8 Tips for Making Your Man Cave
Making a man cave is one of the most rewarding things you can do. You deserve your own space to watch sport, enjoy movies and laugh around the football table without the bustle of the house. Whether you’re alone or your mates are around, your man cave needs to be the perfect place to unwind. You’re going to need to cleverly select the best room in your home, choose a theme for your man cave and kit it out with everything you could possibly need!
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So you’re certain that you need a man cave. That’s the very first step and a decision you won’t regret making! But where do you need to go from here? Here are 8 tips for making your man cave, starting right at the beginning.
1. Measure Your Room
Before you can jump the gun and splurge on furniture, or a freestanding poker table, you need to be certain that your room is big enough! The basement and the garage are two ideal options for the setting of your man cave, as they’re out of the way while being reasonably sized. If you have a loft, you could decide to use this space instead!
Credit: https://www.improvenet.com/a/7-basement-remodels-you-wish-you-had
For a rectangular or square room, you’ll first need to measure the length and then the width of your space. Multiply the length of the room by the width of the area, and you’ve got your measurements! This is the amount of space that you have to fill, and a note of the area will be handy if you want to switch up your carpet or add a rug.
2. Plan Your Wiring and Plumbing
If you’re relatively near the kitchen and the bathroom, your man cave might not need solo plumbing. Yet, if your setting is the basement and you’d like a full bar with running water, plumbing needs to be considered early on! Wiring is guaranteed to be important, or your electronic dartboard and your TV can’t be plugged in anywhere.
Credit: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/football-mad-dad-builds-britains-11532915
Maybe your man cave is in the loft. If this is the case, you may even want to install an en-suite style bathroom. A close toilet means you don’t need to travel downstairs to use the loo! Call a local plumber for this step, and get your facilities sorted before filling the room with decor.
3. Decide Your Theme
Now you’ve secured all the basic facilities you’ll need, and you know how much space you’re filling, it’s time to decide on a theme! Should you have absolutely no clue which route you’re going down, flick through our guide of man cave bar ideas. Base decor around memorabilia for your favourite football club, or fill your room with lavish wallpaper for a gentlemen’s club vibe.
Credit: https://homemydesign.com/2020/35-industrial-man-cave-ideas-to-liven-up-your-style/
A theme might sound too high maintenance for you, in which case you can stick with an exposed brick wall, metal features and relaxed furniture for an ‘industrial’ feel.
4. Pick a Centerpiece
The most important piece of furniture in your man cave is your centrepiece! This is the item that will set the tone for the rest of your room, therefore it needs to suit your theme perfectly. Your gambling lair with a gentlemen’s club theme needs a roulette table in the middle. Your football lover’s haven needs a table football centrepiece! Your centrepiece is where you and your guests will spend the majority of the time.
Of course, your centrepiece doesn’t need to be a games table! Though pool tables and air hockey games look incredible at the centre of a room, you may choose a flatscreen TV or a lavish sound system instead.
5. Sort Your Seating
Since you’re going to be spending hours appreciating the calm of your man cave, you’ll definitely need to invest in comfortable seating. Leather sofas are always a great shout, particularly with the exposed brick wall and industrial look. More importantly, the positioning of your sofas needs to be smart! An open-plan arrangement means your mates can relax around the TV or the black jack table without obscured vision.
Your bar stools and countertop should also ideally face the entertainment, even if this means they’re a little walk away from where the drinks have been poured.
6. Regulate Room Temperature
Air conditioning is particularly important in loft or basement man caves because you won’t necessarily have windows to open for a breath of fresh air! Windows are always preferable, but a free-standing air conditioning unit will keep your room at the perfect temperature even in the heat of summer. On the flip side, you definitely want rugs to hand in the depths of winter if your space is getting chilly.
Credit: https://www.torr-engineering.com/man-cave-air-conditioning/
Don’t be afraid to switch up your furniture seasonally. Not only are a few throws and extra cushions a clever idea to whip out in autumn, your entertainment should change too. An air hockey table feels a bit like a summer activity, whereas snooker is great entertainment with a couple of ciders on a chilly winter’s night.
7. Fix Your Lighting
Simple ceiling lights are all that you’d practically need to illuminate your man cave. Yet lighting can do so much more to highlight your space and change the ambience during poker games or movies. You may decide to install neon LED signs for a slightly retro feel and a coloured buzz of lighting in the corner of your room. Backlights might make more sense for your setting, and they’ll fit perfectly behind the TV.
8. Add Personal Touches
You’re coming to the end of sorting your man cave, and the end is in sight! The finishing touch is adding personal items to the setting, and making your space as homely as possible. All of those football trophies you won as goalie in school? Your framed, signed football shirt? It’s time to pin them up or get a display cabinet so that your pals can admire them while they’re standing around your bar.
Credit: https://seatup.com/blog/transforming-your-basement-into-a-man-cave/
While our tips can help you make the most of the space you’ve got for your man cave, your personal touches are crucial. The best man cave tip that we can give is to make the room feel like your own!
Regardless of whether you’re a poker fanatic, a football fiend or a movie marathoner, you’ve got all the advice you need to make your perfect man cave. Contact us at the Man Cave Project if you have any further questions!