Decorating the Man Cave Mantuary for the Abode

The term "Man Cave" obviously is derived from cave man days when, supposedly, man ruled over woman. Now woman has her say. She works, contributes, takes care of the family, and the home. Often the modern-day man longs for a place to step away from the bright lights, and the neat and tidy hominess. He longs for the cave he can hide away in, where he can invite his friends to have his man's club. Single guys have their own abode fashioned to their perfect cave likes. Men sharing homes with their significant partners seem jealous of their single comrades seeking a niche in the abode to call their own mantuary.

The Ultimate Man's Sanctuary

Photo courtesy of Diosanborrego/ Pixabay

The mantuary is the essential sanctuary for the man to call his cave. As soon as a man can decorate there are the common elements that attract him. Most guys will say the first items they want are the huge TV and electronic accessories. Whether it is your own bachelor pad or a spot you acquired in the garage or basement there is decorating help for you to make your cave the envy of all your friends.

What are your hobbies? What do you enjoy doing? Are you really into cars, or sports? Do you love to fish? Your dream could be to have your own game room to play billiards and poker in. Maybe you want your own media room with all of the accoutrements or a stage and sound system for your band to practice. Decide how you will want to personalize your room.

The first thing to consider is what will be the center piece of the room. This could be your media center or media wall. Do you want one huge TV to watch movies on? If you are really into sports you might opt for having a few flat screens on the wall to watch numerous games at once. Of course, a great sound system is a must. If you do not have a fireplace but would like one or need some heating for the garage there are alternatives. Gas fireplaces are nice but need installation as do wood burning stoves. The new electric fireplaces look nice, offer heat and present a surface to showcase your TV or trophies.

Mancentric Decor

You do not want to have to worry about spillage when you are having fun with your brethren's so it would be preferable to have effortlessly cleanable furnishings. Work up from the flooring, then choose your wall dcor and furnishings.

Going with a solid floor allows for easy cleaning. You can paint the concrete in the garage or basement with a fun color or pattern in high gloss enamel and a polyurethane top coat. If you are into baseball, paint a baseball diamond or a race track is a great option if you are into Nascar. Tile or laminate make good flooring options as well. You will want to place an area rug in your seating area. Rugs can easily be picked up, cleaned, or replaced when needed. For a garage, roll the rug up when you need to move the car in.

There are some interesting choices of furnishings that will make for great conversation pieces. If you are into cars there are sofas and chairs crafted out of car seats and even part of an automobile's body. Wheels and engines can be used as table bases. Polish or paint them first and then use glass for the table top. Tool Cabinets can be repurposed for storage. Chairs can be made using baseball bats, hockey sticks, or skis. You can use diner seating if you are into the oldies. Old stadium seats and barber chairs can be used for seating as well.

Photo courtesy of Alleideen

Your fabric choices can go well beyond ordinary leather. If leather is a must then consider a color other than black. Commercial Crypton fabrics are a great alternative as it is impervious to most spills and will last through almost anything. Animal skins can be fun for rugs and upholstered benches. The alpha wolf in you may like to use fur on accent pieces or as throws. Other manly fabrics include wools, tweeds and denim. Repurpose an Indian blanket as upholstery.

Walls can be more than just paint or basic wood paneling. Repurposed wood can look interesting when you make your own paneling. Imagine creating walls that look like a log cabin. You can make your own wall decor using items that you have collected such as street signs, license plates, maps, old ticket stubs, movie posters, or album covers. Football helmets, baseball caps and sports jerseys can be hung on the wall as well as college memorabilia. All of those old CDs or records that you no longer want can be used as wall covering. Create a mural to cover a wall with a golf course, forest, race track, or casino. For athletic types, you can even make one wall into a rock climbing activity wall.

A dream bar may be possible if you have enough room for counter seating. A full bar should include a refrigerator and perhaps an ice maker. Bars can be built from old vehicles or even old books. For extra fun add a juke box and a popcorn making machine for movie nights. If space allows think about a hot tub or a sauna. When the man cave is complete enjoy the destressing as you relax in your mantuary.