(Last modified on December 13th, 2019)
Building a man cave takes a little bit of handiwork and design ingenuity. But building the ultimate man cave? That takes concentrated effort and an eye for detail! As your number one source for man cave projects, we want to show you the path to upgrading your man space into an ultimate man cave. We go over the best ideas, the man cave essentials, how to handle each location, and even how to save money on your centerpieces. Check out this article for all your man cave must-haves of 2017, along with a detailed breakdown of the ultimate man caves around the world! Minimize your effort while impressing everyone with these decked-out cave ideas.
Do you think your man cave shows these up? Then leave a comment with some of your own photos and ideas!
Related: Why Every Man Needs A Man Cave
Whether you want some frat house essentials or simply desire a customized space of your own, checking out other man caves helps you develop ideas. We also fill this site to the brim with unique ideas, so check out the rest of our categories for a brief introduction to many themes. ‘Classic’ themes seem to work best, since antique furniture and decorations cost very little compared to their quality. Throw in a wooden floor, some carefully planned lighting, and some tunes of the time and you have yourself an excellent man cave. Another interesting theme takes the cave back to the stone age—literally. Stalactites, rock wall decorations, and running water all create the vibe of an actual cave.
For the ultimate man cave items, look no further than your central electronics. A TV obviously forms the centerpiece of most caves. Make it as large as your wallet allows, because a lot of people will watch that thing at once. Or, perhaps because you like a nice, crisp resolution for your video experience. Either way. Computers and gaming consoles also fit into most man caves, but unlike a TV, do your best to make these as discrete as possible. Too many gaudy wires ruins the organized appearance of any man cave.
Man cave gadgets that improve quality of life rate high on the list of things everyone needs in a man cave, so even rustic caves with no television or radio still need some kind of lighting to make the room spectacular. Good flooring keeps the room looking exquisite and presentable, but don’t neglect your ceiling in the design! Even the smallest designer changes to the ceiling make your man cave look like a professional job.
Almost all man caves include some kind of bar—since, after a long day of hard work, breaking open a cool one washes away all the stress. Without overindulging, of course. The essential set up of a bar involves accessible plumbing and outlets. The plumbing for the water, and the outlets to power any fridges or machines you plan on using at the bar. The bar table sits at least six inches above your working area to obscure the drink creation process. After that, grab yourself a bunch of barstools, and think carefully about how to display your wines. Do you want shelves, or perhaps a wine rack? The choice belongs to you!
For more natural setups, water matters the most! Use stone slabs and rocks to hide all of the pumps involved with your indoor pools and waterfalls. Since your man cave pool sits indoors, presumably, you also need to put in a way for the water to drain. In no situation should the pool water ever affect the foundation of the building it sits in. At the same time, above-floor pools need to drain away quickly in the event of an emergency.
Set up lighting at the same time you build your pool, saving you some trouble in the end. By incorporating lights in the design, you create interesting places for the eye to fall on during a swim. Lights help distinguish the deep end from the shallow end, along with ladders if you choose. Lastly, consider a window or even a sky light for the room. Natural lighting creates a wonderful cave experience. When you take a lady to your cave, how could she resist this sort of setup?
Once you finish all that for your pool, add soil to bare areas with no function and plant some small gardens. Many plants require very little water and soil to thrive. Given the humidity of the room, watering becomes optional for those! The greenery livens up the area, while underwater lighting makes it more atmospheric.
The little details make your man cave come together. In example, the coffee table can double as a beer holder, a pile of tires can obscure your electronics, and anything made of metal can be fashioned into coat holders. Mailboxes, license plates, metal decals, and guitars all make excellent wall decorations. In order to make the ultimate man cave accessories for yourself, look at your current accessories. Modify your lamp bases with something that matches your theme better. Create shelves out of old car parts. Convert a barrel into a chest and store your beer in there. Although people overlook most of these little accessories, together, they create an amazing picture of your ultimate man cave!
Most men don’t get to choose the location of their mantuary. However, that works out fine, since half the fun occurs through dealing with weird spaces! Rather than wondering where to build your man cave, focus on the space available to you in the short term, and then on the ‘how to build a man cave’ aspect. In this section, I go over the pros and cons of each location, so you maximize the way that you use your room. By using all of your unique resources as best as you can, you transform your private man space into the ultimate man cave! Let’s start with the low down on your personal challenge!
Perfect for tinkerers, blacksmiths, and carpenters, this room provides ample space and the perfect flooring for messy work and easy clean up. Unfortunately, the AC stops just short of the garage. To cool down, you need to open your man cave up and let the whole world see your personal space. And let’s not even get into the bugs.
In some ways, a backyard man cave solves a lot of problems. It stands way outside the house for ultimate privacy, it contains lots of natural lighting, and the layout usually lends a lot of space for creativity. However, certain issues plague the man shed more than any other type of space. People rarely install electricity in their sheds during construction, so adding that in after the fact costs more than a little bit. Similarly, a lack of plumbing means people need to run all the way to the house to use the restroom.
Certainly the most popular location for man caves, basements provide the best of both worlds. Bathrooms, the kitchen, and your family all await you just up the staircase. At the same time, that stair case works wonders in separating you from the house when you need alone time! The only bad parts are the bugs that inevitably inhabit the basement and the risk of water damage from leaking pipes or fierce rains.
Small rooms in the house contain windows with which to shower your room in light! On top of that, numerous pre-installed outlets make setting up your electronics a cinch. If placed next to a bathroom, putting in plumbing for the man cave becomes a simple manner. However, given its location within a home, I imagine your kitchen as the center of any bar plans. As for the disadvantages, unique flooring and walls prove difficult to install, plus the room connects easily to the rest of the house. In other words, the man cave feels less like a private cave and more like a room of solitude.
Simply put, rustic looks and minimalist themes cost very little money to implement. For furniture, scour yard sales, antique stores, and pawn shops for the best deals. For decorations, visit thrift shops or even goodwill to find some unique baubles. At first, the items will look completely different, and fail to mesh together. As you acquire more stuff for your cave, a theme starts to occur, and you simply start looking for those objects. Refurbish any furniture you find lacking or horrendously garish in order to suit your look. Following these rules, you create a humble man cave for yourself on a tight budget!
After working with your location, picking out your theme, figuring out the essentials, purchasing accessories and furniture, and installing all of the necessities…well, let’s just say you deserve some time to relax! Sit back in your wonderful new man cave and take pride in your work. If you never designed a room before, your first go at a man cave may seem lacking. However, after living in the cave, you learn quickly which parts work and which parts you need to fix. And, as a resourceful man, fixing things poses no problem for you! In time, you create your own, personal ultimate man cave. Look forward to it!