Because why not?
A Man’s Kitchen
While assumption has always been that the kitchen is the realm of women, there are few things as masculine as preparing food that you’ve provided. I have an uncle who practically wouldn’t allow his wife to cook because he took so much pride in his culinary creations.
If you are a cooking man, your kitchen should reflect that. After all, it’s part of your castle and should appear that way.
Feminists and misandrists can talk about all the negative connotations between men and violence, but violence is a necessary part of life. We’re just lucky enough to live in a time when we outsource our violence to police and slaughter yards. But if/when things take a turn for the worse, individual men may be responsible for their own violence again and it will be something we had damn well better be able to control.
So until then, proudly display your knives or whatever manly things you can find that are associated with your cooking. Not only does it look better, you’ll probably have easier access as well.
And for those of you who aren’t Top Chef material but want to be, check out Chef in Jeans.
Embrace Your Boyishness
There should be nothing childish about the way a man dresses. The same goes with the car he drives or the office in which he works. These are all the realms of serious business and should be taken seriously. But when a man comes home, he should be able to embrace an element of the little boy he used to be.
I found this picture yesterday and it immediately appealed to me. In my head this man grew up in California and was obsessed with the movie Jaws when it came out. He couldn’t stop watching it even though he couldn’t sleep at night after doing so and the movie fostered a deep obsession with all predatory sea animals. This man had books about sharks and posters in his room. Whenever he’d go to the beach he’d get in the water with a mix of trepidation and excitement, both hoping for and against a shark sighting that day.
The story is probably false, but if it were true, I bet this man grins every time he sees that drawing on his wall.
I’ll do the same with a big dinosaur in my home because when I was four I’d tell everyone I was going to be a paleontologist when I grew up and I can only look back on that aspect of my childhood with fondness. I want that waiting for me when I get home each day.
Displayed Round
Better Basketball
One of the most used images when it comes to men designing their offices or homes is the toy basketball hoop over the trash can or hanging on the back of the door.
Now, I’m not a big sports guy but I understand the appeal of having one of these in your office. It gives your hands something to do while your brain is working hard. The problem with buying one that’s designed for it is how manboyish it looks. I hate misandric stereotypes as much as the next guy (who’s aware of them) and don’t like perpetuating them. So I think there’s a better way to do it.
I occasionally will check out a site called Apartment Therapy. Mostly it’s a hipster site run by women for women, but you can find the occasional good idea in there. I saw this one a couple of months ago and thought about adjusting it to what I was talking about above.
Most everything in this whole house tour is as SWPL as it comes. The whole site. But just because something’s SWPL doesn’t mean it’s not usable. I like the vintage basketball hoop they have on the wall. I would imagine if you found one like that at an old abandoned school or garage sale you could slap it above your door or over the garbage can – just make it look better.