Designing for the Sexes

Being an Interior Designer I have learned that most men don't care about interior design, however some do and can be very picky about what they want. This is the case with The Hunter! When we got married and moved in our house, I quickly learned....he didn't like my decor so much. I spent one summer during college in London and Paris. I bought a gorgeous print in Paris that I later had framed. It was my "theme" for our living room. It was red, black and beige. It hung over the fire place for a while....until The Hunter decided it wasn't manly enough....so that's when I had to change my design style....I like to call it "Hunting Camp Chic" !!!! Being from the South, hunting is a part of our lives. I grew up hunting as did The Hunter. We both enjoy hunting. We bow hunt, & gun hunt deer and we also turkey hunt. Needless to say we have a lot of stuffed animals in our house. One day I plan on building a house with a Trophy Room that I can deck out in camouflage and hang all of our animals....until then...the living room is the trophy room. The Hunter has 6 deer that are mounted...only 4 of them made it into the living room. The mounted animals may offend some of you, if it does then I am sorry....but this is a way of life for us. We eat the deer and turkey meat. I do not buy beef, I will occasionally buy chicken. Deer & turkey meat has no additives or preservatives, no growth hormones and is naturally a fat free meat. Basically it is organic meat. I know what these animals ate, and I know where they came from. Here is our fireplace....and yes that is pee on the rug!!!!! This rug was the last one to come up, and before I got it up Tide managed to pee on it. I didn't notice it until after I took the picture. After yesterdays post I think we can all find the humor in this! LOL! So you notice that the picture over the mantle is not from Paris!!! That's right...it had to go The Hunter hated it. He always wanted a turkey print....after years of looking I finally settled on this one. The lights are mounted onto the brick...they were here when we bought the house. I just changed the globes on them to red.

He isn't fond of my polka dot curtains but oh well...he has 4 deer, 2 turkeys and a turkey print....I can keep my polka dot curtains! You may notice the ceramic turkey on the bottom left by the fireplace screen....this was my Pawpaw's. He was an avid turkey hunter. My aunt painted 2 of these for him. I got them after he passed away and they mean a lot to me.

These old books came from my grandma. I have a miniature Eiffel Tower to remind me of my infamous tail bone breaking experience there!

Ok...the TRACE books really needs to go...it doesn't exactly fit in with the rest. I have been meaning to change it out....but keep forgetting. I also have another ceramic turkey here...it was also my Pawpaw's.

I bought a TON of books while I was in England & France. I purchased a book everywhere I went. I actually came home with one huge suitcase full of books that weighed 250lbs! The airport wasn't thrilled about that! But they let me on...and I got my books home! When I picked out end table for the house I knew I needed storage underneath to store my books. These are just some of the few.

Here is an up close view of my polka dot curtains.....I happen to love them!

I wanted a huge couch for us, one big enough we could both lay on. So I got this sectional, and I love it! You can see one of The Hunters deer here. I got those plaques at Hobby Lobby for $1.50 EACH a few years back. The 2 pictures on the left are from Paris.

We have a really large living room. This is on the opposite side of the couch, and close to the fireplace. Again....another deer....there are 4 total! One hangs over the tv with some nice candelabras!!! I didn't get a picture of that. I mixed and matched the ottoman. The red ottoman is actually for the sofa...but I put a coffee table there instead. These cream chairs have a matching ottoman that goes with them....but I like the red one! I did have 2 really pretty rugs in both theses areas....but if you read yesterdays post...then you know why those rugs aren't there!

Ok....how HIDEOUS is the light fixture...ugh!!! Terrible I know!!! One day I will replace it! I miss my rugs....they made the space look so much better. When Tide gets bigger and can stay outside then I will put the rugs back down.

Now I can proudly say that the turkey on the bottom is mine...yes that's right...MINE!!! The Dirt Princess loves to turkey hunt. I like to deer hunt too....but turkey hunting is tied with gardening in my book. The Hunter says I should change me name to the Pine Plantation Princess during hunting season....LOL!! The top turkey is The Hunters!

I love architectural elements, I absolutely love these plaques!

and yes...these pictures are crooked. They stay crooked no matter how much I straighten them...oh well. The 2 framed prints are some of the prints I got in Paris....for $1!!!!!!!!

And that's it for the living room....lets head back into the kitchen

I bought these cute little birds to put on the old rusty cart!

I think they are cute!

I also bought this old wooden platter at my fave consignment shop as well.

So there you have my Hunting Camp Chic style!!! What d'ya think? He gets what he wants and I get what I want....I just have to make it work. I think it works fine. Matter of fact...I have been summoned by others ladies to help them blend the two styles at their own homes. Alot of people that visit us get a kick out of the deer/turkey & polka dots...but hey....its us...and I love it!

So do you have to design for the sexes at your home too?