…and welcome to Gents’ Week, My Friend’s House week-long tip-of-the-trilby to men’s interior style. Like masculinity itself it’ll be rugged, reconstructed and most of all REAL.

We’ve noticed that most homes-related blogs – not to mention interiors magazines – are written by women and largely read by them too. But what about the menz? This week we’ll be looking at menz’ spaces, fellas’ decorating issues and gents’ gardens. To kick us off we’re looking at a couple of celebrity bachelors and the amazing spaces they’ve created for themselves. Let’s compare and contrast….

Photo by Eric Dessons/JDD/ABACAPRESS.COM

Yes, it’s Karl Lagerfeld’s gaff in Paris, and isn’t it really something? I tend to find home libraries pretentious, but if you’re the head of Chanel, and you’ve got as many books as this then go for your life. Here is a great interview from the Guardian which includes lots about his home, created from four apartments knocked into one. He leads the interviewer inside with the words “You will think I’m a madman…”

Just when I’m thinking I’d like a week at Lagerfeld’s with a library ladder and some bifocals, I’m reminded of another creative man, fueled by very different but equally eclectic obsessions.

John Waters’ house is also one where it looks like books are propping up the walls, but with the addition of a plastic food collection and serial killer art throughout.

In this fascinating interview he lists scores of favourites from his book collection, and says this on book storage: “The guest room is arranged like this: terrorism, sex psychiatric problems, Nazis, religion, severe weather and pornography.” Mine too.

Note the Gary Hume Michael Jackson picture, and also note that it’s not the creepiest bit of art on display – that will be the original John Wayne Gacy painting. All images from Todd Oldham’s excellent book John Waters Place Space.

This weekend…

…if you’re in South London, the first Open House weekend of the Dulwich Festival starts today. Your roving reporter managed to gain early entry to two venues taking part, firstly photographer Ben Anders & Soda. Ben has shot for every interiors mag on the shelf, just about. The stills he is showing at his home 50 Bawdale […]

Unfinished business

I’m not great at finishing things, and my house is testament to my stop-just-short-of-done attitude. There are all sorts of little bits that I haven’t done, and now I’ve been here nearly two years they probably never will be. Years from now someone will move in here after I leave, and marvel at what sort […]

Favourite Sendak

“Once Jennie had everything. She slept on a round pillow upstairs and a square pillow downstairs. She had her own comb and brush, two different bottles of pills, eyedrops, eardrops, a thermometer, and for cold weather a red wool sweater.” Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More To Life is the story of a […]

Papered ceilings

It’s a joke I say this since my son’s room has a strip of ripped wallpaper needing replaced with the spare roll in the attic (if only I could be jacked). But, I’m still fancying a wallpapered ceiling as mentioned here. On a picture hunt, I found this which, if a bit more on the […]