A Man Cave Offers Welcome Respite from the Daily Grind

By Nia Lawrence


You should consider setting up a man cave if you're spending too much time in front of your entertainment units. If you have room to spare in the basement or attic, then you'll have the perfect spot to carve a private nook for your gaming and media centers. The setup prevents you from disturbing the rest of the household with the racket, but a man cave can also provide a hangout venue for your beer buddies. Furnishing your own recreation room should be easy enough if you pull in the odds and ends of diversions scattered around the house. You'll be surprised by how much stuff you can cram into such a small space, including a mini living room, poker table, fridge, and private office.

You'll have the perfect excuse to crank up the volume of your entertainment units, but you should invest in soundproofing material to minimize the spill. The walls and ceiling should be amply padded and cushioned, and the floor should be heavily carpeted. You won't notice the difference from within (especially when you're in the middle of an intense Call of Duty campaign), but the rest of the house and the neighborhood will appreciate your efforts to make the racket as tolerable as possible. It's best to set up the nook on a remote part of the house, particularly the basement. You can also make room in the attic or the garage so long as the inner walls are soundproofed. If you can shell out extra money for a separate shed on the yard, the isolated space will also diffuse the sound spill from your entertainment units.

You can't call your man cave your own if it isn't furnished with your interests. You'll have to resist the furnishing frenzy and choose appliances and furniture you'll actually use. Don't purchase complicated exercise machines if a treadmill and cycling machine will do. Your man cave can be as masculine or as geeky as you want, so make sure your private space is perfectly comfortable as is. You can build on the stuff you already have; add a few luxuries (recliners, gaming consoles, a proper poker table) to complete the setup. Make the most of the available space, but keep the setup simple. Your stuff may be neatly organized when you move in, but these easily clutter up the room if you don't sort through the necessities and trifles in your hoard.

Make sure your significant other is comfortable with the setup. You may think that isolating your private space should be enough to ease her early-morning anxieties, but you should also build a private retreat for your spouse. It may be an exercise room, a bathroom extension with a separate tub, or a craft room. Your children's interests should also be considered; they'll twist your arm until you give build a recreation center fully furnished with entertainment units.

Your man cave makes room for a quiet retreat from the daily grind. You'll compromise for the adjustment with a major home renovation, but the investment should be worth it if you can enjoy quality time by yourself or with your buddies once in a while.




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