This article is for anyone who wants to go the opposite direction and have a living room that strikes all the right masculine notes. We’ll show you how to accessorize and decorate the perfect masculine living room from the ground up. See below for our top tips on building out a masculine living room.
This article is for anyone who wants to go the opposite direction and have a living room that strikes all the right masculine notes. We’ll show you how to accessorize and decorate the perfect masculine living room from the ground up. See below for our top tips on building out a masculine living room.
First, we will go over your options for flooring if you are starting with a blank slate. If you are in an apartment or another situation where new flooring is not in the cards, see below for masculine rug ideas. A timeless choice for masculine flooring for your living room would be a richly colored dark wood floor. Dark hardwood flooring is back in style in many modern homes. Maple and hickory are always popular choices for masculine floors. Look for stains in clear, dark brown, or charcoal grey. One up to the minute style to consider is hardwood planks in a chevron pattern. Get online for inspiration and bring your phone with your favorite looks to the store or to your contractor to match.
Alternatively you could go for wood look tile planks, which will lack a bit of the warmth and texture of real wood, but make up for it with low maintenance and durability compared to wood floors. If you do opt for a wood or tile living room floor, getting the proper cleaning tools is key, especially if you have pets. Carpets help you out a little by hiding pet hair and dust. With bare floors, you will want to either vacuum regularly (get a vacuum with a bare floor setting if you don’t already have one) or use a dust mop. Either of these options will help you keep your bare floors tidy.
If you prefer the look or feel of carpet, let’s talk about some masculine carpet looks that are trending this year. Again sticking with the dark, rich or neutral colors, you could look at carpet tiles, carpet planks, and area rugs.
Carpet tiles are exactly what they sound like, carpet squares about 1.5 feet wide by 1.5 feet long that you can mix and match or lay a whole room in one solid color. The advantages are: the ability to swap out tiles if one becomes too worn or stained, ease of installation, and endless possibilities for patterns. Try a checkered pattern, random placement of a few coordinated colors, or a “rug” in the center of the room with one color and a different color on the perimeter.
Just like carpet tiles but with long rectangular planks instead of square tiles, carpet planks are just another option if you prefer the look. The longer narrow planks are a more trendy, up to the minute style option.
No matter what kind of flooring you’re starting with, whether it’s wood, carpet, tile, or something else, you can instantly update the look and feel with an area rug that covers a large portion of the floor space. The right area rug can anchor a room and give you a foundation for building the style of the rest of the room. Look for a rug that is large enough to extend from under the front legs of your sofa and past your coffee table. We recommend no smaller than the 5 x 7 ft size area rugs for any living room. Make sure to use a rug pad for grip if you have a hardwood or tile floor under the rug, to prevent movement and slipping. To give a unique look to your living room, try a round black (or other dark colored) rug over a wood or tile floor. The curved lines on a circular rug are striking and unusual, and will add visual interest to your living room.
Paint is one of the cheapest and most dramatic ways to change the look of your living room. If you are currently living in an apartment and can’t paint, there’s often not much you can do to the walls other than hanging art or other decorations on them. If that’s the case for you, see the masculine art tips below.
If you are in a place where you can paint the walls, you have a lot of options and your ultimate decision will be based on what colors you are already using for furniture and decor. If you already own a favorite art print or say, a sectional that you love, find a color that complements those items. If you need inspiration, look on Google Images, Pinterest, or in men’s magazines for ideas. Pick a few colors that you like and take home samples from the paint store. Paint a large 3 x 3 ft patch on your wall with each color. Spend a few days looking at the colors throughout the day and in different light to get an idea of how it will look in the room.
Once you’ve decided on a paint color, properly prep the room and walls. Move all furniture to the center of the room. Lay drop cloths or plastic to protect floors and furniture from paint drops. Tape off the baseboards and ceiling (we like Frogtape). Use a paint primer, trust us, especially if you are painting over anything but white. Plan on painting two coats on your walls. Use a roller for the centers and a brush for fine work along the edges, baseboards, and ceilings. Feature walls are one other option if you want to try a dark dramatic color such as black but don’t want to paint the whole room.
If you are looking for an original, ‘out there’ masculine look, consider wallpaper on your walls. Brands such as Graham & Browne have many stylish masculine takes on traditional patterned wallpaper that can be found online. There are also cool new mural style peel and stick wallpapers that can cover your wall in a photograph or high quality art print. Brands such as RoomMates have masculine designs on HomeDepot.com.
Masculine furniture comes in many forms. Looking for masculine furniture online will almost always lead you to a tufted leather lounge chair or sofa. For a less expensive option, there are many quality faux leather sofas coming out in the last few years. While the leather look is a classic style that almost always looks great, you can branch out from leather if you prefer the softer look and feel of a fabric couch. A high quality dark microfiber couch (or sectional if your room is big enough) will feel comfortable, look great, and be easy to clean even after many years of use. If you have pets, consider getting your couches and chairs in colors that will blend with your pets hair to keep it from looking overly dirty in between vacuumings. Try a fabric side chair if you have a leather couch or a leather side chair with a fabric couch both in contrasting colors for an interesting and modern look.
Wood and metal are classic masculine choices for coffee table material. If your living room is small, a glass coffee table works well to take up less visual space and gives a modern, clean finish.
The right decor can make or break your living room style, and this is one area where a lot of men fail to achieve the masculine vibe they are looking for. Choose great curtains for your windows. Find a color that complements your paint and furniture and put curtains on your windows even if you already have blinds.
Hang things on your walls, whether it be a collection that you have (vintage hats, antlers, guitars) or art prints. If you don’t have anything to hang yet, let’s go over some tips to find the right art for your living room. First think about size. The most common place to hang a piece of art is on the wall behind your couch. You could go for one large piece (no smaller than 18 x 24” for most couches) or two to three smaller pieces in a line. Hang the art at your eye level over the couch. Many people make the mistake of hanging too high. Look around at your furniture and other decor, if you have a lot of colors and loud items, choose art in one of the more neutral tones of the room. If the room is already covered in neutrals, you can choose more bold artwork. Black and white is always a striking and masculine option.
No matter your current setup, you can infuse your living room with masculine vibes using our tips above. Remember that doing it right can take time and a willingness to invest in quality items. Let your imagination go wild, look for inspiration online, and don’t forget to enjoy the process!
