Have you just bought your first home and are completely stuck on how to begin designing it, or are you finally looking to upgrade your childhood bedroom? Firstly congratulations – it’s so exciting to get stuck into the world of interior design for the first time. This is your chance to show off your taste and personality! If you’re looking for mens decor inspo and mens bedroom ideas, and you’re not getting many interesting results in your search – let me help you! This guide will help you get started if you’re wondering:

• How to design a bachelor pad
• How to design a mens bedroom
• How to design a single mans house
• How to design a mens dorm room

I’m going to show you some different masculine interior design styles – simply figure out which one you want and then go on your merry googling way! If you like one in particular then leave a comment and I’ll be happy to do a deeper dive on the topic along with some further product suggestions for your space that you can either purchase or that can help narrow down your search.

Industrial mens decor

The Vibe: Inspired by loft apartments in the city – think major cosmopolitan cities such as New York, London or Berlin

Materials: Brick, metal and concrete

Industrial interior design is inspired by the large factories of the 50s and 60s, hence the term ‘industrial’. The trend was actually triggered when swathes of factories were shut down and re-marketed as residential spaces – think trendy loft apartments and downtown restaurants. Industrial anything is typically seen as masculine, so this style is an obvious choice when deciding on a mens decor style.

It is all about incorporating building materials into the design of the room, exposing them and finding beauty in them. Your home is created from wood, metal, brick and concrete so those should be the elements that you focus on, exposing them instead of hiding them behind dry wall, and making a design feature out of them. You will also have the opportunity to play with salvaged and recycled materials.

Another typical feature of an industrial decor are industrial windows or glassware. These are typically characterised by shards of glass in between black square, metal frames. If you have this style of window in your home already – well, congratulations! Lucky you! If not, there are many ways to recreate the look.

You can start by painting your windows frames black and adding thin black tape in a checkered pattern across the window. If you’re in a rental, or you simply can’t be bothered with the effort, there are other items on the market, such as wardrobes and bookshelves, which follow a similar style, and can more than compensate for more typical windows.

Key moments: industrial bookcase, metal bed frame, exposed brick wall (or wallpaper), concrete accents

Mid century modern mens decor

Vibe: Mad men, wild west, retro

Materials: Wood and leather

Whilst mid-century modern has held it’s own in the interior design world since, well, the mid century, it experienced a bit of a revival due to the series ‘Mad Men’. This style is known for it’s retro shapes, brighter colours, and sometimes almost western characteristics.

During the mid century a slew of iconic leather chair designs came to market, with many still holding incredible popularity today. Particularly recognisable is the Eames Lounge chair, which has become a classic mens decor item, and can add style and class to any design. However, it also comes with a price tag – luckily there are equally gorgeous leather chairs on the market from retailers such as Ikea or Wayfair.

Look for leather cushion with wood handles, and modern angles. The mid century chair will often be lower than your average arm chair, with a design that gives the appearance of leaning.

Key moments: leather lounge chairs, bold rugs, house plants

Modern rustic mens decor

Vibe: woody cabin, hunting, forests

Materials: Wood, fur throws

You’ll be familiar with this style which is popular across the northern hemisphere – where there are forests, there are cabins, where there are cabins, there are modern rustic interior decors! Sometimes called ‘Chalet interior’, other times ‘Cabin style’, this can sometimes be a tricky one to pin down.

This style is superbly comfy, and is the ideal space to spend time during a winters night – but if designed well can also be a pretty pleasant place to spend time on a summers day as well. Think lots of throws, in both thick wools and faux furs and faux deer skins.

You may not have your hands on a wooden cabin, but that does not mean you can’t recreate the modern rustic home from elsewhere – maybe even an apartment in the city. Adding wood panelling to the floor and walls, and (if ceiling height allows) also adding in some wooden beams can quickly transform your urban abode into a stunning cabin.

In terms of colour palette, natural colours that mirror pine trees, the midnight sky, wood and rock will look beautiful together, paired with wall art depicting natural landscapes. A modern rustic decor will also have some elements of animal fur, or animal heads, as a nod to the days of hunting lodges – but I urge you to choose fake versions over real, to avoid needless suffering to our furry friends.

Key moments: FAKE animal heads and fur, wooden bedframe, log bedside table

Wabi Sabi mens decor

Vibe: Zen, unique, mountains, etc

Materials: Concrete, bamboo, rock

Japanese design has been trending for a while now in the western hemisphere, with Japandi designs coming into the foray in recent years (read more here, if you’d like to learn about Japandi). The newest Japanese interior decor style to come into western consciousness is the Wabi Sabi style – which Wikipedia defines as ‘a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.’

In Wabi Sabi we see a focus on assymetry, materials in their natural state and a general minimalist outlook. This focus on imperfection and assymetry also ensures that no two spaces are ever the same, and you are truly able to make your space a unique environment for yourself and your guests to enjoy.

This is a particularly popular mens decor in particular due to it’s minimalist nature, there are rarely additional bits of wall art or sculptures around. As this is a Japanese style, if there is decor added there is a tendency to add decor which subtly nods to the far east, with the use of materials such as bamboo and a colour palette that would do well in traditional japenese homes.

Key moments: Assymetrical mirror, bamboo/rattan lighting and linens

Modern luxury mens decor

Vibe: City billionaire! Balkan ogligarch, 5* hotels

Materials: Velvet, mirror, satin

This style is all the rage at 5* hotels in all major cities, and for good reason. You can feel the sophistication pouring into your soul the minute you step into this place, evoking memories of swanky hotel bars and restaurants with 2 year waiting lists.

Whilst this mens decor style is popular with billionaires, that doesn’t mean there aren’t affordable ways of recreating it in your own home. As long as you know where to spend money on higher quality materials, the rest you can get access to relatively cheaply.

The key with this design style is statement lighting, statement headboards and high quality wallpapers – the rest is actually pretty minimal, albeit everything is done with high quality materials and excellent worksmanship.

In terms of colour palette, muted, tonal colours look best, alongside grey. Think muted turquoise and purple silks pillows with velvet seating, alongside monochrome everything else. The emphasis is certainly not on the natural when it comes to this design, with very little wood, or stone being visible.

Key moments: velvet chesterfield pouffes, ottomans and beds. Satin bedding. Statement lighting.

If you’re looking for more inspo for any of these styles – a great place to start is my pinterest, where I have inspiration boards dedicated to each style. If you’d like to check it out, you can follow this link.