Inside: One mom takes on decorating her son’s first apartment, giving him super cool affordable apartment living room ideas for the bachelor pad.
Last summer my son relocated to St. Louis for his first post college job. Given that his dorm rooms and college quarters had always come furnished, he was leaving the East Coast with not one piece of furniture. Apart from his jeans and his video games, his apartment would be a complete blank slate. This may have been disorienting for a young adult male, but it was a dream for a mom who delights in home design. The trick would be finding a look that would honor his personality (and budget, as he was participating) while not channeling “found at the side of the road” decor.
The two things in our favor were that the apartment came with neutral walls and carpet and that my son is a pretty neat and organized guy. I knew that whatever we put in place would look exactly the same the next time we visited, so I didn’t worry too much about finding things that were sturdy enough to last a lifetime. Instead we focused on his general interests and personality, as well as the functionality of his apartment to serve his new lifestyle. We went for a masculine vibe with an industrial edge, to honor his New York City roots and his technology driven world.
As long as he had a place to sleep and to sit, the most important factors to my son were a place to house his video game consoles and a place to keep his games. So, our first step was to work on apartment living room ideas. We went with an edgy industrial media stand and a shuttered tall bookcase. (See resource list below.)
The light streaming through the wall to wall windows is delightful in the late afternoon and the television is properly placed to avoid the glare. (The magnificent view from the high floor terrace can be seen in part 2 of this series.)
The chesterfield sofa lent a nice masculine grounding to the room and the grain sack pillows add comfort. The industrial coffee table provides storage and the urban painting over the sofa adds a reminder of home. The hammered metal bowl was mom’s addition, a decorative piece my son still doesn’t quite get. Yet he dutifully keeps it there all the while doubting my insistence that it would make a great popcorn bowl for game day.
A toast to the bachelor pad; his new place, his new job, his new beginning. This one was dad’s input to the decor…
To lighten the look we went with beige linen guest chairs. No doubt a big cushy club chair would have been infinitely more inviting, but you’d be surprised how comfortable these are. They’ve even been pushed together and slept on!
St. Louis has become a gateway indeed for my son into the world of independence!
To see the rest of the bachelor pad series, the kitchen, dining room and terrace can be seen in Part 2 and the bed and bath can be viewed in Part 3.
The Bachelor Pad Source List
Click on the items below for direct links to the products. Where actual items were no longer available, I’ve provided similar options. (This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.)
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these (click on the photos):
Part 2 – Dining Room & Kitchen | Part 3 – Bedroom & Bath | New Urban Apartment
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Great look for a man…especially your son. Love the color of the chairs. The cabinet is great to keep your video games stored away. looking forward to parts 2 and 3.
Thanks Linda! It’s a work in progress, but a good start I think for his first place. I’m sure he will personalize it in time… 🙂 Yes, the next 2 parts are coming!
Lory, your son’s place is wonderful! What a great space for a young man to start out in the world! I am sure he appreciates your touches!
Thanks! Yes, he appreciates all but the hammered pewter bowl… lol!
Wow what a tidy apartment, something has rubbed off on your son from you :), I wish my boys were design orientated or at least kept their places tidy.
I love the sofa, very masculine and will carry him through for years, even though it is classic you can use a peice such as this in an eclectic, traditional or mix with industrial style pieces. He can change the look whenever he wants.
Lee 🙂
Ha ha, well, he is pretty neat, but definitely not design oriented (at least not home design). That’s what made it easy for me to suggest anything I wanted… 😉 As long as it was comfortable, he was fine with it. I will tell you, a year later it still looks pretty much the same. He’s not a clutter guy. Most everything in that room was from Home Decorators, which has great looking stuff, but not sure how long it will last. Was perfect for his needs because we were working within a budget…. 🙂
Well done mom I think you did an awesome job congrats to both of you and your son on all his Firsts .Hope he enjoys his new place and appreciates your help.Susie
Thanks Susie! It was actually a pleasure to work on with him, because he is the type to appreciate… 🙂
Lory,
This room is stunning!!!
I adore how the blend of styles brings about a “taliored” look.
This would be a “perfect” fit for our lower level Family Room.
Thanks for sharing this masculine appealing decor!!!
Fondly,
Pat
Thanks so much, Pat… 🙂
This looks perfect for a young man. The leather sofa is classic, and that media stand is fantastic! Your son is lucky to have a designer in the family 🙂
Thanks Julie!! Thanks for visiting… 🙂
Really nice! I love the furniture (all of it actually) hubby wanted that sofa when we saw it but knowing how we use it with a 80 pound dog I was afraid it would have been scuffed beyond hiding in 6 months…lol
Can’t wait to see part two!
Thanks! And I think you made the right choice, My son’s objective was to save money. But for a family I’d go with better quality stuff. This furniture looks great, but it all had to be put together and well, y’know… 😉
Lory, this post caught my eye on one of the link parties (can’t remember which one). I love what you did for your son here, it looks very classy and masculine. I know exactly how comfortable those chairs can be – I had a huge sectional that was my husband’s from his bachelor days, and I broke it up into two slipper chairs and a loveseat (leaving the corner chair out). I love the chairs!
Funny, I was thinking from your son’s perspective, and figured he might use the vessel as a popcorn bowl. Maybe find some old scrabble tiles, dominoes, etc. and let the guys have fun with that stuff. 🙂
Rita C at Panoply
Thank you Rita!! There will be 2 more parts in the series – the kitchen/dining room/terrace and then the bedroom, bath & desk alcove. As for the bowl, he just keeps shaking his head. Everything we got I had him come to the store and test out, but a few of the decorative pieces like the bowl became more of a family joke than anything else. I still think it’s perfect for popcorn!
Love it! My son graduates in December and I already purchased the leather sof for his apartment! Love the pillows …..where did they come from? I am a designer as well!
Thanks Leslee! The pillows are from Restoration Hardware. Actually I think I bought them as pillow covers and the inserts separately.
First, lucky guy to have a Mom who would pour her heart and soul into creating a comfortable and stylish place for him to call home! Second, lucky Mom to have a son who is neat and organized and will leave a bowl where she puts it because she says so! Third, totally diggin’ Dad’s contribution to the effort….except I audibly gasped to see no coaster under that glass!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
This is a really, really slick look. A home that any young man would be proud of and thrilled to come home to each night after a hard day of work! There’s plenty of space for entertaining friends over the game or whatever, and the tufted leather sofa is right on with its very manly look!!!!!! I also LOVE that media stand!!!!!!
I will say that I’m a little hurt that your son chose St. Louis over the Kansas City area, but I suppose I’ll get over it in time. My guess is that he will soon discover the error of his ways and move 3 hours west to where it’s really rockin’! 🙂
Ha ha…. we actually did get him coasters. You may get a peek at them when I post the kitchen post, because I think that’s where we put them. His kitchen is so empty we had to fill up space. As for St. Louis, the job selected St. Louis, not the other way around… lol. But I’ll have to urge him to visit KC. Mostly he’s been driving the other direction – either north to Chicago for concerts and such, or east to Indiana to visit my daughter at school. The real question is how did this East Coast mom wind up with two kids in the midwest? 😉
Your son should feel quite at home with his new place!! The living room looks perfect for a young professional man!! We live near St. Louis. It’s a great place and we love visiting it’s many sights and events – hope your son enjoys living there!!
Thanks Zenda, and yes he does. It’s very easy there. He’d never have such a nice apartment in the New York area. It would be like 3 times the price!
With the clean lines and airs of sophistication this apartment decor offers, why would you choose to display the media collection rather than put it behind doors?
Ha ha, I’m lucky he let me go this far! No way he was hiding the thing that’s most important to him. But it’s an interesting point. We enjoy seeing books, so why not video games? They’re really neatly organized and he’s completely anal about having them alphabetized and all one system’s games together (hence the same jewel case size and style). But the real answer is probably simply a case of price. We had 2 weeks to do this apartment (literally!) and this was a viable shelving unit with cool shuttered sides that went with the feeling of the space. It’s not really any more complicated than that. At least the game systems are hidden in the TV cabinet… 😉
Wow! The apartment is beautiful! You’ve given me inspiration for updating my own bedroom!
(Yes, I’m a mom who prefers “masculine” to flowers and pastels! 😉 !)
Thanks Rebecca! Glad you were inspired… 🙂 Thanks for visiting!
your son apartment looks clean and it looks like a nice apartment i have a son and i have been doing his apartment and just the other day he had a lady friend over and she aked him was he gay he had to Lol on that one because my son apartment is so what to looking like your son`s apartment he has a nice couch and a love seat with his end tables and his apartment has a nice fireplace he has his flat screen t.v sitting on the fireplace. he is a welder he made his own table from scrap i found these really nice bar stools at the goodwill at a good price. again i like how you did your son`s apartment my son is working on his bedroom he has everything except a dresser, a lady gave him a vintage looking one all he has to do is pick it up.
Thanks, Belinda and that’s funny what he was asked. He can always say he hired a decorator if he doesn’t want to say his mom decorated it… 😉 Thanks for visiting!
Wonderful! Love the look! Industrial is a perfect style for a young man and I like how the furniture stores all his goodies perfectly!
This takes me back a few years when I helped my son with his first apartment. He surprised me with the nice things he was interested in and the overall look he wanted. His now wife told his mom when they first met “he has a really nice apartment with great furniture”! LOL… I got a kick out of that!
Thanks Liz! Great story about your son’s apartment too… 🙂
Can you please tell me where you got the picture with all the NYC places on it. I live in NYC and my mom wanted to get something like that but they didn’t sell it when I went to get it for her. Ty if you remember
Sure, my pleasure. It was from Home Decorators. We felt it was perfect for my son, since he grew up in the NY metro area and was moving to the midwest… 🙂
What a great room, and what a lucky son to have you help him out with decorating his first grown-up place! I have two sons, and I know how hard it is to convince young adult men they need something more than a huge TV, ratty futon and old crates to make a space feel like home (and one day attract a spouse/partner/significant other, etc.). I can only hope when my guys get their own apartments that they keep them as neat and tidy and wonderful as your son’s apartment! Well done!
Thanks so much! He’s actually just naturally very neat, although couldn’t care less about design and would certainly have gone for the futon had I not intervened… 😉 Thanks for visiting and for taking the time to comment!