11 things no man should have in his home

How many of these do you own?

Dennis Green
Thursday 24 December 2015 11:01 EST
Comments
(Lawrie Cornish)

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You graduated college, you got a job, and you moved to the big city. You're an adult now.

It's time your apartment reflected that.

It's time to face the facts: Some of your college holdouts need to be disposed of, and that mirror you stole from your favorite college bar isn't as cool as you once thought it was.

Take stock of your living situation, and see if you need to make a few adjustments. CD racks, unframed posters, and futons have no place in your adult life.

Anything being used as a curtain that is not a curtain is just not practical.

A towel being used as a curtain
A towel being used as a curtain (Flickr (Mudge))

Sheets, towels, leftover carpet separates — when it comes to bare windows, some guys have tried it all.

The fact remains that none of them are going to look great, and uncovered or poorly covered windows are one of the biggest signs that you don't have your life together. Make sure that's not that case.

Anything that looks like it would belong in a bar should stay there.

Power's Whiskey mirror in a pub
Power's Whiskey mirror in a pub (Flickr (Johnshortland))

The rule goes like this: If it looks like it belongs in a bar, it should stay there. Neon beer-brand signs, beer-branded mirrors, and bar games are always going to make your apartment look like a bar.

Is that really the aesthetic you want to create?

A mattress without any kind of bed frame is inexcusable.

Mattress on the floor with cardboard sidetable
Mattress on the floor with cardboard sidetable (Flickr (Moyix))

You're an adult now. Unless you're in some temporary or perilous financial situation, you should have something to put your bed on. There's no way to get around it, and no amount of cleverness is going to make it look acceptable.

Get a real bed.

Leave the empty liquor bottles as decoration at the frat house.

Empty spirit bottles on a shelf
Empty spirit bottles on a shelf (Flickr (Dan4th))

When you were in college, empty liquor bottles as decoration signified a night to remember (or forget).

When you're an adult, they mean you forgot to take out the recycling.

Christmas lights out when it's not the holidays is just tacky.

Fairy lights at The Rose pub, London Bridge
Fairy lights at The Rose pub, London Bridge (Flickr (76886703))

String lights are just tacky when you're not in college.

If you want to set the mood, get a light dimmer.

Unframed posters on the wall have always been tacky.

Posters on the wall in a dorm room
Posters on the wall in a dorm room (Flickr (Jdlouhy))

It's great that you think "Abbey Road" is a masterpiece, but a wrinkly unframed poster taped to your wall doesn't need to say that for you.

While it's a popular substitute for art that actually looks nice, you're better off just leaving the walls bare.

A tapestry in place of framed art is probably going to give off the wrong impression.

Tapestry on wall
Tapestry on wall (Plush Decor (via Amazon))

Another popular covering for bare walls are tapestries. Unfortunately, they give off a strong hippie vibe that is no longer cute after college.

A rack showing off your CD or DVD collection is not as impressive as you think it is.

A DVD collection
A DVD collection (Flickr (miggslives))

Having a strong CD or DVD collection is not impressive in 2015. We've all moved on to digital, and a huge rack of Criterion DVDs sitting in the middle of your living room signifies you just haven't.

Transition to digital or at least make your collection less apparent. No one wants to see that.

Any kind of fake plant or greenery is suffocating.

A plastic Japanese Fruticosa tree
A plastic Japanese Fruticosa tree (Vert Lifestyle (via Amazon))

Fake plants seem like a great idea — no maintenance required, and you still get a little bit of greenery in your living space.

Unfortunately, there's nothing more disappointing to anyone visiting your apartment than touching a plant and finding out it's fake. Avoid that fake out and look into real, low-maintenance plants that won't be hard to keep alive.

Plastic anything.

Plastic shelving
Plastic shelving (Sterilite (via Amazon))

Plastic is another big tip-off that you're not fully grown-up yet.

Avoid plastic shelving, or really, plastic furniture of any kind.

A futon signifies you're still in a post-grad mindset.

A futon
A futon (Flickr (zachmarshall))

A futon is incredibly useful — when you need extra furniture for your spare room. The fact remains that no one particularly likes futons, but they're cheap and heavy, so we're stuck with them after college is over.

Avoid falling into that trap and get a real couch. Every single one of your guests will thank you.

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Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2015. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.

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