By the time you've reached a certain age barring bankruptcy, flood or other natural disaster your place looks pretty much the way you want it to. But while you may be comfortable with your living situation, your boyfriend or girlfriend is bound to inspect the premises like a cranky elementary school teacher grading an overdue diorama. Here's a quick rundown of what your significant other is likely to focus on, with a view to how men and women (surprise!) tend to see things slightly differently.
The Bathroom
What women look for: Cleanliness. Even if she never, ever plans to do serious business there, a gal won't settle for anything less than sealed-for-her-protection sterility: No scum in the toilet bowl, no fungus on the shower curtain, no nudie magazines stashed clumsily inside the hamper.
What men look for: Weird stuff in the medicine cabinet. There could be a six-inch cockroach leading a kazoo chorus in the sink, and your boyfriend will be so fascinated by your UFO-shaped birth-control-pill dispenser that he won't even notice the blaring bug band.
The Closets
What men look for: Lack of room. If a gal's closets are crammed to bursting with pocketbooks, cocktail dresses and enough shoes to stock a Macy's warehouse sale, it makes the average guy wonder: Will I be able to support her in the manner to which she's become accustomed?
What women look for: Room, and lots of it. Your girlfriend doesn't care if your sports jackets are 100% cashmere or a rayon/Garanimals blend; she just wants space for all her pocketbooks, cocktail dresses and shoes.
The CD Collection
What women look for: Death metal, early '70's synth rock (think Yes or Emerson, Lake & Palmer), or "novelty song" compilations. Ownership of any of these genres in bulk points to a guy who is constitutionally incapable of having a mature relationship.
What men look for: Waif-like, weepy oh-so-liberal female folk singers. Any gal who owns more than one Kate Bush, Sarah McLachlan, or Jewel CD is, to the average Joe's ears, already way more trouble than she's worth.
The Pictures
What men look for: Old boyfriends. Framed 8X10 glossies of you and your ex-beau sipping champagne aboard a yacht in the Mediterranean are bound to make the new flame in your life a bit, well, depressed. If you're divorced or separated, prominently displayed wedding portraits may make him suicidal.
What women look for: Old relatives. It's nice to have one or two pictures of mom in the living room, but any more than that, anywhere in the vicinity of the bedroom, reveals a lot more than you probably intended.
The TV Set
What women look for: Size screen size, that is. Anything over 32 inches is bad news; it means the guy they've hooked up with is either a sports junkie or owns the complete Star Trek: The Next Generation DVD box set. Anything less than 17 inches, on the other hand, points to a fellow who's unemployed and/or six months behind in his alimony payments. They'll breathe a big sigh of relief when they see that standard 27-incher parked in the living room.
By the time you've reached a certain age barring bankruptcy, flood or other natural disaster your place looks pretty much the way you want it to. But while you may be comfortable with your living situation, your boyfriend or girlfriend is bound to inspect the premises like a cranky elementary school teacher grading an overdue diorama. Here's a quick rundown of what your significant other is likely to focus on, with a view to how men and women (surprise!) tend to see things slightly differently. 
