Manned-Up Bedrooms

Décor can reflect gender in very direct ways as these masculine bedrooms show.

As one of the most intimate rooms in the house, bedrooms say a lot about comfort and who’s in charge. In these three masculine bedrooms there’s a real guy-thing going — which I don’t see very often. So I’m naturally intrigued by what helps each of  them transmit that vibe. Color, style, window treatments  and accessories play key roles in creating a specific mood.

Often it’s a neutral color. The symmetrical, gold-embossed natural leather folding screen sets the mood in this wonderfully streamlined bedroom by Stephen Sills and James Huniford. Think of how the same room would look if the screen was yellow or green floral? Or even black lacquer?  The simplicity of the bedcovering, no-frills natural fiber area rug and additional spare furnishings read as the opposite of “girly.”

Sometimes it’s texture. Belgian fashion designer Edouard Vermeulen’s stunning guest room  seems inspired by the old-fashioned reddish-brown cordovan leather and  the kind of shoes worn by the pre-Nike generation. Those leather-covered side chairs and Baroque-style bureau even look shoe-polished, no? A bleached-white wood floor sets off  the walls dramatically and  the soft peach-color bed cover and wing chair are just variations on the theme.

Or it can be pattern. The bedroom  in a famous London house that once belonged to the 19th century dandy Beau Brummell (TCM sometimes airs the 1954 namesake movie starring Stewart Granger and Elizabeth Taylor) was, for some fifty years, the “his” room for an aristocratic couple who had separate sleeping arrangements.  Back and beige striped wallpaper evokes men’s suit fabric and old-school ties. That certainly provides a handsome backdrop for ebony accents of framed art on the bed wall. Floral stripes of the curtains and bedspread are definite softeners but the dark wood tones of the table and bureau clearly have a “men’s club” attitude.  Another light floor – this time pale wall-to-wall carpeting – seems key to keeping such a dark room from taking on a cave-like quality.

(Sources:  Maison Francaise, WOI, sillshuniford)

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