They say your family is what makes a house a home, but what if you are single and living by yourself?

From the moment you near the end of high school, some people in your life (usually relations eager for more little kids running around family gatherings) ask when you are going to settle down and have a family. This is a tough conversation for people to have, because either they don’t want this for themselves (yet) or do want it but haven’t found the right person. Sometimes, the world deluges you with reminders of this, from the cute couple on a first date at your favorite solo-dining Chinese restaurant to romantic movies. It’s times like these, when you need a place to go that makes you feel better, your own personal Fortress of Solitude. Yet, you don’t need to be Superman or fly to the North Pole in a more conventional way. If you have your own luxurious bachelor pad to chill out in, those other worries will wash away.

In the old days of rigid, societal gender roles, the term “bachelor pad” was meant to indicate a sad, sorry place. Usually filthy and filled with mismatched furniture, it was the place where a man would languish until he finally found himself a wife to run the household. Thankfully, those days are long gone, but the general idea of a bachelor pad remains. It’s a trial run for living on your own and not the kind of thing to engender envy or awe. So, this is why a luxurious bachelor pad can help wreck those ideas and make the place you call home somewhere people want to be. Of course, not even bachelors can do it alone, so we’ve put together these tips to help you get there. 

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A Bit About A Luxurious Bachelor Pad

As noted above, the term bachelor pad is kind of antiquated, but it’s fun to say and is a useful term. It isn’t just synonymous with “small(ish) apartment,” because generations of families turned tiny apartments into family homes. What makes a luxurious bachelor pad today is a space filled with things you love that make you comfortable but is also a suitable place to entertain guests. Instead of a sorry, sad little hovel, you can turn your place into the kind of space that feels inviting and, in a good way, home-y. Your luxurious bachelor bad is full of finery and things you love but is still a place where it looks like someone actually lives.

Before we go any further, “bachelor” is a gendered term for an unmarried man. It has had a lot of connotations throughout the years, and not all of them were good. Still, it is a fun word to say and it is a useful term, especially if we use it to describe unmarried people out there living their best lives. So, while this guide does presume bachelor to mean a single man, our tips are totally gender-neutral. Single women can also live in their own luxurious bachelor pad, and our tips can help them, too. For the purposes of this guide, let’s just all agree that “bachelor” means an unmarried person who wants their own space to feel at home. Because whether you are single, married, or doing that thing where you have two separate families in different states that have never met, everyone needs a place to call “home.” 

What Do You Need for a Luxurious Bachelor Pad?

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In fairness, with the right sort of discipline and mindset, you can make any dirty closet that passes for a room feel like “home.” However, no matter how tough-as-nails you are, a place that makes smart use of space, filled with comfortable things feels a lot better. Before we get into the specific tips about how to set one up, you already know what all you need to set up your luxurious bachelor pad. From the first time you imagined your “own place” as a kid to the friends’ places you’ve visited that you’ve liked, you already have an idea of what you want your space to look like. Still, since imagining is free and everything else isn’t, you will need a budget. 

If your rent eats up most of your take-home pay, you are not going to be able to afford things like electricity, water, and food, let alone an awesome leather sectional. So, you need to establish a firm budget for yourself to ensure that you can afford the luxurious bachelor pad of your dreams. Along with a budget, you will need to have patience, especially if you want to get it right. It’s better to take a year to assemble all the right furniture, home appliances, and décor you want, then just getting things you don’t love just to fill space. Any living space is just a box in which we collect our things. It’s only when we love and use those things that this box becomes a true living space.

Should You Deck Out a Luxurious Bachelor Pad Yourself?

Bringing in a designer sounds like the easiest way to go about decking out your luxurious bachelor pad. You give the designer your budget, your desires, and they go to work trying to deliver on it. While you can do this, it’s probably best if you do this yourself. Still bring in the designer, but have that person be (at most) a collaborator with you. Because if you walk into a place fully-furnished by your designer, you will always feel like a guest in someone else’s house. Even though you own the furniture and the decorations, they really don’t feel like your things. This is where your personal involvement comes in, and it’s essential.

Yes, shopping for furniture and the items that will adorn your walls may sound like a form of slow, devious torture. But you’ve got to be involved, because these are the things you are going to live with for the foreseeable future. This means you’ve got to get out into the real world to see how soft the cushions are or what the material something is made of feels like on your skin. It may seem like a chore, but this personal touch ensures that when you do finish decking out your luxurious bachelor pad, it’s not just a place that’s comfortable but a place that feels like you.

What Are the Benefits of Having a Luxurious Bachelor Pad?

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As the maxim goes, the grass always looks better on the side of the fence where you aren’t. So, even though you are happy and fulfilled in life, there comes a time when you feel the sting of what you don’t have. In the case of our beloved bachelors, that’s typically a spouse, children, pets, and a picket fence or two. If when your home, you don’t love the space you’re in, those feelings can get worse. A luxurious bachelor pad does the opposite. It’s a place where you feel at home and can recognize the good in what you do have. You will feel happy, safe, and comfortable. A good place that’s your own is one that helps reinforce your life choices rather than causing you to live in a cloud of regret. 

Of course, being a bachelor doesn’t necessarily mean that you are lonely. In fact, the bachelor lifestyle lends itself perfectly to spontaneous parties, brief-but-intense encounters, and entertaining friends. Of course, if you live in a rathole with a card table and overturned milk crates for furniture, entertaining becomes difficult. A luxurious bachelor pad is not just a place where you feel comfortable, but one where your friends and loved ones feel comfortable as well. You can host parties, dinners, or even just have a few friends over to watch your favorite shows. It’s also a way to signal to potential romantic partners that sharing a space with you might be very nice indeed. Done right, your place could be a source of comfort for you and your friends and family as well.

How to Hook Up Your Own Luxurious Bachelor Pad

Now that we’ve extolled the benefits of the luxurious bachelor pad, it’s time to get to work putting yours together. In a way, it’s not much different than any other moving or home-buying experience. What’s different is that there is just one person to please: you. Your home should reflect you the way your fashion style does. Let’s dive in to creating your luxurious bachelor pad.

Step 1: Find a Place That Works for You

If you still live in your parents’ basement, you could line the walls with glided flat screen televisions, a hot tub, and all other types of finery, but it would still be your parents’ basement. No, the first step to setting up your luxurious bachelor pad is to find a place you can call your own. Whether you are looking at large, studio apartments or are seeking a house or condo, you need to find a place that will work for your lifestyle. Along with considerations like rent and location, you should also ensure that the place has space for the things you want, such as room for guests or a private office. Yet, only get the space you need not as much space as you can get. 

When it comes to building your luxurious bachelor pad, it would be a little much to get a ten-room house for that purpose. If you have a need for ten rooms, go crazy. But if you end up with too much space, decking out your living space will become much more of a chore than it should be. In this case, less can definitely be more, because you have to find a space that works for you but isn’t too daunting to decorate. You’ll also want to consider the small things, like your view or the design of the architecture. Make sure that you are happy with these things, because they can’t be changed. Other things, like the paint or rugs versus hardwood floors are much easier to address. 

Step 2: Figure Out How Much Time You’ll Spend There

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Imagine having your dream luxurious bachelor pad all to yourself, but thanks to work, your social life, and travel schedule, you’re just never there. Or imagine finding a utilitarian space in which to live, and then the first weekend you spend there, you’re bored to tears. These problems can be avoided with some forethought. Find a place that works with your lifestyle, and then you can figure out how much time you will actually spend there. If you’re busy, this could mean a more minimalist décor and a focus on function over style and comfort. You’ll want to be quick about cleaning, making food, or doing anything else. Similarly, if you are going to spend a lot of time in your place, make sure that you’ve got the space you need to keep you comfortable and give you a place for your hobbies. 

If your life isn’t that rote or easy to plan for, you will want to split the difference. This is where patience comes in. Start with a minimalist design, and then as you realize what things you need, you can add them later. There is no sense installing a state-of-the-art media and gaming center in your place if all you ever do is watch a few reruns of your favorite sitcom before going to bed. The best luxurious bachelor pads aren’t full of fancy stuff. Rather, they are places that reflect the lives of their owners and make them feel at home, no matter how long they spend there.

Step 3: Itemize Your List of Needs and Wants

Once you have your place, it’s time to figure out what you are going to put in there. Some folks might think it’s time to go to your favorite furniture story and start loading up the cart with throw pillows, coasters, and other things “grown-ups” have in their homes. Yet, if you want to approach decorating your luxurious bachelor pad the smart way, you will stop and make a comprehensive list. Write down all of the things you will need in your place, like a kitchen island or a guest bedroom or a plethora of wall outlets. This will give you an outline of what items you need to get in order to make sure that you don’t go without in your own place.

Once you have your needs broken down, it’s time to focus on the things you want in your place. At least, write down the things you want within reason. We all might want a hot tub under a skylight or something else equally silly and decadent. That doesn’t make them a good idea. Still, write down the things you want, like that all-encompassing media center. One you have your list of needs and wants, you can prioritize the things you get for your place. Unless you are willing to go into a little debt or have a hell of a savings account, this is also where patience will come in. What good is a gaming center if you don’t have any furniture for you and your gamer friends to sit on while you play? Also, don’t forget to factor in your monthly expenses, especially if this is your first place. Those costs can sneak up on you. 

Step 4: Pick a ‘Theme’

So far, all of our tips have been mostly practical. Now, we’re starting to get the fun part of decking out your luxurious bachelor pad. But before you start snagging the furniture and other items you desire, it’s best to pick a kind of “theme” for your décor. This isn’t like, say, decorating a child’s bedroom with a Star Wars theme or anything like that. Instead it means making sure that your discrete pieces of décor match the others in your place. You could have the loveliest, antique hand-carved wooden dining room table, but if you pair it with modern-design chairs both end up looking ridiculous. When we say you have to establish a “theme” we mean that you have to make sure your individual pieces match in some way.

First, pick a broad-strokes idea for your luxurious bachelor pad, like minimalist furniture. You want black or gray colors, smooth lines, and not many frills or accents. From there you can add appliances, art, and other items that match that sort of stark, plain look. When all together, the things in your space will look like they belong together. Of course, you can also choose any number of other styles. Perhaps you want your place to have ornate, antiques rather than simple, modern pieces. Start with this foundation, and then add décor, materials, and colors that build on it but don’t stand out in a bad way. Also, don’t be afraid to look through magazines and websites for inspiration.

Step 5: Choose Your Furniture

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Once you know what general look you are going for, it’s time to choose the furniture that will fill your space. This is a costly endeavor, because good furniture does not come cheap. Still, it’s an important part of turning a big, empty space into a livable one. Why you can turn to online retailers like Wayfair or Amazon, you should try to do this part as hands-on as possible. The first time you sit on your new couch should not be after it’s been delivered to your place. All this furniture looks comfortable, but whether or not it actually is can only be determined by use.

The other important thing to remember is to choose furniture that will look good together. In most cases, this is easy because it’s all sold as a single set. However, if you want to put your furniture collection together piecemeal, remember to keep things consistent. An all-white leather couch might look great, but if it is put next to a fabric, floral-pattern recliner it will look more like a garage sale than a luxurious bachelor pad. If you properly manage to combine function, look, and feel, this furniture could be with you forever. 

Step 6: Deck the Walls

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Once your luxurious bachelor pad is filled with couches, tables, dressers, and the like, it’s time to add the color to the room. While this can be taken literally, it doesn’t have to be. The next step in putting together your best place is to make it feel like yours rather than some furniture showroom. Rather than bare walls or shelves, add decorations and other things that reflect your tastes and sensibilities. So, if you love album covers from your favorite rock and rap artists of the 1990s, have them framed and hang them on your walls. The one good thing about a bachelor pad is that it’s only supposed to reflect your tastes. Still, there are limits if you want this to look like a luxurious bachelor pad and not that apartment that Tom Hanks gets in BIG. 

One important thing about your luxurious bachelor pad is that its not supposed to look like your childhood bedroom grew an apartment or house around it. If you love the NHL, a Fathead sticker of your favorite player might have been awesome as an adolescent but doesn’t work in your adult home. This doesn’t mean that you can show your sports pride, however. Instead of a big poster, maybe get a framed picture of the arena and some pennants to decorate with. Thanks to licensing deals, you can find almost any sort of housewares that will match your favorite teams and players. Just try to avoid anything too juvenile. Instead of hanging up posters of your favorite superheroes, maybe instead hang up framed pictures your favorite comics covers. It’s great art and definitely a conversation piece about your love of all things sci-fi.

Step 7: Get the Best Toys

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Just because this is a living space for an adult does not mean that it has to be free of all the “toys” we love. In fact, to make your luxurious bachelor pad truly match the term, invest in all sorts of high-tech accessories to make life easier. When you are on your own, it can be difficult to remember to do certain things for yourself. You might not realize that you are out of food until you open the refrigerator. That’s why if you fill your kitchen with smart appliances, you will be able to leverage these technological miracles to help you learn the tricks of “adulting.” In fact, with enough smart devices and a home assistant of some kind, it will be like you’re not living alone.

With services provided by assistants like Google Home or Amazon Echo, you can link up all your smart devices. Your smart fridge can send you a photo of what’s inside, as a kind of shopping list of omission. When cooking, you can get the notifications of when it’s time to turn off the oven or even when your coffee is ready. Living on your own means that you have to do a lot for yourself, but home assistants can help lift that burden. Also, don’t forget to include some toys that are jut for fun. A 4K Ultra HD television, complete with gaming system is something that you can enjoy by yourself or when you have guests over. 

Step 8: Make Sure the Design Works with Your Lifestyle

Almost every one of us has memories of some family member or another who kept an immaculate home, complete with plastic covering the couches. While this makes for a picture-perfect scene, it’s not a very comfortable place to live. Keep this in mind when putting all that you’ve gotten for your luxurious bachelor pad in its place. If you tend to run late, shuffling to and for before dashing out the door, design your space around that. While tripping over an ottoman might make for a charming opening for the old Dick Van Dyke show, it’s actually enraging, painful, and dangerous in real life. So, when laying out your space, make sure that it fits with your lifestyle.

For example, if you entertain often, you won’t want to put all of your couches and chairs spread out across the room. You’ll want to condense them, instead, into one or two places where your guests can gather and relax. If you throw sports- or show-watching parties, you will also want to make sure that your television is accessible. It’s not fun (and a little creepy) to all gather in your bedroom to watch TV because that’s where it is. Choosing the items that will make up your luxurious bachelor pad is only half the work. You then have to figure out where everything goes, and it’s much less of a science than it is an art. 

Step 9: Keep It Clean

No matter how fine your furniture is or how awesomely you’ve decorated your place, nothing turns a luxurious bachelor pad into a rathole more than uncleanliness. This can be the toughest part of living on your own, especially if you are out most of the time. Rushing to work and then to see your friends or the gym to workout leaves little time for dusting and tidying up. Still, nothing ensures that your guests will want to leave immediately than keeping a filthy place. When it comes to clutter, like laundry or plates and so on, stay on top of that. Don’t leave it until the morning but, instead, force yourself to tidy up as you go. Luckily, if you’ve gotten all the high-tech toys, you can have some help.

Autonomous, robotic vacuum cleaners are nifty gadgets, and they don’t fully replace your household vacuum. However, for the busy professional or the bachelor without much discipline for cleaning, they are a godsend. You can program the device to clean the floor while you are gone. This way, you have much less to do when it comes time to clean up your place. With one of these autonomous cleaning machines, you can focus your time on dusting and picking up clutter. You’ll still have to sweep or mop the floor yourself, from time-to-time, but these magical devices help make that more infrequent than it would be without them.

Step 10: Consider Your Guests

While the best luxurious bachelor pad works as a Fortress of Solitude, no one wants to be alone all the time. Whether you want to hold large gatherings or just host a few close friends, you have to make sure you consider this when putting your place together. Things like proper seating or a table, for dinner parties, are essential to making your place somewhere people (other than you) want to be. Done right, you may end up having your married friends hanging out with you a lot more than they would otherwise, because your space is so inviting. 

So, while your comfort is paramount, it’s essential to make sure that your place is accommodating to your guests. This doesn’t mean that you have to decorate your luxurious bachelor pad to fit their tastes. Rather, it means that while figuring out your needs and wants, consider others, too. If you do eventually find someone and move in together, if your luxurious bachelor pad is already inviting, you won’t have to change much. You want your place to reflect your style and tastes, but don’t forget to make it a place where others feel comfortable, too. Even if it’s just so you and your friends can enjoy your Fortress of Solitude together.

A luxurious bachelor pad can be a place of comfort and solitude, a place to entertain your friends, and, most importantly, a home.

Family can be what makes a house a home, but it’s not the only thing. For those out there who are living alone, their place should also feel like home. How one does that is subjective, but it all boils down to making the place feel comfortable and making it look the way you want it to. Remember, this is your home, and you deserve to have the best place you can get. Because once your luxurious bachelor pad is all put together, you can relax and enjoy the fruits of it. Whether you are lounging in your underwear, crying over a movie you’d never even admit to watching or hosting your friends and family for a holiday, this is your place to do it. If your bachelorhood is a life choice or only temporary, either way it will be comfortable.

What do you think? What would your ideal luxurious bachelor pad look like? Tell us, along with your comments, reactions, and experiences, in the comments below. Don’t forget to share the article on social media if you liked it, so your friends can get in on the discussion.

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