A Reddit post about a man in his mid-20s requesting a few interior design tips for his Chicago apartment was met by an unexpected roasting by other Reddit users for what many saw as an attempt to show off his restaurant-like home.
The post was shared in Reddit’s r/malelivingspace subreddit by Brady (known as u/bs40404 on Reddit and @bs40404 on Instagram), who is a software engineer working remotely from home, he told Newsweek.
The post was titled: “26M and it’s the first time I’ve decorated for Christmas, how’d I do?” The caption added: “Looking for recommendations on how to make the space feel more cozy.”
The post features several images of his spacious apartment, which has floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a glass top dining table, and a small drinks bar area. Brady, who did not share his last name, told Newsweek that he lives alone in this rented two-bedroom condo.
He explained: “In the building, all the corner units look like this. For the interior design, I didn’t really have a direction. I just picked things I liked and thought would look good together.”
The post went viral, earning 31,000 upvotes and 2,700 comments since it was posted on December 17, with many responses accusing the poster of “flexing” rather than genuinely seeking advice.
Brady told Newsweek: “I guess I get why people felt I was bragging. I obviously understand I live in a nice place and but I have also put a lot of work into making it feel nice, and the subreddit I posted in is dedicated to men showing off their living spaces. So, I definitely did not expect the blowback I received. Isn’t the point to show off our living spaces?”
The viral Reddit post comes amid a broader trend of Americans pouring money into their homes. Home renovation spending in the United States has surged in recent years, with the median spend rising 60 percent between 2020 ($15,000) and 2023 ($24,000), according to a survey by Houzz, the home design website.
The survey also found that Gen X spent the most on renovation projects, with a median spend of $25,000 in 2023, compared with Baby Boomers at $24,000. Houzz noted that the top 10 percent of spenders in those groups had significantly larger budgets, with Gen Xers spending $180,000 and Baby Boomers $131,000, according to the report.
Brady said some Redditors claimed the apartment belonged to his parents and that “they paid for everything, I had an interior designer, I had live-in maids, that this was a $10-$15k a month place, all of which are completely untrue,” he told Newsweek. “I have afforded college, my student debt, this place, all my purchases for the place, and all my living expenses on my own without any assistance from anyone.”
Responding to the comments about him “flexing,” the Reddit poster clarified in the caption: “No, my parents don’t pay for this place, nor do I get any support from them. Some of ya’ll really love to hate.”
He also addressed some of the assumptions people were making about the apartment itself. “It’s located in Chicago and I got it for a steal. It’s also not a penthouse, I have neighbors above me,” he wrote in the caption of the post.
Noting that he works in tech as a software engineer for “a FAANG adjacent company with a couple years’ of experience,” the poster called his apartment “very obtainable” at his career level.
He also pushed back against the idea that everything in the space was high-end. “A lot of the things in my apartment were actually gotten off Facebook marketplace!” he wrote in the caption.
Still, he acknowledged that the apartment is “nice,” insisting he was trying to get feedback on how to make it feel warmer—not how to upgrade the building itself. “I understand it’s a nice place, but still am getting a feel for interior design, so was hoping to get some tips on that, not necessarily the bones of the place,” he said.
Brady told Newsweek that he’s seen other users post about “nice places” in the same subreddit who “haven’t received half the hate that my post did.”
He noted: “Maybe it was the fact I asked ‘how’d I do,’ but that was a genuine question on my part because I was looking for interior design/Christmas decoration tips. Thankfully, there were people who actually did provide good suggestions. I think people focused on the tall windows and got triggered/jealous.”
‘Lovely’ vs. ‘Flexing’
The photos in the viral Reddit post drew immediate attention from commenters, some of whom were blunt about what they believed was really happening in the post.
U/Golfwang-jc wrote: “This feels like a flex…. I don’t like it… And yes, I’m jealous,” while u/Uncle-Cake added: “It is absolutely flexing.” U/PLOCourses agreed, saying: “It is a flex. The guy knows it looks good,” and u/Poke_Jest said: “This ain’t about the Christmas decorations. I can guarantee it.”
Even commenters who were complimentary framed their praise as an acknowledgment of the poster’s obvious success. U/dekuweku summed it up: “You have a nice pad, you are well off, so congrats. The Christmas decor is just a bonus.”
Despite the wave of skepticism, several Redditors offered sincere admiration and joked about how polished the space looked.
U/WhiskySwanson commented: “26! That is a lovely apartment,” and u/Winyamo asked: “Do you live in a steak restaurant?”
U/Masonzero agreed, writing: “Lol I was gonna say, this feels like a restaurant/bar on that decorated for the holidays. Not even in a bad way, it’s kinda cozy, tbh [to be honest].”
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