Suitable for gentlemen
Borders that imitate grosgrain ribbon are produced by dragging a comb through black paint.
Fine lines that imitate pinstripes are drawn using a dressmaker's chalk pencil.
Inspired by the fine textures and tones of men's suit fabrics, this bedroom is a perfect combination of masculinity and softness.
I’m often asked how best to go about decorating for men. It can be a bit of a conundrum. Men know what they don’t like, or what they are not supposed to like, but when put to the test, are not so sure of what they do like. If you are battling with this decorating dilemma, there is a clever way around it. (This works for women, too.) Look in his closet. How does he dress? Check out his suits, ties, shirts and sweaters. If he likes to wear it, he’ll want to live in it. There is a comfort level in decorating, as there is in the way we dress.
Colors and fabrics that we are drawn to are those that personify our lifestyle choices.
I received a letter from a reader who was inspired by a show we did that featured a young man’s bedroom we decorated around menswear.
There is great beauty in gentlemen’s suit fabrics. Visit a fine men’s clothing store and discover the pinstripes, houndstooth checks and flannels in every tone of gray, brown, navy and black. The home-decorating industry discovered their richness, and these fabrics are being used to upholster furniture, and for curtains, cushions and bedding.
For the bedroom shown here, the walls were textured with a tinted plaster in a manly gray. The room was plain, with no moldings or trim, so I edged each wall and corner with a paint effect to give the illusion that lengths of grosgrain ribbon finished off each wall. To imitate the look of grosgrain ribbon, I taped off a 1-inch border down each corner edge and around the ceiling. Using a small brush, I filled in the taped-off spaces with black paint, and while it was still wet I dragged through the paint with a comb, pulling vertically along the ceiling borders and horizontally along the wall borders.
To carry on the theme, I transformed a dated wood-veneer desk to resemble pinstripe fabric. I first sanded and primed the top. Because I wanted a solid black basecoat, I added a bit of black paint to the primer. This will help you to get full coverage, but you can always add a third coat of black if it’s not solid. For the pinstripes, I drew straight lines two inches apart using a metal ruler and dressmaker’s chalk pencil. To protect your work you must use spray varnish, as brushing over the chalk lines will blur or erase them.
The bed cushions are easy-sew projects. One cushion is the same flannel fabric as the curtains. Cut the front piece 2 inches wider than the back and make a 1-inch pleat with the excess fabric down the middle. Sew the pleat closed, press it flat to the fabric and sew buttons down the pleat to resemble a button fly on an old-fashioned pair of trousers. The pinstripe pillow has white overstitching and two blazer buttons as accents. Standard white pillowcases were trimmed with the same grosgrain ribbon I used behind the rows of pictures hung on the wall above the bed. The room was a huge success!
This bedroom is featured in “Debbie Travis’ Painted House Bedrooms,” by Debbie Travis with Barbara Dingle, published by Clarkson Potter.
Please email your questions to house2home@debbietravis.com.