Every guy with a man cave knows that that’s his sacred space where he can be in charge of everything. Unlike in the rest of the house where the wife is the boss, the man can be the king in his cave, managing decoration, furniture and appliances. However, it’s not enough to just toss an armchair and a TV inside and expect to enjoy true relaxation and peace. Here are a few tips on how to make your man cave more enjoyable for everyone who steps inside, but mostly yourself:
Declutter the space
In many cases, man caves hold a lot of junk: unfinished DIY projects, old sporting equipment, unused tools, outdated tech, etc. These junk things do nothing for your space but make it cluttered, and there’s no relaxation in clutter. Grab your biggest trash bag and start purging things, leaving something for donation or garage sale and something for the landfill. Once your space is free of clutter, you’ll not only feel much more pleasant in your man cave but also have more space for actually useful things.
Come up with a theme
Any space looks more attractive when it’s coherent, so settling on a theme for your man cave is a great idea to boost comfort and aesthetic appeal. You can go very broad with your theme and choose to focus on sports, video games, movies or drinking, or you can pick a narrower niche like baseball, League or Legends, cowboy movies or specific bar recreation. Either way, this theme will be something that’s very familiar to you, so you won’t have an issue creating something beautiful and fun.
Add plumbing
Of course, you don’t want to leave your man cave every time you want a beer or a glass of whiskey. In that case, you need a little bar for your cave. You can take different approaches to the design, but first, make sure your plumbing is good if you’re planning to put in a sink for washing up and food prep. If you have a drain and water supply but haven’t used it for a long time, you can often experience blocked drains and other plumbing issues. Luckily, it’s never been this easy to remove blockages, thanks to the latest technology. Once your drains are flowing freely, you can even consider adding a small bathroom for when the beer catches up with you.
Boost comfort with furniture
You deserve the ultimate comfort and relaxation in your space, so make sure to introduce the right furniture into your man cave. Low and chunky sofas and matching armchairs are always a good idea, but if you want to take things further, you can even opt for those cinema-style seats. The latter is a very practical solution if you often have larger groups of people hanging out, watching sports and playing video games, because it’s easy to put these seats in two rows and still provide everyone with comfort and visibility. And don’t forget side tables and coffee tables to hold your drinks, remotes, joysticks and ashtrays.
Don’t forget the lighting
Lighting has a huge effect on a room, so make sure to do more for your man cave than just a single overhead fixture. Sure, you do need overhead fixtures for general lighting, but you also want to add some layers of illumination to shine some light on certain interest spots. There are great accent lights you can use for your wall art and certain displays. LED strips are also a popular solution, especially for tech lovers, because certain models can be programmed to your liking—it’s a very fun project. Some hanging pendants are great for lighting up certain tasks like your poker games or your pool clashes.
Add a focal point
Every room in your house, your man cave included, needs to have an obvious interest point that will steal the attention at first glance. This item is great for hiding any imperfections in your space because everyone will usually just focus on it. It’s also the best conversation starter and can be a great background for your photos and videos. Anything can be a focal point, from a gallery wall covered with sports memorabilia to that stylish oak barrel table. Or maybe you have a vintage military chest to serve as your coffee table. How about a huge mural of your favorite musician or a medieval-style chandelier?
If you follow these tips above, your man cave will look and feel better than ever. You’ll not only be 100% comfortable in there but also have a place that displays who you are as a person, so you can show off all your best sides.
