Whenever it’s time for the big game, a guy needs a place where he can enjoy it in style. Years ago, that may have been a basement or garage with a portable television and some chairs. However, guys have decided they need much more, and thus was born the man cave. There are thousands of man cave ideas, themes and products to decorate this male sanctuary , a man cave is a room or space designed according to the taste of the man of the house to be used as his personal area for hobbies and leisure activities. The man cave decor should match the style and interests of the man. To accomplish this, a guy needs all kinds of essentials to make his man cave a personal mantuary, where nothing else matters except his favorite team winning while he enjoys cold beers, hot pizza and a triple-overtime thriller.
Finding a Suitable Location to Express Your Man Cave Ideas?
A man cave needs to be somewhere where boys can be boys without worrying about bothering the ladies or neighbors. Many man caves are located in basements or garages, which are two spots that are often male domains to begin with so expressing your man cave ideas here will be met with little contempt. Garages are known to make great man cave domiciles, since they are often detached from the house and are spacious enough to accommodate several friends and lots of great man cave accessories. Basements can also be used as man caves, and sometimes offer advantages over garages. Since the basement is part of the house, fewer renovations may be needed if additional plumbing or electrical work needs to be done. Using a basement may make it easier to lay out a floor plan, depending upon the theme that’s been chosen. Some guys choose football themes or auto racing themes, while others choose fishing, hunting or other manly themes. No matter what location is chosen for one’s man cave, it’s always a good idea to bounce any man cave ideas off friends first, since they too will be enjoying the fruits of your labor.
Man Cave Appliances Are Some of the Biggest Ideas
Man cave ideas come in all shapes and sizes from the miniscule bottle cap to gargantuan refrigerator. No matter where the man cave is, it’s got to be stocked with certain appliances to pass the man cave test. Of course, no man cave is complete without the essentials such as refrigerators and microwave ovens to keep the wings hot and the drinks cold. However, there are other appliances that can take your man cave to the next level. Perhaps the most important of these is the kegerator, used for dispensing draft beer from a keg. Costing as little as $159 for a mini-kegerator to almost $600 for a full-size version, this stainless-steel piece of engineering ingenuity ensures a cold stream of draft beer will be flowing from the first pitch to the last out.
Man Cave Table Ideas
A man cave is not a man cave without its share of tables. But we’re not talking about just any ordinary tables for your man cave. The idea of having a folding table and chairs may be adequate for some. However, to be a truly manly cave, your space has to have its share of pool tables, ping pong tables, air hockey tables, foosball tables and, of course, beer pong tables. Pre-game, post-game, halftime and other breaks in the action offer you and your buddies a chance to get in a quick game of air hockey or foosball. If the worst-case scenario happens and there is no big game that night, it’s a great time to see who is the pool shark of the group. But when it comes time to settling bets or accepting a double-dog dare, there’s no better way to find out who can truly call himself the Master of the Man Cave than a good game of beer pong. Good beer pong tables can be purchased for as little as $20, but for those who call themselves professional beer pongers a custom-made table costing several hundred dollars is not out of the question.
It All Starts With the Television
While appliances and various tables are critical to having a man cave that others will envy, the best man caves often begin with the best televisions. As more fans opt to stay home and enjoy the game rather than venture out to a stadium, televisions are becoming more and more important. With high-definition being the norm with today’s TV’s, fans in a man cave can sit back in a recliner and watch the game on a wide-screen television measuring 50 inches or more. After all, nobody wants to sit outside in temperatures below zero (except maybe a crazy Green Bay Packers fan) when they can sit in a warm room with a slice of pizza in one hand and the remote control in the other. Many man caves are filled PCs and game consoles but the television is still the center piece around which many manly dens are built.
Home Bars Come in Many Shapes and Styles
Man cave home bars are designed with many different themes in mind. Some come in various team colors, while others are made to resemble camouflage for those into hunting or outdoor activities. Some home bars are portable, able to be moved around the room or even from one room to another if the man cave encompasses more than one room. Some bars are even made to fold up and be out of sight when not in use, although in most man caves the bar is rarely not in use. Good home bars can be bought for less than $600, offering all man cavers an affordable way to serve their drinks in style and partake in their favorite libation. Once you have your man cave home bar in place next you need to stock the bar with beer and spirits.
Man Cave Games Can Range from Nostalgic to Trendy
Fun can come in many forms in a man cave and a plethora of games can keep everyone entertained. Miniature basketball hoops, board games and poker cards are a favorites that will appeal to a wide range of friends. There is an almost endless list of man cave gift ideas. Sometimes the man cave is used as more of an arcade center than anything else. When simpler is better, those in the man cave go back to the future and stock it full of games from years gone by. These man cave ideas include pinball machines, classic arcade games such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong and even dartboards. Many man caves users are of the age where great memories were made standing around pinball machines or Pac-Man games on a Friday or Saturday night, so bringing those games into the man cave can help reawaken long-lost memories of days gone by. For those who love the atmosphere of an English Pub, having a dartboard around can provide a great way to pass the time and test their skills.
Sports Memorabilia and Other Cool Stuff
Sports themes and man cave ideas are among the most popular ways decorate your manspace. Here you can idealize your favorite NASCAR driver, baseball player or football star. Some man caves are set up as shrines to your favorite team. Decorating it with memorabilia such as jerseys of favorite players, signed baseballs or footballs, autographed pictures and other items can give your man cave the feeling of being part of the team. Many fans also decorate their man caves exclusively with furniture, appliances and much more that are decorated in team colors, complete with logos and even pictures of favorite players on them. No part of the man cave is immune to being decked out in team colors, not even the bathroom. Man caves everywhere are showing devotion to their favorite teams by installing custom-made toilets painted in team colors, and some even have seats and seat covers with team logs and player pictures. I don’t know what the players would think, but if that’s not devotion I don’t know what is! You never know what kind of crazy man cave ideas a rabid sports fanatic will come up with.
Customize Man Cave Signs to Suit Your Personality
Once the man cave is outfitted with the right stuff, it’s time to make sure everyone knows what lies behind closed doors. Man cave signs can not only direct friends and family your way, but also show an aspect of your personality. Signs can be customized with your name, along with perhaps a favorite saying of yours. Many man cave signs resemble those found outside pubs and bars, often displaying a beer mug full of draft beer. But if you really want to make sure your man cave draws the attention it deserves, getting a neon sign is the way to go. Often looking like marquee signs found outside movie theaters, these signs can also be customized with your name and other wording. They can also be made in your team’s favorite colors, with the neon lights displaying your team spirit.
Man Cave Rules
Remember, not just anyone can enter a man cave and having rules prominently displayed is of paramount importance. Only those who have demonstrated a certain level of machismo and street cred can call themselves members of the Man Cave Club. To make sure the man cave is kept as a sanctuary to all things guys, certain man cave rules have been put into place. For example, there’s to be no talk of figure skating in the man cave. If you’re talking about guys on ice wearing skates, it better be about the latest hockey fight during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Also, if you’re eating pizza in the man cave, you better not be using a knife and fork. No matter how hot or messy it is, a true member of the Man Cave Club is willing to let the grease drip down his arm and onto his shirt without fear of what his wife or girlfriend will say. And last but not least, no guy in the man cave is allowed to cry about anything except his team blowing the two-point conversion at the end of the Super Bowl or his favorite NASCAR driver running out of gas on the last lap of the Daytona 500. Anything else where a tear is shed, and it’s an automatic ejection from the man cave.
As the man cave continues to evolve and more man cave ideas are conjured up, more and more items will be available to make it an even more unbelievable experience. With more guys than ever before deciding they too need a space to call their own, man caves will slowly but surely become as important to a guy as his favorite truck or most comfortable pair of blue jeans. And no matter what anyone else says, it will never be acceptable to cry in the man cave. Just like there’s no crying in baseball, there’s no crying in the man cave. That is, unless that two-point conversion fails.