With the start of football season around the corner, now is a better time than ever to spruce up your man cave. Use these 7 tips to help ensure you have the best man cave on the block to watch the big game.
If you don’t have a man cave, where do you plan to watch football? A rumpus room can be a fun home improvement project, a great place to entertain friends and, of course, the perfect man cave. Even if you spend most of your time playing video games, the right seating, eleactronics and layout can make your rec room shine. These seven man cave ideas will make your space the envy of all your friends.
1. Got Beer?
What’s a man cave without a bar? If you and your friends like to wet your whistles on occasion, include a bar area. Installing a wet bar is one of the most popular DIY projects for men, and your home bar can be as simple, or as elaborate, as you want. Go all out and install plumbing for a sink, a kegerator for cold beer on tap, shelving for bottles of liquor and barstools for the guys to sit on. Or, keep it simple with a sideboard and a mini-fridge. All you really need is a place to mix drinks and store ingredients, glasses and a cocktail shaker.
2. Make a Table-Based Sport the Center of Attention
Do you like pool, ping pong or foosball? Make a game table the centerpiece of your man cave. Add overhead lighting so everyone can see what they’re doing, and make sure you have room for seating and displays.
3. Install the Right TV
Let’s face it – you’re going to be spending a lot of time watching TV, movies or sports and playing video games in this space, so make sure you pick the right TV. With football season right around the corner, installing the right TV is more important now than ever. When choosing the screen size, consider how far away from the screen your seating will be. If you’re installing a projector, consider how far you’ll need to run the wiring. And once you’ve installed your new man cave TV, protect it with an Electronics Plan by Asurion®, now available to add on to your American Home Shield® Home Warranty. It’s not just a TV warranty; it covers almost all of the electronics in your home.
4. Arrange Seating Wisely
Try to avoid dead space when arranging seating in your rec room. Put seating against the walls to leave the middle of the room open for the aforementioned gaming table, bar or other key features. Make sure seating is far enough away from your TV that you can appreciate every pixel of that massive screen. Keep seating open or use the space behind chairs and sofas for display tables.
5. Install the Right Sound System
Your man cave is the perfect place to install a surround sound system. Take the time to plan your speaker layout so that it will work most effectively with the layout of your room and seating. Invest in wireless speakers so you don’t have to deal with wires snaking all over the place. A well-installed system will give you years of excellent sound.
6. Consider a Mini-Split AC Unit
A small space can easily get overheated when it’s crowded with people, so you may need additional air conditioning to make it comfortable. If you’re converting a bonus room, basement or garage into a man cave, you may be working with a space that isn’t already connected to your home’s HVAC duct-work, so a ductless mini-split system makes sense.
Even if your man cave space is connected to your home’s duct-work, you may want to consider switching to a ductless system if you plan to do any smoking in the room. Ductwork can allow smoke to travel throughout the house, exposing your family to secondhand carcinogens. At the very least, make sure there’s at least one window you can open for ventilation.
7. Get Your Favorite Video Games
When you’re not watching sports or playing tabletop games, you and your friends – or your kids – may want to get in a few rounds of Mario Kart. Put in an arcade corner with a separate TV for video games, or hook up your game consoles to your big TV for high-def gaming. Are you fond of vintage arcade games? A pinball machine or other vintage arcade console is both a great conversation piece and a source of hours of fun.
Putting together a man cave is a fun DIY project that will pay off the next time it’s your turn to host the Super Bowl party, and a well-designed rec room can even increase your home’s value. Don’t forget to call American Home Shield® now to get coverage.