Housewarmings.

This shall go in the kitchen.

salt & pepper shakers by kate spade.
I started to explain, as he was opening it,
that I 'wasn't sure which
one was the salt and which
was the...' and then I stopped
myself.

I got MMM a Housewarming gift. I was going to go with a succulent, but Roger's was closed so I got him a salt and pepper shaker set instead. He loved it, and explained that the thought had occurred to him that I might get him a housewarming gift because I'm, quote, 'awesome like that' but he didn't want to get his own hopes up if I didn't, nor did he want to be as presumptious to think I would, but that he had a hunch that I might.
And, luckily I had been planning to all along, because in his words, I'm awesome. In my awesomeness, I've been given the go-ahead, and relative carte blanche to 'help' decorate MMM's new (old) condo.
Now, if his old shell of a 'home' was any indication, I assumed that he (for lack of a better term) had no taste. None, zip, zilch, nada.
The old place had perhaps two pieces of decor: Dated looking Tommy Bahama knock off palm tress in bamboo frames over the couch and a pot of fake yellow daisies on his dining room table. Actually, right before we were going to bed the other night, he said, out of the blue,

You know, I never intended on you seeing that house. I was thinking I could stretch out having you over until after I moved. 

I laughed, and I understood.
But imagine my surprise when I arrived at his new (old) condo in Irvine after his move and found most everything in a state of disarray other than the two prints he had carefully hung in his living room: One, beautifully matted in a simple black frame - a line drawing on craft paper of a singing Jimi Hendrix, draped in a colorful American Flag, with a speech bubble in French (a gift from his White House working brother) and a large Dali print, framed in an ornate (yet totally appropriate) gold frame.
Both are pretty cool, without trying to be 'Cool'.
So, I learned, he does have taste.
Pretty damn good taste: simple, masculine (and extremely grandiose sometimes).
He has to be reigned in: No, you will not(and cannot) do a (forty thousand dollar) remodel on your condo's bathroom, you don't need a steam room that bad', 'no you cannot recess the ceiling in your bedroom', no you cannot cut a wedge in the side of your patio table so it fits neatly into the wall - all the time and energy and frustration that would take isn't worth the hundred bucks it'd take to buy a new one. You think that light is too bright? No, you don't need to craft a dome to put over it, just change to a lower wattage bulb. 
Luckily, he sees it my way most of the time. Smart man with a mustache.

Takin' care of business.

His dark brown sectional couch was throwing him off, and he didn't know how to situate the thing in the new living room. I took one look at at, and quickly explained how to flip the dimensions around so that the chaise section was under the bay window, and explained that it was okay that the back faced the dining room because it broke the Great Room into sections. Why do people think that the best way to decorate is to push everything up against the walls? Man oh man.
Annyhowww... This went on from room to room, we discussed color pallettes and lighting schemes, valet trays and bedding ideas. By the time I got back to his apartment the following evening, he had followed my directions, swapped the couch, flipped the dining room table horizontal, put the area rug underneath that as opposed to underneath the couch and we were good to go.
As you probably have guessed, as for helping him decorate - I'm all in.
So in doing 'research' for such a task, I spent the better part of my day yesterday on Pinterest. Ha! So the thing actually has a purpose!
We have a list going of what room needs what, and where needs what and he is tasked with finding a new coffee table because he 'hates' his. (I believe it is perhaps his ex's. I still have very little info on that situation, though I do believe I found out her name by some reused moving boxes.)
We've done two 'Fact Finding Missions' to two separate Targets.
I've started with the kitchen & dining area (which is in desperate need of a new chandelier) and after a bit of prodding, an agreement on 'blue', and a look that said 'No, you cannot cement the floor in your kitchen' & lets go less 'Super Modern' and more with 'utilitarian & masculine in a more Restoration Hardware vein', I think it'll work out quite nicely.
So... Behold my findings.

West Elm 5 Jar Chandelier.
This is probably going above the dining room table.

The Kid's stuck on wallpapering something.
This may get it out of his system.

For a more utilitarian way of decorating his kitchen,
we're going cannister-heavy. Planned purchase?
A jar with 'Etc.' written on the outside to store his
rarely used pot stash in.

I like the idea of a bar that doesn't look like a bar.
By the way, I've got him drinking wine now.

Okay, this one's for me.

Again, with a more utilitarian decor,
exposed dishware in strong colors
to tie in the blues.

Also: He shaved his mustache. Hallelujah! 
I haven't seen it yet. 
I'm scared and excited and so so so relieved.
Also, if you know of any good decorating sites or blogs, feel free to leave it in the comments.