“Ask Men’s” Metrosexual Manor

Johnny Testa gave me a shout about a virtual showhouse designed just for men by Ask Men Magazine. The article takes a look at what exactly would signify a man’s dream house.

I am, in turn, asking everyone if they agree with their premise that, “only a guy could live here.”

The house is very hip, spare and cool. But I beg to differ that it’s just for men. I might fancy myself living here. I especially like the fact that there isn’t a large screen TV and giant surround sound speakers competing with the clean lines. I love the color palette and, especially, the living room carpet.

So what’s the bidet doing in the bathroom? I suppose I’m missing something there. That’s okay. Once again, great job – it’s beautiful – er, in a manly way.

Ah, there’s the giant TV. In the bedroom. Still, aside from the bunker-like aspect of the walls, I would move in in a heartbeat. Might have to girly up the bedroom just a tad.

I wish my office looked like this. It might if I cleaned it up. Once again, great use of color and I love the art.

So I’m asking my readers for their expert opinion. I’d especially love to hear the opinion of my cousin, Gordon. He’s a tug boat captain in New York harbor, owns a house in New England, and loves Dwell Magazine. So this is right up his alley. What say yee, Gordon?

And to everyone else? Is this a place only a man could love? What would you change? Ladies, would you like to live here? Let’s chat.

Chair of the Day: David Pompa’s Surreal Minimalism

Speaking of mandecorating (see post, below), I’m thinking that this Surreal Minimalist chair is just the thing for those late night¬†wild parties study groups.

Need I say more?

Well, I will say that this was designed by David Pompa, a recent graduate of Kingston University, in London. If you read his biography you’ll understand that he’s accomplished a lot in the short years he’s been working. He’s also a Mexican/Austrian hunk. But that’s just my opinion.

When I first saw this chair, which he sent me, I thought it was a tad silly. But maybe there’s more to it. (It’s certainly well made.) Maybe there’s something I’m missing.

Can someone fill me in?

Mandecorating the Eco-Friendly Way

Here’s something for Chris, and all other college students who buy a house which they rent out to roommates in order to pay the mortgage. It’s a great idea. It offers a way to learn about the responsibilities of home ownership and get a head start into the wonderful world of mandecorating.

Every man cave needs wall art. It’s especially nice if it’s manly in an eco-friendly way. These wallstickers from Toifu are a nice way to create that much-needed focal point without having to harm a real animal.

This series of Toifu stickers are the first products from Swiss designers, Ala Ramildi and Ren?© Etienne Keller, the founders of ala webstatt, a studio for illustration and interaction design based in Zurich, Switzerland. The stickers come in a variety of sizes.

I’m also liking these coasters and house numbers. They’re made, respectively, from recycled vinyl records and street signs. Find them at Eco-Artware. The coasters are $20 for a set of six. The street numbers come in three sizes and range from $120 – $200 each.

Chair of the day: Man decorating style

Forget Mars. Most men must be from Pluto. That’s pretty much the only way I can explain today’s “chair” of the day. Only a man would look at a perfectly functional toilet seat and come to the conclusion that it would be improved if only it had LED lights embedded in it.

It fits the following manly definitions of a good idea. 1) It’s ‘inventive’. 2) It solves a heretofore unrecognized problem – finding the toilet in the dark. 3) It’s ‘different’. 4) It wastes energy. (Men like things that use batteries or plug into the wall.)

Best of all, it’s available in more than one color.

Wouldn’t the green model be perfect for Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day? The scariest thing about this item, from our friends at Best Lighting Solutions, is that I bet many men, upon installing this nifty item, would actually look forward with pride to introducing some fellow males to their ‘discovery’.

For my own part, I’d rather not be sitting on a source of live electricity. My life is exciting enough as it is.

Outdoor Decorating

This is Misterarthur, filling in while Jennifer (who actually knows about design) gets a hip examination. Men have definite points of view on outdoor decorating. We’re happiest when we can use equipment, you see. The bigger, noisier, and more dangerous, the better. We’d jump for joy at the prospect of a nuclear powered hedge clipper, or a steam powered lawn mower, I’m sure.

Men like symmetry and straight lines.

Where women are happy arranging different kinds of flowers in lovely decorative pots, men are more interested in using machines to make precise edges.

If not that, then we’ll settle for a geometric-in-its-perfection hedge.

And above all, we want a lawn that is more like an outdoor rug than something one would find in nature.

If we can’t have things the way we want them, we tend to give up entirely. And park cars in our yards.

This all makes sense, really. Men probably invented junk yards, too.