What Not to Display in Your House

When it comes to interior design, I'm definitely a minimalist. This doesn't mean "as little as possible," but it means that everything I put in the room should be there with a purpose. Less is more and I don't see a side table and instantly need to put things on it. When it comes to deciding what to display in my house, I'm rather picky. While a lot of guys are picky and trend towards a minimalist style, there are certain things every guy should consider when trying to decorate their pad. Whether your opinion is the only one that matters or you've got a spouse that likes to be involved, chances are knowing a few things to avoid can help you make your space feel the way you want it to.

Finding a Happy Medium

Lots of guys, myself included, leave these types of decisions up to their spouses. Or, if they live alone, just let the chips fall where they may, so to speak. With all these interior design factoids floating around in my mind, however, I started looking at my house a little bit differently. And it makes sense that men should feel just as comfortable in their homes as women.

This doesn't mean you need to start watching HGTV or spend your weekends looking at color swatches. It just means taking a larger role in choosing what to display-and, more important, what not to display-in in your home.

Clutter Leads to Chaos

I mentioned above that I'm a minimalist when it comes to displaying family portraits or arranging bibelots on a shelf, and I think this stems from my personal philosophy that clutter leads to chaos. If I'm surrounded by junk on a daily basis, things I keep for no rhyme or reason, I start to feel fuzzy and discombobulated. Almost claustrophobic.

Fortunately, my wife feels the same way and practices minimalism on a regular basis. She keeps only items that mean something to us, items that help us recall fond memories or bring us pleasure in some other way, and neither one of us has any trouble discarding items that don't fit that mold.

Try conducting a walkthrough of your home with a pad and pen. Look at the pictures on the walls, the items on your shelves, the pile of stuff in the corner of your bedroom. As you look at each item, can you remember why you bought it? Or who gave it to you? How would you feel if it didn't exist anymore?

Write down any items that don't seem to have a purpose behind filling wall or shelf space. Then go over your list with all your family members to see how they feel about those items, and toss anything that unanimously doesn't matter to anyone.

Collections Can Take Over

Do you collect sports paraphernalia? Antique tools? Model cars? Collections can easily take over your life, particularly if you feel the need to display all of them in your home.

I'm not much of a collector, but my wife has collected Happy Meal toys since she was a little girl. Consequently, she has boxes full of hundreds of the little things, and if she insisted on displaying all of them we'd be overrun by miniature Disney characters and Beanie Babies.

Since she likes more of them than we're willing to display, she rotates her collection on top of the entertainment center in the living room. Every couple of months, she takes them down and puts up new characters to keep her collection alive. Rotating collectibles can ease the clutter and keep your house from becoming a shrine.

Family Portraits are Good-in Moderation

We all have family portraits that we enjoy displaying in our homes, but if you put up too many it becomes overpowering. A few special or well-composed shots are better than dozens of random shots selected from your camera's memory card.

Select a couple appropriate family portraits for each room in your house. You might use an image editor, like Photoshop, to render them all in black and white or to otherwise adjust tonal values so they complement one another. Then purchase a group of similar frames and hang them in a collage on the wall or set them on a few end tables.

There are plenty of great family portrait ideas for great displays. Digital photo frames, for example, allow you to display lots of family portraits without adding clutter. The pictures rotate continuously, or you can select a particular shot that you change over time.

In my opinion, family portraits are best when grouped together. A portrait wall can become a focal point in your living room, for example, or in your bedroom. And if you select shots that complement one another, it becomes a cohesive piece of artwork rather than a scattering of memories.

Less is More

That's my philosophy when deciding what not to display in my home. I prefer to display a few special things that mean something to me.

More important, however, I think all guys should take some time to consider how they decorate their homes. It might not be your favorite activity, but it will help create rooms in which you actually enjoy living.