right in the bedside table for our phones and devices. We want a spot for the remote right on the nightstand, and we want big dressers and closet systems for our clothes.

Figure out where your devices will go and make sure you have a place for them. “If I tell a guy, ‘This is where you put your shoes,’ that’s where he’ll put his shoes forever,” Hollis says. “They like that programming in the house so they don’t have to think about organizing.”

Hollis created this space for a young doctor. He works night shifts and needed a dark space suitable for sleeping during the day. Floor-to-ceiling drapes, a dark brown sisal carpet and warm wood do the job.

Carpet: Stark Carpet; drapes: Martin Kobus; dresser: Restoration Hardware; pendant lights: Leucos; bed: custom

Photo by Ben Mayorga

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