Bro zone: Forget the Bachelor Pad and Man Cave. The Ken Den is here

Out with the Man Cave, in with the Ken Den. It’s swish, it’s futuristic, it’s a place you’d proudly show off to the bros

First, we called it a Bachelor Pad, that dudes-only home, which indicated that it was free from the contamination of sundry domesticity – no doily, no vase, no cushions, no lamps. The look soon devolved into a cliche: La-Z-Boy recliner (bonus points if it has a cup-holder), big flatscreen, a bar fridge of beer, posters that stopped being cool 20 years ago, the smell of fried snacks on the mattress, minimal lighting and maximum “please don’t expect personality.” So, we started calling it the Man Cave – more Neanderthal, less urbane. It was the bunker where design went to die. But it looks like Man is cleaning up his Cave.

As more men move out of the family home to live alone, decor for male spaces is changing too. (SHUTTERSTOCK)

Men now approach interiors with the same intensity they once reserved for cars, gaming rigs and fitness plans. And interior designers are taking into account what it means to be a dude right now. Some magazines are even rebranding the Man Cave as the Ken Den: A grown man’s space with intention, taste and identity. Let’s take a peek, shall we?

The big see

Martin Sony, 29, architect at The Humble Carpenter in Bengaluru, has spent seven years in design meetings, watching male clients go from confused extras to full-blown leads. It used to be that wives or mothers handled interiors, while men hovered in the background. Now more than half of men actively participate. They want their homes to be a status flex, but more reflective of their place in it. So, lots of wiring – but hidden from view; a work desk – but by the pretty window; an armchair – but at a precise height, and not necessarily facing the TV. Even sound systems are placed only after precise room measurement. This “system-first” mindset is the new masculine signature, Sony says.

No vases, no pastels. Modern men ask for adjustable lights and concealed wiring for their devices. (SHUTTERSTOCK)

It helps that more young men are moving out as singles, not necessarily when they marry. Adit Minocha, a 27-year-old gamer and YouTuber from Mumbai, grew up in a modest home, where festival season was the only time the house got a refresh. “When I moved into my rented apartment, I wanted to create a space where I could sleep, work, and host, without having to leave my room,” he says. He went for all-white walls and furniture because, “lighting looks cleaner and more futuristic against white”, and the videos he films look more polished. His custom desk is strong enough to support two clamped monitors and a chunky CPU. Every corner of the apartment is lit up differently to create a separate mood. His inspiration? PewDiePie, Cody Ko and Logan Paul.

New room, hue dis?

Sony’s clients include men who work in UI/UX, product, art, gaming, and engineering. These are obsessive professionals who binge product videos, deep dive into specs, visit design exhibitions and are fans of architects such as Tadao Ando and Frank Gehry. They’re the clients who will bombard architects at 2am with references from Ikea, Pepperfry, a vintage poster and a random carpenter on Instagram. “They want the best of the best, and once they decide, they will go above and beyond to make it happen.” One man even demanded a steam room and sauna in a modest apartment, because he saw it online – it didn’t occur to him that the building could not handle it.

A brutalist vibe is fine, as long as it doesn’t look like a parking lot. (SHUTTERSTOCK)

The new bro code in design: Brutalist concrete and steel, warm wood, raw finishes, stone, textured walls and metals with an aged patina. Those with a little courage aim for Grandpa Chic: Dark wood and leather, and the kind of lighting reminiscent of gymkhana smoking rooms. And those who don’t mind cleaning up more often tend to like Japandi – the Japanese-Scandinavian mashup that features light wood, clean lines, neutral walls, reed diffusers and the illusion of inner peace. It also helps them tiptoe from bro-approved blue into neutral sage and olive.

“Teen boys are much more experimental than older men,” Sony says. They have Pinterest boards before they have board exams. They dream of anime walls and shelves full of collectibles. They aren’t afraid of colour. We’re going to have to rechristen the Ken Den soon.

From HT Brunch, January 17, 2026

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