How to Decorate a Man Cave

©istockphoto/elenaleonova

How do you decorate a Man cave? You do it in manly colors, with manly things, in a manly way. Then why do I have flowers on my window sill?

It’s My Man Cave and She Knows What I like
It may be my man cave, but since it’s our house, she’s in charge of the interior; I’m in charge of…well who am I kidding, I’m in charge of nothing. She says the man cave is mine, especially when it comes to cleaning it up or fixing it up, but I think she’s really just humoring me. I really only get as much say as she allows. That, my friend, is why even though I decorated the man cave, there are flowers on my window sill.

Color
There’s no Mauve or Taupe or Teal allowed. Man caves should have brown; brown’s a good man-color. If it comes with a fancy name that you’ve never heard of, don’t use it. Painting walls different colors is good, as it separates the room and adds accents. As long as those accents don’t have weird names like Indigo or Sage, you’re safe.

Big Furniture
Leather is good, or anything that looks like it. Recliners are a must, and the bigger and more stuffed the better. Wood goes with anything, and hopefully will match the bar she lets you put in. Panama Jack has strong, sturdy-looking tables in their Palmetto Home Collection like a coffee table that has a popup that reminds me of a TV tray. I think it would look awesome in my man, cave and I’m going to insist she lets me get one. The good thing is, it’s wood—manly wood and made in a manly way.

Big TVs
Big TVs are a must and the bigger and the flatter the better. Projectors are somewhat on their way out, and super High-Def is the way to go. 3D is moving in, but until you don’t need those goofy glasses I would stay away. Actually I would advise you hold off until they come up with holographic stuff like you see in sci-fi movies; you know it’s coming soon.

It’s Game Room, Too
Pool tables are great, but not all of us have the room or money for those. Foosball tables are cheaper and take up less space. Card tables work as long as you only allow poker to be played on them, and dart boards work well too. Pretty much, as long as you hit, throw, or toss something, it’s a good man cave game.

Artwork
Like I said, I don’t want flowers in my man cave. I don’t even want pictures with flowers. Unless it’s a picture of Peyton Manning throwing a football in a field of daisies, I don’t want it on my wall. The best way to dictate what goes on the walls is to cover them yourself with sports memorabilia. Anything to do with football (the real kind, not that European stuff), baseball, basketball, or even hockey or NASCAR, will do.

Sometimes You Must Compromise
Like I said earlier, it’s my man cave, but in this house I’m subservient to her decorating skills. If you’re smart about it though, you can pull it off. Signed jerseys work perfect in man caves. Just because the signed football jersey I have in a shadow box with a light above it on the wall is from her favorite player doesn’t mean I’m wimping out, it means I’m smarter than you. Besides, maybe she’ll be more understanding when I ask to remove the flowers on my window sill.