Makings Of A Man Cave
Guys, turn your home’s spare space into a room just for you, a total man cave dedicated to doing, like, dude stuff. Just remember this is your space, so make sure it reflects your interests and really helps you make the best of your free time and that it can comfortably hold you and all your buddies.
Choose a Theme
If the kids get to decorate their rooms in spaceships and princesses, you can make your man cave into anything you darn well please. Go all out in the colors of your favorite sports team, or maybe you’re a hunting guy and need somewhere to hang up the camo. A western saloon-style cave is easy to recreate but still feels like a room all its own. Whatever your thing, incorporate it into your design.
Superior Seating
First things first, you need to secure the best seats in the house. Cushiony sectionals and big recliners are the perfect fit for any man cave. If you’re into gaming, bean bags sized for big kids will do the trick. No matter the arrangement, be sure to arrange the seating so everyone can see the TV.
Pro Tip: Need the biggest bean bags around? CordaRoy’s in Gainesville was featured on Shark Tank, and for good reason—their bean bags are ridiculously comfortable.
Viewing Power
Now for the main event: television. Whether you’re all about football, video games or NASCAR you’ll need to see every detail. Of course, the bigger the screen the better, but you could also try a projector. Screens and setups can be an investment but don’t cost any more than your typical flat screen and will save a lot of space without an entertainment center. On a strict budget? A plain white sheet is a perfectly viable projector screen until you can save up for the real thing.
Build Your Bar
If you’re watching the big game, there is no time to leave the room for your next cold one. Sites like KegWorks.com and BarSupplies.com can help you find any odds and ends you’re missing to build the bar of your dreams, from cocktail ingredients to foot rails. Those committed to hosting many men in the cave should consider building a kegerator (which is exactly the fridge/keg hybrid it sounds like). Your keg stays icy cool in its own little fridge with a tap on the outside for easy pouring. Cheers to that, man.
Need more inspiration? Check out ManCaved.com for all the ideas you could ever need.
Let’s Get Crafty
The key ingredients to a working, inspiring craft room are 1. a big workspace, and 2. solid organization strategies. A true DIY-er can handle the décor of her craft haven, so let’s focus on the logistics of making a space to house all those supplies and all of your creativity.
DIY Desk
Whether it’s sewing, painting or scrapbooking, you need plenty of room to work. Purchasing a craft table is a big investment, so if your budget is small, try building your own (c’mon, we know you can). Composite wood cubbies are cheap from places like Walmart or Target and come in a variety of sizes. All it takes is two of those and wood of your choosing to secure on top to create a craft desk with storage room, too. If you repurpose a large table, suspend tension rods between the legs to hang anything on a spool like ribbon or rolls of paper.
See-through Storage
You may have all the materials in the world, but they’re no good if you can’t find them. Large glass cookie jars are great for holding paint tubes, markers and scrap cloth. You can also find yourself a floating shelf, drill mason jar lids to the bottom and hang. Fill the jars with small items like beads or sequins and screw them in. This keeps countertops clear without losing visibility by shoving the jars in drawers. Seeing all of your options not only helps you make the best choices for your current craft but making your supplies visible brings color and a creative feel to the room.
Bring In The Kitchen
Storage containers from the craft store can be expensive, and dollar store kitchen items do the same job for much less. A spinning spice rack could also do the trick, making use of vertical space to store more canisters of crafty goodness like glitter and making them all easy to access. Stand-up paper towel holders double as ribbon and ric rac holders. Paper towel holders that attach to the wall are the perfect place to hang scrapbooking scissors or miniature buckets for supplies using shower hooks. Oh, and when the husband empties his next six pack, cover it in patterned paper and use it as a tool caddy for paint brushes and more.
Inspire Yourself
Once everything has a home and you have the room to utilize it, you can really get to work. Cover a corkboard in a pretty fabric and customize some adorable button pushpins by gluing them to plain ol’ thumbtacks. as you see things you want to recreate online and in catalogs, you can print, tear, pin away and reference your inspiration board later. Hang near your workspace and make something beautiful.
The Perfect Playroom
If you’re tired of toys strewn across the living room or bedrooms overflowing with toys, toys, toys, then it’s time to pawn off all that drab guest bedroom furniture and DIY an amazing playroom for the kiddos. What matters here is storage of course but, more importantly, making it the most exciting room in the house for all your little players.
Plushie Pound
Stuffed animals seem to travel in large numbers and are always tumbling out of their storage bins. Why not build them their own plushie zoo? Put an old bookcase, cabinet or entertainment center to good use by removing the doors and drilling holes in the top and bottom. Remove the hooks from bungee cords and knot them through the holes to create stretchy jail bars, and keep those animals organized in their new enclosure.
Magnetic Walls
Chalkboard paint is all the rage right now, but did you know you can buy it in a magnetized form? Turn your walls into a true chalkboard that can support alphabet magnets and hold up all the beautiful paper artwork the kids can create. If painting isn’t an option, sheet metal or even a large industrial cookie sheet offers the same magnetic abilities without covering the walls in a layer of paint. You can even purchase magnetic tape to create your own magnets for playtime.
Seating As Storage
Of course, you’ll need somewhere to stick all the other toys. With the animals in their cages, most everything else will fit nicely in a few square storage ottomans. These are inexpensive, colorful options available at most superstores and make great stools at little kids’ tables for drawing and reading (they’re not too tall, ya know?).
Camping In
Nothing tops a blanket fort, right? Create a permanent bed sheet tent in the playroom using inexpensive patterned sheets. Googling “build an indoor teepee” is all it takes; choose the tutorial that matches your budget and available space. Looping string lights around the supports creates a dreamy setting for daytime naps, and kids will flock to your house for sleepovers. Add to the outdoor feel by adding an indoor swing (using the proper weight-bearing hardware, of course). The coolest outdoors-in DIY? A kid-sized rock wall. You can buy 25 handholds for just $30 on amazon.com. Just make sure your little ones are properly supervised.
Ultimate Garage Gym
Gyms are expensive. And full of people grunting. And usually closed after hours. What if you could avoid all of that? Turning your garage into a home gym means all-day, every-day access and the equipment is all yours for the using. Although it may be a larger investment up front, chances are you’ll save a major buck over time without the membership fees.
Flooring Fundamentals
You’ll want rubber mats to cover the hard cement floor, ideally the kind with the puzzle-like notches to hold them together as you move around. This will give you less slippery footing and prevent damage to the concrete below should you drop anything weighty. Also line the bottom 12 inches of the walls with stone or more rubber matting so heavy equipment doesn’t cause scuffs and scrapes. If you intend to do any serious lifting, build a lifting station using plywood and horse stall rubber mats, just like you might see in a CrossFit gym.
Essential Equipment
When it comes to the equipment itself, what’s necessary and what’s just fluff? Using these nine items, you can easily complete any workout found online or design your own. Here’s what you need to make your home gym complete: Dumbbells, Kettlebell(s), Pull-up bar, Rings, Jump rope, Medicine ball(s), Plyo-box, Barbell and weight plates.
Keeping Pace
Post a chalkboard or tape off a large rectangle and paint with chalkboard paint. Having a board available means you can post your workouts so you’re not trying to remember sets and reps while you work up a sweat. Plan your weekly schedule, and write some inspirational messages to yourself to keep you moving through your workout.