The Crib, Pt. II

  Okay, guys.  So Memorial Day weekend is here, and you’re spending it alone.  It might be because your new apartment is a wreck.  Instead of drinking away this three-day weekend like you do every summer, put a little time into making your apartment a little more inviting to the ladies.

  Last week I talked to Laura Day, an interior designer on TLC’s “Trading Spaces,” for some pointers that guys can use to get their house in order.  We talked about the living room last week.  Now we move on to the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

  We asked Laura about the impression the kitchen should make.  “Most important: clean.  A lot of times people rent, and you can’t do much.  Clean is so important.  And your refrigerator needs to be cleaned out.  Your guests will open the refrigerator.”

  As far as decorating the kitchen:  “It’s easy.  Put some candles on the countertops and light them.  Put some flowers on the bar.  Not a big deal.  Put a big poster on the wall to give it some color.  Do one big, dramatic thing in there to draw attention away from your otherwise ordinary kitchen.  If it’s clean, and you’ve got a nice light fixture, and a big poster on the wall, it’s done.”

  The bedroom is even simpler.  All you really have to work with is the bed.  When you’re getting bedding, Laura says to hit up Bed Bath & Beyond or Linens ’N Things.  “They both have a pretty good choice of bedding that you can do a lot with.  Remember, you don’t want it to look like a store.  If you get a set, get an extra pair of shams that are a different color.  Something to give it some depth; you want some layers of color.  If you go with dark bedding, throw some cream pillows on there to give it depth.”

  The bathroom is like the kitchen.  Keeping it clean is most of the work.  “A man should always have a clean bathroom and a clean kitchen.  And put the seat down,” she laughs.

  “Get a shower curtain you can’t see through.  The shower tends to be the one place that’s harder to keep clean.”  But don’t think that this gets you out of cleaning the shower.  If a girl’s interested in you, she’ll look behind the curtain to see how clean you keep your shower.  “It doesn’t have to be spotless; it just needs to be not nasty.  That’s a turnoff.

  “A nice little thing to do in the bathroom is to burn a candle that smells good.  You can get more masculine smelling candles.  They don’t have to smell like perfume.”

  Throughout your apartment, you don’t want oversized, puffy furniture.  “That’s a big don’t,” Laura says.  Get furniture that fits the space you have to work with, and leave some room for other things.  Also, no futons.  Hit up a thrift store for an old sofa, and get a nice slipcover, or have someone make one for you.

  Again, you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a nice place.  Be original, get creative, and make it your own.  And when you run out ideas, you can always watch “Trading Spaces.”

 -From Pulse
   May 26, 2005