Make Your Man a Man Cave!

Firstly, with today being a special day, I’d like to wish all of the mothers out there a very happy Mother’s Day! The holiday sparked an idea for me…what is a gift that could benefit not only the lady in your life, but that lucky man too? Enter the man cave. If you started now, you could potentially create a space for your man by our next holiday, Father’s Day. It’s important for both men and women to have a designated spot in a shared space to claim as their own.

There are tons of benefits to having a man cave - giving your guy a personal place to unwind and rejuvenate, a place to display his things that he loves and it creates another space that could double for entertaining guests. Man caves don’t have to lack a sense of style and house lawn chairs and blank walls except for the occasional poster here and there. There is an up and coming trend in the design world that involves creating masculine, debonair man caves that are worthy of being a part of any home!

You may be thinking that you don’t have the space for such a cave – sometimes it just takes a little rethinking. Do you have a large garage that could be reworked to house such a place as well as a car? How about a spare bedroom, basement or even a storage shed? Of course, whichever space you pick will determine the size and therefore the type of amenities your cave will have.

The first thing you will need to do when deciphering what type of man cave yours will be, is to decide which sorts of activities will be done in the space. Perhaps your man is a music lover with a collection of records and guitars and needs a space to jam and display his items. Is he a movie guru in need of DVD storage, a big screen and a home theater set up? Let’s not forget about our sports fanatic with loads of memorabilia in need of an at home sports bar and game room! There is no right or wrong idea for a man cave since every man is different, his cave will be too.

The key is to stay comfortable, stay masculine and get creative. Typically, men don’t follow the feminine rule of who cares how it feels when it looks good. Just think about four inch heels – we only tell ourselves they’re comfortable when really, it’s just the opposite. Men are not about to choose a stiff, dainty chair when they can choose their soft, over sized chair that consumes them at the end of the day. Comfort is so important to keep in mind when creating your cave, so a finished floor is a must – nobody likes to feel like their space is an unfinished after thought. Even if you’re sticking with a concrete floor, can you stain and seal it and throw some area rugs on there? If you’re planning on putting your cave in a basement or garage, make sure enough heat is reaching the space too!

Staying masculine means that floral and feminine prints are out – stick to geometrical or textured patterns that evoke strong feelings of masculinity. Hard textures such as metal, concrete and wood are going to be huge hits in your cave. Leather, tweed and other knobby fabrics are good ideas for your softer goods – but keep in mind that leather can tend to get really cold or hot depending on its atmosphere, so doing all of your furniture in leather is not the greatest idea. Staying masculine doesn’t mean to forget about pillows and throw blankets – I’ve never known a man to turn down a fluffy pillow and fuzzy blanket. It does however mean that they probably don’t need your six decorative pillows on a sofa, just the essentials will do.

Getting creative is important when creating a man cave – it’s a great way to bring personalized touches unique to your man’s personality to the space. Maybe you can create a pouf out of some rope and a tire for the car enthusiast in your life or sew up some pillows out of his old flannel shirts? There are tons of do it yourself options out there to help you create a personal touch for the space. The majority of people, men included, tend to like a space with “home” touches and a sense of warmth, so it is essential to help bring these additions to your cave.

There are endless options and possibilities for creating a man cave. Be sure to do some research on the types of options out there and get started building! As for giving a man cave as a gift, this is a guaranteed hit!