The theme this week for Her Campus is Do It Yourself, which in one way or another encourages you to try and accomplish something by building, crafting, or assembling something yourself! Ideas could range from baking food to arts and crafts, but as I’m not too skilled in those areas, I’d like to talk about something I do know how to DIY. As a lot of guys can relate, man caves are a hallowed part of any room or home; not that these places are no-girls allowed or can have no input from girls, per se, but that they are essential for any guy to have.
Now when you hear the phrase ‘man cave,’ a couple of images probably spring to mind. You might think of dark caverns where guys hibernate, watch movies, and play video games, or nasty and smelly corners of rooms where they eat snacks and lounge around, but the truth is that real man caves are the centerfold of any male room. They are the focus of our hobbies and recreational activities, where we lose ourselves and forget the world around us for a while. They allow us to relax and take a break, to hang out with friends and to have fun. While there is an inherent laid-back aspect of any man cave, there is an underlying seriousness that we guys are particularly invested in. They are some of our passions and interests made physical, where we can invite others in to share and experience. And we take man caves very seriously indeed.
Again, while this may be more suited for the male reader instead of the female, I’ll not discriminate. Ladies, you can build your own man caves too! The thing is, man caves are more of an idea than a place, as silly as that may sound. They are representations of what you like to do and how you relax, so have fun with designing your own man cave. I’ll be giving my opinion on how to build your typical man cave, but don’t let that stop you from trying to fit your interests into the scheme.
First and foremost, the TV is the focal point of any self-respecting man’s man cave. No matter what you ultimately plan to do with your man cave, the TV is the first and last accessory needed to qualify for man cave status. You don’t need the biggest or best quality TV; as long as it has a screen and is reasonably clear enough, it shouldn’t matter. Once you have the TV, you can start to build the rest of the cave around this critical device.
With the TV, next you need a movie-viewing device. Frankly, with such a wide variety of such devices, it doesn’t matter that much what you have. From simple DVD players to multitasking Xbox 360’s and PS3’s, you’re going to need something with which to play movies and games with!
From there, you next need to start building a collection, typically movies, TV shows, and video games. This part is a little trickier; with the advent of Netflix, physical libraries of movies are less common than digital ones. At any rate, even if you only have a few treasured classics or a whole wall of movies or games, show them off. Be proud of what you own!
Finally, decoration. Plaster the walls with posters, pictures, trophies, and more! Let your creative side show to complement your collection. Get tasteful furniture and cozy the place up. Basically, once you have the TV, player, and movies and games, you can do whatever you want to really man up your cave.
That’s all there really is to making your own man cave. The difference between them and common living rooms is the heart and soul of the room; man caves are personifications of the guys who shaped them, and they have as much importance as anything else in the room. So go out there and let your inner man show by building your man cave today!