Yesterday during Pop In the subject of making quilts for men came up. I don't know about you, but when I think about donating quilts to a charity, or making gifts, I usually think about quilts for kids and women. When a quilter makes a wedding quilt, for example, It's usually, but not exclusively, with the bride in mind or perhaps the room where it's going to be used. And usually, but not exclusively, the room has been decorated by the woman.
I actually have the same challenge, but in reverse. I like either very geometric, illusion, or neutral quilts. I don't use pinks, purples, yellows, oranges, greens, blues or primary colors when I'm making a quilt. Most of the quilts I make are class samples. But I need to keep in mind that the vast majority of students are women. So I need to satisfy my own sensibilities while making a quilt that will appeal to me, and most women/men.
Since I'm a man, I've never really thought about it, but it's a challenge that many of the female quilters I've talked with face. If I make a quilt at the request of someone else, my enthusiasm wanes in direct proportion to the amount of control I give the recipient. In other words, if someone wants a quilt and chooses a pattern or colors that I don't care for, I really have to force myself to finish the quilt, and it takes much longer than usual (could be up to a year or more). And many times I just say no.
So let's go back to women making quilts for men. What do you do, and how do you go about doing it?
Here's a thought...
Just for giggles I googled "home dec trends for men". And guess what? When I looked at the pictures, I not only saw the room, but what was outside the window. There was so much color to see if I took the time to focus on the composition of the photo and not the specifics of the room. And there was the answer to the question. Yes there were a lot of neutrals, but there were small pops of color everywhere. I looked at those colors. And the majority were muted, but colors just the same. Then I googled "home dec ideas for couples" and found beautiful rooms the were furnished and accented with great color but also with neutrals. Even in a room that is mostly wood, look at the different colors of the wood and the colors of the reflections on different surfaces. There are so many options. Yes, there can be a lot of black, but that doesn't mean you can't use a tone on tone black or a darker grey fabric.
Here are some examples:
Or, check out this link. https://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/trends/g34991011/design-trends-2021/
And here's a word of caution, please try not to dismiss a particular photo because you don't like the furniture or the room isn't your taste. That's not the point. You're on a treasure hunt for colors. So look for color first, and then look at textures.
Please don't thank me for starting your journey down this rabbit hole. The pleasure was all mine (evil grin).