The Essentials: 5 Must-Haves For A Cool Living Space
Bruce has his cave (we can relate).
Vancouverite, funnyman, and marijuana enthusiast, Seth Rogen, has an enviable, L.A.-based creative retreat in that photo below, part of which he rented as an Airbnb last February.
You have your bachelor pad… or your shared living room. No judgment either way.
If there’s a place where a man can just be, it’s his living room.
Maybe said room shares space with his kitchen (they call this an open concept). Maybe said room’s outside, in a tree. Either way, such a space is sacred (at minimum). Outside authority and its arbitrary rules aren’t welcome in a man’s living room, only what’s pleasant and befitting of his tastes and ethos. If you want the walls sea foam green, so be it.
If you want a pinball machine you might not even use, do it.
It’ll look cool, and that counts for something.
Behold, Seth Rogen’s mid-century modern creative space in Los Angeles, the same one he rented out to a few lucky guests last February.
But for heaven’s sake, don’t leave your living room “naked.” What does that mean in this context? Like a man’s closet should never want for the bedrock of a sound wardrobe (i.e. a good navy suit, a proper topcoat, white sneakers, etc.), neither should his living room lack the basics. A source for good music. A warm scent. Those kinds of things.
Let’s go.
1. 9oz Cut-Throat Barbershop Scented Candle by Crown Shaving Co.
Say hi to our Cut-Throat Barbershop Candle, predictably-infused with our signature scent. It’ll make any room smell like a barbershop, never mind your living room.
Photo: Our own
Your living room’s not unlike your body—it should smell good at all times.
Made from genuine soy wax
9oz
Slow burning
Photo: project-audio.com
How easy would it have been to endorse some sexy little sound bar, or the latest iPhone dock?
And that's no slight against that kind of hardware. Bluetooth has its place in the ecosystem. But to this day, nothing compares to the crackle of vinyl spinning on a turntable.
Of all the iterations available at Project Audio, the Classic Evo hits every note.
Sometimes safe is okay.
Comes in walnut and eucalyptus
Inlcudes an adapter for 7-inch singles
Never settle when it comes to a chair.
Photo: Peter James Co.
Our local pals at Peter James Co. make one hell of a stogie, and we even wrote about it right here.
But the Toronto-based brand knows their leather, too. They stock both the kind that travels with you (like these slick cigar cases) and the kind that stays put, like that Wallace chair you’re looking at right now.
It’s inspired by the iconic British chesterfield design, denoted a stylish channel-stitch pattern gracing the back, seat and sides.
They do couches, too, by the way.
Top grain, aniline-dyed leather
Stress tested joints
Made to meet California’s TB117-2013 fire safety standards.
$1,755 CAD
Via Peter James Co.
Photo: Areaware
You can’t put a price on clean internal air, hence the unsung champions of life that are plants. But whichever greenery you choose to buy, keep them ensconced in style.
We’re partial to these handmade terracotta beauties by Areaware, not in the least for its thoughtful design; Lift out that bottom ring and you’ll find a “hidden” saucer.
$130 CAD
Via areaware.com, but they only have the white one in stock right now.
The terracotta one’s available at Bather in Toronto.
Photo: Uncrate
You don’t need to be a gearhead to love a Porsche, you just need to appreciate good design. That said, having a piece of glorious automotive history on your wall can’t hurt.
Fact: That car’s the first Porsche ever built, and though a neophyte might’ve pegged Germany as its birthplace, the car was officially completed in neighbouring Austria. We’re going back to June 8th, 1948, to be exact.
Printed on archival quality paper
Only 495 were printed.
$269 USD
Available at Uncrate Supply
We don’t often leave our readers with famous quotes, but then again, we don’t often make exceptions, either.
Here’s a great one by the late, great father of Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton (yes, the book preceded the 1993 blockbuster):
“Sometimes I look around my living room, and the most real thing in the room is the television. It’s bright and vivid, and the rest of my life looks drab. So I turn the damn thing off. That does it every time. Get my life back.”
~ Michael Crichton, celebrated science fiction author