Every guy needs a mancave. A mancave serves as a place of respite for doing manly hobbies and storing those tools and equipment that your wife/girlfriend is convinced are cluttering up the home. Any space can be turned into a mancave from an extra bedroom, to a garage to an attic. When making the transformation, here are some renovation tips and ideas to help you on your way.
Removing existing clutter
Unless you just so happen to have an empty room in the house, there’s probably existing stuff already in there. You can remove this entirely – or you can work around it. Garages and lofts are prime places to build a mancave, but are often full of previous stuff. Some of this you may be able to sell, donate and throw away – you can even relocate it into container storage (although this will cost you money). Other stuff may be easier staying put. For example, you don’t want to have to shell out thousands on plumbing to relocate a washing machine or a boiler.
Making it livable
Not all spaces in our homes are designed to be liveable. Your mancave will probably need electricity, but an attic or garage may not have electrical outlets. Extension cables can be messy and be trip hazards, so consider hiring an electrician to wire in some sockets. Insulation is also important for keeping your mancave cosy. On top of this, you may need ventilation if there are no windows. An extractor fan can also be used for this purpose and is especially advised if your mancave is going to double up as a workshop. All these renovations could not just improve the practicality of your mancave but up the value of your house.
Kitting it out
What you put in your mancave is entirely up to you. Fan of sports? There are all kinds of indoor sports items you can buy that can be great for when you invite friends over. A dartboard can be placed in any room of the house. If you’ve got the space, these air hockey tables reviews meanwhile may whet your appetite. And of course you’ll need a TV for watching the big games.
Mancaves can be a great place for storing gadgets. This could include consoles, audio equipment, computer gear, power tools, musical instruments and even electric gym equipment (you can put your weights here too).
If you’re into DIY or building things, a workbench may also be useful as well as a tool cabinet for storing equipment and parts. You can buy a workbench online or you can build your own to your very own specs using this site.
For making your mancave a little more social meanwhile, add in a couch so that multiple people can watch TV or do gaming. You can even buy a mini-fridge for putting a few beers in.
It’s unlikely you’ll want to keep all these things in your mancave – you’d be lucky if you had the space – so plan the layout first to avoid you buying lots of furniture and items beforehand that you later realise you can’t fit into your home.
