A thousand sit-ups and a dozen cosmetics orchestrate Patrick Bateman's morning routine at the beginning of the film American psycho. The wide shot of the apartment, which shows a beauty care regime that is almost as frightening as the crimes committed by his protagonist, also reveals the space that a successful man in Manhattan has to strive for in the 1980s. American psychoThe Set designer Jeanne Dvelle and the production designer Gideon Ponte have created a hyperminimalist environment with snow -capped walls that were interrupted with black accents, works of art by Robert Longo and Design icons in the furniture such as the Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe. The lack of decoration competed with the omnipresent of steel in the kitchen, the living room furniture and the bedside tables. A house that is designed as carefully as Inert is that it is difficult to imagine a murder as the existence of a house.
Almost three decades later and outside the Yuppie -Reich of New York, the trends for Bachelor pads have hardly changed over time. According to the latest study by the social media platform Pinterest on male trends of the thousand -year -old audience (between the ages of 28 and 43), searches such as metal furniture design (+75%) or Chrome aesthetics (+40%) are part of their favorites when it comes to finding inspiration for their houses. The first place goes to metal sofas and armchairs in a modern style (+105%), such as the One Bateman, which has decorated its apartment in the fictional American gardens building.
Álvaro Toledo, 31, could add these statistics. The apartment, which belongs to this Spanish content creator, who specializes in residential culture and has over 300,000 followers on his Instagram -Account @Plancec.Home is an example of the visual force that the tube steel exerts in the life of a modern single man. A convinced defender of the Cesca chairs, which over his dining room, Marcel Breuer, about the Pinterest survey with 40% of the search queries or the viral furniture from USM Haller, an icon of the modular design since 1965, thanks to its chrome-plated steel structures, which is from the house base in which he has no un link from metal table at home or nail steel channels. collected for years. “Chromium plated metal is timeless. In designs we can see it 100 years ago like the Cesca chairs that are still relevant to this day, but also in current designs. They represent modernity and give a touch of freshness and enrich the space,” he explains.
For Toledo, the love relationship between a thousand -year -old men and metal begins with parts of the middle of the 20th century, when the basics of functional beauty were established for everyone. “In a way, this material represents an accessible luxury, something sophisticated, but not exaggerated, like gold. In a way, we could consider it” male “material. That is why many men feel comfortable to decorate them to decorate their houses,” he reflects.
The list of objects of the creative contains aspiration pieces in every thousand -year -old apartment, such as the Wassily Chair, another Marcel Breuer design that is inspired by a bicycle frame that goes back to the 1920s. The P376 -Aluminum ceiling lamp from & tradition; PH 3/2 table lamp designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen; And the unconventional pup stainless steel steel steel, a bestseller in the factory of the Polish sculptor Oskar Zieta.
In the interior, chrome-plated metal is a trendy material at industry events such as the Casadecor trade fair in Madrid. In last year's edition, one of the most celebrated projects was the Metallic Harmony bathroom for the Strohm Teka Space, in which a huge metal screen reflected on light while the focus was on the toilet and bidding. His designer Erico Navazo wanted this striking element to come together with the Renaissance interior of the house.
“I always look for harmony in my interiors by creating contrasts. Steel, more than a male material, is trendy. It is very attractive because it updates every room,” he says. The expert quotes these futuristic interiors from the 1960s, in which it was masterfully combined with carpet floors, periods of antiques and works of art. He insists on questioning gender -specific prejudices: “I don't know whether this material mainly appeals to a thousand -year -old men to be honest.”
Antonio Matres, a Spanish interior designer based in New York, effortlessly takes care of this material. His most recent project, Opera Bruutta, will soon be unveiled in the center of Madrid. This room will be a special café and an art gallery during the day and will be transformed into a cocktail bar on an espresso-based cocktail with DJ sessions after sunset. For this opportunity, his studio designed a collection of chairs, tables and aids that combine polished steel with leather details and other fine materials.
In the commissions he receives from his younger customers, he admits that Chrome is not only a finish, but also a statement: “His visual language refers to the perfect geometry of the Bauhaus to the rationalistic luxury of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, which was once the inclination of the avant-alward and today grants symbols for the perceived symbol became.
In a world saturated with pictures, the expert is continued, metallic shine becomes a sign of control and precision. “It acts as a literal and symbolic mirror: it reflects light, but also attention to detail, the strength to define every line of space, and the will to live, surrounded by parts that pass the test of the time.”
Metal is referred to the cold pictures of offices and hotel bars for years and returns as a symbol of urban luxury in a new interior. “Chrome celebrates a comeback, but not as a temporary fashion. It is a resource that is used exactly to give interiors a language of authority, durability and sophistication,” says Matres. The global search on social media, which confirm the growing interest in metal furniture and brushed surfaces, would be connected to both the main brands and the signature. A reflection of the generation shift that hugs this material. “In Milan we saw how metal was a shy accent and became a protagonist, be it in the sculptural lamps of Lee Boom or the new editions of van der Rohe pieces. We also do not forget that in Pad in London in the form of collective art as in Rick Owens 'Tails or Vincenzo de Cotiis' Functional Sculptures.”
“Design Bros [male fans of interior design] Dear Chrome because they see each other in confusing the cleanliness with modernity ” Architecture digestion. In fact, a USM collection for magazine and publisher has designed Plug in.
Whatever the Pinterest data say, should we discard the idea of gender in the materials from which a home is made? The founders of Casa Josephine, Pablo López Navarro and Iñigo Aragón believe that the topic could be a podcast: “We believe that it is another echo of a cultural lighting that implies cold and functionally with the masculine course hetero Feminine. “What the creators of the famous lamps in Almodóvar's latest film were presented, The room next doorI agree that we talk about a trend that sweeps all target groups.
Pioneers know how to expect industry trends before others – such as the use of tiles in their rental house near Segovia or the aesthetic potential of an antiques in modern environments in their Madrid shop – Navarro and Aragón, a project that they developed based on differentiated metal interfaces, such as. “It is currently being widespread on social media, but we have published it for the first time in 2020,” they say. The house includes a stainless steel bathroom, which is inspired by aircraft toilets, a kitchen in the same material, combined with chrome, mirror and silver as well as furniture that merge steel, velvet and more mirrors. “I wish it would be unnecessary to say it, but this is a project for a woman. At no time at a time of conversation with our client we spoke about the supposed male or female properties of the materials because we do not believe in this idea. It was your house, no gender -specific statement.”
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