Young men mostly don't care, as long as there is a TV, comfortable chair or 2, sofa a table to eat on, dresser and bed.
The rest will get "accessorized" with cool beer signs, concert posters, funky lamps and strange pillows.....until a girl moves into the picture.
Linda C

Bonnie, first off I want to say thanks to your son for serving our country. God bless him. I know just what it means to be a military Mom. Our son served in the Army Reserves six years (one in Iraq) and our daughter is active duty Air Force with many Marine friends from training at the Precidio of Monterey.
Seems like you are checking all the right places except thrift stores. Have you checked them yet? If there's a small town close by with them go there. Often you find great items at lower prices than the big name stores in larger cities.
For household items such as kitchen utensils head to a dollar store. Dollar Tree if you have one close by. They are a great source for screw driver sets and other little things (sponges, rubber gloves, cleaners, toilet and other scrub brushes, etc) you need when setting up your first household. Since they're so cheap you don't mind passing them on to someone in need when you can afford the better stuff down the road.
As for colors check with your son for sure, but I think either tans, beige, grays or black looks great with red and are masculine too.
As for color palette

LOL Linda. Probably very true.

Hello Bonnie,

Linda is absolutely correct. I have searched from Google for some cool Bachelor's Pad design and ideas. You can adopt the design and use a not so expensive materials. As I can the concept is great. I also watched some korean drama series and I have seen that a simple bachelor's pad consist of a bed, sofa, table and chair, Refrigerator, TV, small kitchen, and bathroom. I hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: bachelor's pad design

If you're anywhere near IKEA that is a fabulous source for dirt cheap but decent quality items including domestic stuff like plates, utensils, lights, etc etc. Really almost everything needed to set up a home.

Ann

Furniture with my kid (grown) in mind stays fairly basic. And most of the time he just doesn't care about style, more his personality than interest. The big deal is having one chair that is his alone. A bed and dresser, plus a desk for computer stuff. The desk usually ends up in the livingroom or the dining area in apts. Not even sure if they use a dining table. And as other's mentioned less is more for the single guy.

I really like the simple lines in the photos from the link. Once he gets into an apt. (which probably can't be painted), perhaps a shopping trip for linens, dishes together. He really needs to be part of this since it will be his place. If you could get him on a couple of the shopping sites, let him identify patterns/color in bedding, etc. May help to identify colors ahead of time. But for a guy I see gray/red with the couch.

You are wonderful to do this for him. When my son got his first apartment it was Target for essentials, we did in in one shopping trip. I was able to give him furniture, but the one thing that has stayed with him through the years was the darn reclining leather chair with separate foot stool. I doubt if this will ever go away.

Have two Army kids, but ask if your Marine wants a "Love ME" wall. If you know of anything he has pertaining to his enlisted time...pics, medals, uniform....this is their wall. They should be framed and created into a single area. I framed half dozen important photos and a deep frame for his top coat, added flag that says "Proud to have Served" with a number of other items of meaning to him which can't be framed sitting on a shelf below. Secretly, I think all soldiers go for this (they're the ones that named it). Thier admission to such usually happens when one least expects it.

My oldest son is in Kuwait right now. Other served in Desert storm. Remember to thank the soldiers personally when you happen to see one. They don't hear it much and are truely thankful when a stranger hands them this small acknowledgement.

I would make it a sophisticated cool "guy" space that also finds a way to celebrate his contributions....here are some posters that might work with the red seating you already picked up. Something like this maybe?

These black tables are at Target.com for $79 for the SET.

I second IKEA.

First I echo Justgotabme in thanking your son for his service and I send long-distance hugs to Emagineer with a son in Kuwait right now.

Now, about that bachelor pad - right now is a great time to look for stuff as the big stores are all having Back-To-School sales right now (didn't those make you shudder when you were young?). Anything for decorating a young person's place is on sale - towels, pots, pans, comfy furniture, etc. Also, if you're into thrift-shopping, the better stores have lots of good towels and sheets and every kind of small kitchen ware available for great prices. We have a Savers near us (WI) and it's a fresh, big new store and has all sorts of really nice home decor and soft furnishings. Have fun getting ready for his new place!

Thanks everyone for their kind words ... we actually have both sons in the Marine Corp, last summer was the most difficult for us because the youngest was in Afghanistan and the other in a Iraq. All our service men and women really deserve a hats off!

We are excited about our youngest getting situated in his new pad =-= out of the barricks and into a quieter lifestyle. All the suggestions have been wonderful and we have an IKEA about 1 hour away. IKEA just released their 2010 catalog so I've made a shopping list.

Thank you = thanks GW readers for all your help!

To go with the sofas, get him a TV, something to put the TV on, a Playstation 3, Rockband (latest version), some dishes and utensils, a bed, a good pillow, and an inexpensive computer with internet access so he can iChat with his buddies and download music into Rockband. Make sure his place has a microwave (swapmeets and garage sales and open box sales are great for cheap microwaves).

Stock the kitchen with easy to make meals, add some premade family favorites in containers he can keep, and a big container of homemade chocolate chip cookies and his favorite beer. Don't forget the bottle opener. And a good supply of high quality soft TP. My guess is after military meals and toiletries, it's those sorts of things that will help him feel at home more than the color coordination of throw pillows (in my experience, men HATE throw pillows anyway).

I would just get a solid color "bed in a bag" sheet/comforter set using a Bed Bath and Beyond or Target coupon. Ikea or swapmeet for the dishes/utensils and a couple of pots and pans.

If he comes home and finds some cool games to play (the PS3 is also a blue ray DVD player, so it will double for watching movies) and a way to keep in touch with his buddies, it will go a long way to helping him feel at home.

I'm not sure all young men of this decade are like the old fashioned bachelors of years past who could not appreciate a stylish environment; if you guide them towards an attractive environment, they'll learn to recognize it and like it.

Ikea should fit the bill with inexpensive but stylish things.

I am decorating my 24 yr old son's house as we speak. He has a brown sofa and I'm using deep rust, terrecotta,tan and cream colors. I can see using brown,tan and cream with the red sofas. Penney's always has good prices on towels and linens, I found better quality there for less than at WalMart. To get him started, I fixed ziploc bags with paperclips, rubberbands,pencils, inkpens, notepads,small nails,tape, etc. Whatever I had in my junk drawer or desk. Cleaning supplies, tool kit, first aid kit and a sewing kit ( don't know if that will ever be used :) You can shop in your own cabinets. I wouldn't spend any money on accessories, unless you know what style he likes. I would stick to the basics and that alone will add up. Tv, microwave, fridge and sofa seems to be the most important items.Ask friends, family and coworkers if they happen to have household items that they might want to sell or get rid of. I vote for craigslist,garage sales, etc. as well.

I don't really have any decorating advice, but do have to say that guys like a put-together home as much as girls I think. My 22yo dd got her first apartment in May and got most stuff from CL, mostly Queen Anne look. The first time her new group of friends came over (they all started work about the same time) the guys all loved it and remarked that it looked like a real person lived there - unlike their apartments.