DECOR : ‘Masculine’ Furnishings Gaining Appeal

Mainstay home furnishings are taking on motifs traditionally considered men-only looks: trophies being displayed as sculptures, sheriff’s badges added as accent pieces, beds finished in plaids.

“The collections are not billed as for men only, but they have a very masculine feeling,” says Anne Buley of Wallcoverings Windows & Interior Fashion magazine, a trade publication in Stamford, Conn.

For example, there’s the new Western Frontier collection by Seabrook Wallcoverings of Memphis, Tenn. It includes wallpapers with textures that imitate denim, khaki and barn wood and borders of red bandannas, a main street of the Old West and a melange of cowboy boots and sheriff’s badges.

The wallpaper was created to complement the rustic look that is popular now, according to Jim Seabrook, president. His company also markets golf, tennis and fishing patterns in its “Gentlemen’s Club” collection.

Amy Ash, a Seabrook spokeswoman, says she recently attended a wallpaper hanging clinic.

“Almost half the people there were male professionals who wanted to learn how to hang their own wallpaper,” she says.

Masculine bedroom accessories, not just those by Ralph Lauren, are increasingly bought by both sexes.

“Cowboy themes, plaids and paisleys now are so popular that they’ve gone beyond a men-only look,” says Rose Gerace, director of public relations for Westpoint Stevens Home Fashions, the bath and bedding people in New York.

Also, what was once a byway in the world of antiques has become a better-traveled road as pieces with a decidedly masculine appeal become more popular.

An antiques show of men’s collectibles is set for April 15-17 at the Metropolitan Antiques Pavillion in New York, where about 50 dealers are expected to offer old sports trophies, desk accessories and writing instruments, scientific instruments, canes, men’s jewelry such as watches and cuff links, cameras, bar items and smokers’ accessories.

“Men are taking a more active role in decorating the home, and they are among the most aggressive collectors,” Cory Margolis says.

Margolis, an antiques dealer in New York, originated the idea for the April show.

“There’s tons of stuff out there, a lot of it still in drawers,” he says. “I find it at mall shows, outdoor flea markets and on house calls all around the country.”

From her vantage point of 25 years as co-owner of Man-tiques in New York, Elinor Zellin says the biggest change is that so-called men’s collectibles and antiques are now used as decorative accents all over the house.

“Decorators are buying nautical items, bronze busts of historical figures, sporting prints and plates with images of historical figures and buildings,” she says.

She credits Ralph Lauren with promoting the masculine look.

“He made people aware that trophies are art objects,” she says, “and he popularized the English country house look.”

When Lauren introduced his home fashions in 1983, two of the four looks in his collection were masculine. His new home collection includes a comforter made from suiting fabric, as well as striped bed and bath linens and leather-covered chairs.

Over the years, collections have included tartan plaid and chino bedding, Shetland wool and Harris tweed throws, fabrics with fishing motifs and almost anything equine.