Photo by Nobleman Magazine

If you are like a significant number of homeowners, you may be interested in adding a man cave to your home. A man cave does provide a great retreat for the male head of the household. In addition, a man cave properly crafted can make the residence more appealing if you reach a point at which you want to place your home on the market for sale. There are six key strategies to bear in mind when it comes to adding a man cave to your home.

Electrical, Plumbing, and Space Requirements

Due diligence is important as you prepare to add a man cave to your home. You need to closely measure out the space you intend to use for your man cave to make certain that it will be able to hold the furnishings and other items that you intend to include in the space.

As part of your due diligence, you also need to make sure that the space you intend for a man cave has the electrical and plumbing capacities that you will need for what you intend for the space. Oftentimes when it comes to designing and building out a man cave, the most expensive proposition becomes an upgrade to the electrical or plumbing.

Select a Man Cave Theme

Not all man caves are designed the same. Therefore, before you dive into creating your own man cave, you need to decide specifically what you want in the way of a theme for your space. The theme of your man cave space can arise from what you intend to do most often in the space.

For example, if a primary focus of your man cave will be watching sports, you may want to have a sports theme for the space. Perhaps there is a specific sport that you most enjoy. On the other hand, perhaps there is a specific team that you favor. These preferences can be translated into the general theme for your man cave.

You may intend to use your man cave for other purposes. Your space may be primarily intended as the place where you will gather with your friends. The man cave may be where you enjoy different type of entertainment, like movies or music. The manner in which the man cave primarily will be used can be what the theme for the space is built around.

Man Cave as a Gaming Space

Many men want to add certain types of games to their man caves. This happens in one of two different ways. First, there are man caves in which games of different types are the main focal point of the space. Second, there are man caves in which there is another primary purpose for the space but games are included as added features.

Common examples of the types of games incorporated into heavily used man caves are pool or billiards, pinball, foosball, darts, and others. Some man caves have more than one type of game incorporated into the space.

Man Cave Lighting

Close attention must be paid to the type of lighting that is installed in a man cave. Lighting choices are most closely associated with the primary ways in which the space will be used. A man cave that will be used for entertainment, including movies and television viewing, has very different lighting needs than is the case if the space will be used for game playing, including pool, pinball, or even for poker nights.

Man Cave Bar

Many a man cave comes complete with a bar. You have two primary options when it comes to bar for your man cave. If you want to go all out with your man cave, you will want to give serious consideration to installing a full-on wet bar. A wet bar turns your man cave into a space at which you can not only retreat and enjoy some time in your own area but you can host parties and other gatherings for your cohorts as well.

If you want to keep things simpler when it comes to creating a man cave, you don’t have to install a wet bar. You can build a basic bar which you can serve your favorite beverages, but save time and money by forgoing full blown plumbing for your man cave bar.

The Perfect Sound System

No matter the primary theme of the man cave you will want a solid sound system. Odds are that no matter the main theme of your man cave, there will be music played and some type of television or film watching as well, whether that be movies or sporting events.

In this day and age there is a broad range of different types of sound systems available to a person who wants to build a man cave. This includes a myriad of sound system options in different cost ranges depending on what you desire to budget for your man cave.

By bearing these strategies in mind you will be able to create an ideal man cave for your home, a man cave that truly will meet your needs, goals, and objectives. As a final thought, when considering a man cave, consider what friends and associates have done in the past for their own spaces. While you want to customize your man cave, there is no need to completely recreate the wheel when you are contemplating this type of space in your home.