(Last modified on April 2nd, 2020)
Sometimes it’s about the journey, not the destination. This saying rings true for a lot of things—including your man cave! Rather than think of your man cave as perfect or finished, a real man understands that everything can be improved with a little work. When you find yourself bored with your cave, lacking variation, or simply wishing it looked better, then follow these steps carefully to renovate the room. On top of quickly changing the look of your room, most of these steps are easy on your wallet! Make good use of these 11 ways to completely revamp your man cave!
The simplest way to improve and renovate your man cave is to identify whether or not it fails to show off your theme. Small improvements, such as an extra lamp or poster that match the theme, go a long way towards making your man cave look and feel new. Also think about ways to expand your theme. In example, for a Star Wars man cave, what if you painted a black and white starry sky behind your entertainment system? It would really bring home the theme to your man cave.
One way to improve existing furniture is to buy more or replace something, but this suggestion focuses more on changing something you already have into something new. Find someone who knows reupholstery and ask them to customize your furniture, where possible. For a very effective (and cheap) way to change up your furniture, look into couch and chair covers. They make a huge variety of them in all sorts of sizes, so I promise that something out there matches your cave! You can put large decals on your fridge and even paint a new design on your coffee table.
Eye pieces make or break a room. Everyone knows that. What they don’t know is that art grows old when it stays the same for a year or two. To revamp your man cave in a simple way, find a new eye catcher to put up on the wall. If your art all looks the same size, opt for something three to four times bigger than your average piece of art. Sure, it takes up a lot of room on the wall, but it also completely changes the look of your room. People walking in will see something totally new, and once you throw in a few other minor changes, the room feels completely revamped to both you and your guests!
Perhaps the most overlooked way of revamping a room, cleaning away old stuff and clearing space out goes a long way towards making a room look new. Especially if you’re doing this for yourself, cleaning should be the first thing you do when you revamp! Space out your furniture in order to create the illusion of space in small man caves. Dust everything, wash everything, and disinfect surfaces. The sheen of clean stuff really stands out when you neglect a room for months! If you don’t feel like cleaning yourself, hire a cleaner to scrub everything for you.
Some portions of your room stay unused, even after you ‘finish’ your man cave. To further renovate your man cave, look into repurposing those areas. Instead of a blank corner, put in a chair with a side table and books. With a small lamp and a little bit of art, the previously blank area becomes a cozy reading corner! Convert spaces in the middle of the room to bars, game tables, or a decorative display. If a spot looks impossible to use, try adding in a moving piece like an indoor fountain to give it purpose! Periodically repurposing your space ensures that you use every part of the cave without cluttering up the room.
Many people skip three crucial aspects of the man cave when they first set it up. These three major players are the wall, floor, and ceiling! When you add new textures to the room, start with them. Paper just one wall to make it pop out from the others. Use wooden flooring, brick walls, and textured ceiling paint to really make each unique. On top of the walls, look into adding textured furniture. Wood slab tables and stone furniture both look great and work well. Use string or wire to decorate furniture with flat surfaces. Lastly, put some magnets on the fridge and keep them there.
Gradually phase out your old lighting with something completely different. I say gradually only because you need light to set up new stuff. Otherwise, I would say to outright toss out those old lights! Lighting absolutely defines a room. Even just changing out light bulbs transforms the colors of a room. Rather than purchasing a few string lights from IKEA, look into simple lamps that either sit on a desk or hang on the wall.
Use some close to each other in order to create unique shadows on your wall displays. Hide color-changing LED lights behind furniture or translucent material to give it that futuristic glow. Whatever you choose to setup, your new lighting will dramatically change the appearance of your room!
Two easy ways exist to add a living aspect to the man cave. The first—and easiest type of living thing—involves plants. Pick a simple and easy-to-grow plant and put it in an unoccupied space. Wall-hanging planters and ceiling-hanging planters also work if you struggle with space issues in the cave. Cacti and other succulents make great additions, since it’s nigh impossible to kill them. Seriously, if you leave one without water for months, it looks exactly the same. Don’t kill them on purpose, of course, but something that easy keeps the upkeep of your cave simple.
Your other easy option is to set up an aquarium. While I say ‘easy,’ I’m referring more to the upkeep. Choosing the size of your aquarium (and determining whether or not it would break the floor), what type of water to include, what sort of fish to get, and what sort of ornaments to display makes things a little complicated. On top of that, you need to monitor the pH levels to ensure that your aquarium stays safe for your new fishy friends. Nonetheless, an aquarium revamps the room and literally brings life into the cave. You can even double up and put live plants in the tank!
This step helps you rid yourself of redundancies. If you own something that you haven’t touched in weeks—or even months—then toss it. Or, if you’re the type that likes to hoard things, move them into a box or closet of ‘unused’ things. When you still haven’t used it after a month, then you seriously need to toss it out. Don’t be a hoarder! If it feels wasteful, then sell it on eBay or Craigslist to someone who will use it. By keeping unused items out of the room, you free up space for actually useful objects. It also helps you learn where your interests really lie and helps prevent compulsive purchases in the future.
On top of throwing out non-necessary items, look at the items you need but…don’t feel an attachment to. A kitschy lamp in a style you hate might provide the room with nice light, but since it ruins part of the room for you, buy a new lamp and throw the old one out! If you hate a furniture cover, bring it to goodwill or something. It’s time for that nasty rug to go! Feel free to reconsider the art on your walls as well. Your man cave represents you as a person, but it also performs a service for you. You relax in here and enjoy the room you built up. By further connecting yourself to the room, it feels like you revamp the room with just a few changes!
Perhaps the most powerful tool in the renovation kit, rearrangement transforms a room entirely without burning a hole in your wallet. Even just rotating your current setup makes the room look new, but obviously, you want to go further than that. Rethink the way that you access your man cave. In example, if you usually hang out near the fridge while watching a game, put that fridge closer to the couch. If you only touch your hammock or beanbags during a late night movie session, find a place to hide them during the day instead of keeping them out. Organize your cabinets and shelves and even switch their contents, if it seems feasible! The sky is the limit!
In the end, you need to own your man cave. Take care of it and keep up with the cleaning. Even with a complete remodel of the mantuary, it shows your inner character and how you always strive for perfection. Your continued progress through life and climb upwards into success reflects in your man cave. Revisit the design of a cave once a year and see if everything still matches you. If not, then you know what to do! Check back here for all 11 ways to completely revamp your man cave and enjoy the journey to your new mantuary!
