I'm not sure what a guy's guy is, but I'm a straight male who could care less about stick and ball sports. I can thin timber, build furniture , pour concrete and design the f#&k out of type. I'm also okay at selecting throw pillows and candle holders, not bad with color theory, space division and gardening.

Before you offend anyone, how about dropping the limiting stereotypes? Contrary to the apparent assumption of this series, design skills are not the exclusive métier of either gender.

I think by "guy's guy," she means "guy who doesn't read interior design blogs."

tinyvoices - there are guys who are attracted to guys who limit their education? Man, you learn something every day.

I interpreted to mean that because most guys don't really care whether the throw pillow is moss or chartreuse - it's just green - they also aren't likely to want fluffy pink lacy throw pillows.

My guy is a former All-Star All-State linebacker who started building houses -- from the foundation up -- at age 8, working alongside his brother and father. He camps, loves sports, stands 6' 4" in bare feet, and has the build you'd expect from a linebacker/carpenter.
He also has an incredible eye for design, and a highly developed aesthetic. His apartment looks like an architect and a monk designed it, but with a palette drawn from early Michelangelo.
I agree. AT, please discard the stereotypes. This is hardly the first time we've seen this kind of "shortcut" writing. If you have a particular character in mind, such as your guy, take the time to write a pithy sentence or two that define HIM and what's unique about him, rather than generalizing about a lot of people you don't know.

Ugh - calm down everybody.

My two cents is I sure know many couples (of every stripe) with a 'designated decorator'. Decorating to reflect everyone in a house is tough, I appreciate the balance this post has at heart.

I like that Triangle Pillow for salting up the view of a pink painting we've got. Not into the rest though, kind of devoid of character for me.

Hey, rapunzel - lucky you!

Yikes! People need to LIGHTEN UP. Jess can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think she's merely saying that she lives with a stereotypical man who couldn't care less about decorating and doesn't like frills. He's a STEREOTYPE; he's not "all men". My goodness, at some point in time, the stereotypical woman was "barefoot and pregnant." Why would that offend me? If anything, I'm happy that I'm not stereotypical. If anyone should be offended, it's Jess's husband. But guess what? HE DOESN'T READ DESIGN BLOGS, SO HE'LL NEVER KNOW.

frankly, i appreciate the post as it certainly is a predicament when you have a partner who has no interest in design, but you still want to create a home that both of you feel comfortable in. furthermore, my sports-loving (sports on the new flat screen loving!) boyfriend love the modern aesthetic, but i myself being drawn to more vintage tastes (who has lived without cable for 6 years!) creates a more difficult job of furnishing our first home.

luckily, i just bombard him with blog posts i find on AT and am wearing him down. however, he has recently declared that he hates all lighting... lol.. baby steps.

Love the blackbird which I think really looks like a crow, which I love even more.

The "guy's guy" stereotype is irrelevant, just mentioned for humor. Early on, my guy cared little about interior design, and we had arguments. Later on, he began caring very much about interior design. We still argue, but now it's more interesting and rewarding.

Aaaaaand yet again, an 'Inside Man' post that's not about design for men, but for women who think what guys might like.

This is like me saying "well, my wife is a girl, so I painted the walls pink, and decorated with floral patterns, frilly pillows and trinkets everywhere! because that's what girls like, right?"

This is simply not how this works! Please AT, have a couple of guys with different tastes and styles post some tips, tricks and inspirational pieces for your male readers to relate with. Because most of these Inside Man posts have just been insulting and cringeworthy.

I really like the desk and chair in the first picture. Can anyone provide the source? Thanks.

@pinkandfluffy, You make good points.

Jess called it. Once again, people are offended by yet another Inside Man post. Why not just take it at face value? This is just one little blurb written by one woman whose husband is uninterested in decorating. It's not a preachy post, it's just one lone woman explaining how she decorates with a man in mind: her man. I'm sure that Jess realized there are thousands of men out there who have impeccable taste. Her husband, however, probably isn't one of them. I was actually pleased to see a "personalized" post instead of the usual "Our husband hates to decorate" fare.

The bottom line is, AT was founded by MEN. I hardly think that anyone is even remotely suggesting that men don't have taste. So you can stop "cringing" now.

I really like the table top in the first picture (and the idea behind this post). It reminds me of the classic simplicity of my father who mixed depression era furniture with modern art (back in the 1980's). Whenever I shop for furnishing, to this day, I step back and try to see it through his eyes and, inevitably, I simplify.

I'm lodging a general protest against a side effect of stereotypes. (Just because I'm feeling rather persnickety tonight)
For the record , I do like the no frills items pictured. I just don't like the reason the house must be limited to that style.
Why must we women avoid "girlie" things if we like them? Btw, not all girls do. Why must we un-girl-ify the entire house, but consent to live in a "masculine" house?

Those styles are not real in the first place. I'm just protesting the idea that The Man Rules the House.

I thought we were past that

@Creative License: You completely missed the points of the people complaining (like me)... it's not the fact this is a post written by a woman who's husband doesn't like to decorate (that's fine!)... it's the fact that this was posted as an INSIDE MAN post!!
What that says could be interpreted as "you men have no taste and don't like decorating, so here's what you should like, because I think these are manly things because they're not pink"... and that is truly insulting to the men who are fans of AT and would like tips and tricks that apply to their tastes, and NOT a woman's vision of what guys should like!

Whoa. This got way off subject. I love the gear candle holder. I enjoyed this post.

Trollers...

The desk is from CB2 and guy's guy means straight, whether that's what she meant or not.

I've met some straight guys that had better design sense than some women. Proves you just never know.

I'm offended that Jess has to stifle her creativity, taste & self expression in deference to her husband. So much for women's lib. She should be able to decorate with girly stuff if she wants. Why can't the hubby stifle his butchness instead? Or just spread the girly/butch stuff evenly? As it stands, both have to settle on a generic compromise neither is really happy with.

@hystericglamour - When you're married, it's not a matter of stifling creativity, it's a matter of compromise. It's like saying Jess's husband should be able to decorate with sports paraphernalia and beer cans if he wants. I mean, seriously.

I have nothing against *the guy's guy* term, I think I know, without analyzing it, what the OP meant by that. But I agree 100% with sistervashti and hystericglamour - I don't see why the entire house to be decorated in a style that is dictated by the guy's, umm, man's dislike of anything frilly.
After all, I do live there, too. (and I am not exactly a girlie girl when it comes to decorating).

*makes popcorn*

I'm a guy's guy's GUY. You know, that one. That's me. Some popcorn, please?