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5 Myths About Masculine Interior Design

When you think of high-end interior design for your home, what automatically springs to mind?

Do you think about arranging your space so it invokes clarity and comfort?

Beauty and function?

Style and statement?

Now, let me ask you this: is interior design a fundamentally feminine or masculine service to seek out?

Because the funny thing is – and I say this from my many years of professional experience as an interior decorator – I see a lot of women opting for professional interior design services, and not a lot of men doing so.

And it’s not because men don’t care about their living spaces (in fact, I’d argue for quite the opposite), but rather, somewhere along the way, the gentlemen got sort of left out of the equation.

And I find this to be quite unfair.

After all, don’t refined gentlemen deserve stylish living spaces? Don’t modern men appreciate functional and aesthetically pleasing homes? Can’t mature, refined men have nice things?

Of course they can.

And they should.

But there is a lot of myth surrounding the art and science that is interior design that suggests that design and décor is strictly either a “feminine” thing or a “masculine” thing. And in doing this, the “masculine” side gets the short end of the stick.

I think it’s time to debunk the myths surrounding masculine interior design. In fact, I don’t even think there is such thing as feminine interior design and masculine feminine design: those are just subjective labels we’ve created for the sake of oversimplifying something that really should be for everyone, depending on their tastes and preferences.

Let’s toss out the labels, shall we?

Here are 5 myths about masculine interior design that need to go away, right now:

MYTH #1 – Masculine design is monochromatic

Guys, repeat after me – colour is good.

When did having manly décor mean that everything had to be the same colour (monochromatic)? You can add splashes of colour with accent pieces or you can embrace a colour palette without losing your masculine edge.

Many of the colour palettes presented to you by décor and design professionals will be decidedly feminine, but guess what? You can create a masculine colour palette from a standard colour palette with just a few tweaks.

Any interior decorator worth their salt can do this for you. See what we achieved in this decidedly masculine bedroom with bold pops of colour.

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MYTH #2 – All function and no style

Look, I get it. Men tend to be very goal-oriented.

That means everything has to serve a purpose, right?

But listen – you can have things that are not only useful, but also nice to look at.

Maybe they’re only nice to look at.

Maybe you have an object in your home that serves only one purpose, and that is to stir feelings of joy within you. That’s what living spaces do – they put you in a nice emotional state. That’s interior design and décor. That’s masculine interior design and décor.

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you fill your space with knick-knacks and clutter. You can, by all means, have a clean, functional space that is also adorned with select items that put style over function.

It’s ok to have something in your home just because it looks nice or makes you feel good. Really!

See here in the photos below, we have a spaces that boast a few ornate pieces, but they don’t over-power or clutter the room. They just lend to the room’s overall ambience.

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MYTH #3 – Restrict masculine design to the Man Cave.

Men… it’s time to get out of the man cave.

Really, you can have access to many rooms, maybe even a whole house!

If you sleep in it, it’s your room.

If you eat in it, it’s your room.

If you cook in it, it’s your room.

Go beyond the man cave, gentlemen.

Reach out.

Make your house – your whole house – your home.

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MYTH #4 – Have a solid theme and never mix themes

There’s this weird notion that masculine interiors have to strictly abide by a theme.

Themes are nice, but they can be overdone. And when they’re overdone, they become limiting.

Do not feel like your theme has to be 100% obvious and consistent throughout your space. Have fun with your themes and even go as far as to mix themes, if you so wish. You’re a complex, multi-faceted human being, so your décor is allowed to reflect that.

And by the way, guys, your theme(s) can be anything that inspires you as an individual. Don’t feel pressured to stick with the traditional nautical, bat cave, and sports bar motifs.

See here, we have a home I decorated for a music-lover. The music motifs and instruments don’t consume the presence of the home, instead they are a gentle part of the scenery and ambience.

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MYTH #5 – No florals, no textures

Now that I’ve earned your trust, I’ve saved the hardest myth for last.

Florals and textures belong in a man’s home. They can by all means be incorporated in ways that are not too feminine and will add spark to your living space.

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Let us help you rediscover your home! Contact Kristy Malone at Refining Design today!

tel. 416.735.3500
email. kristy@refiningdesign.ca