If you’re building a garage man cave where you can unwind, reflect, and spend time alone, you’re far from alone. In fact, 42% of American men report spending time every day in their own personal man caves.
Whether you like sports decor or a bar theme, this is a great way to decompress, get away from the stress of daily life, and build up some emotional energy. There are tons of man cave design elements from furniture to concrete floor coatings.
It’s important to consider all the ways that you can enrich your space so that you can make it reflective, social, and masculine. Read on to learn the elements of designing a man cave that you need to consider.
Think About Your Purpose
Above all else, it’s important that you keep your goals in mind when designing a man cave. “Man cave” is a really broad term.
Some dudes use it primarily for gaming and drinking, which are noble goals in and of themselves. But others use it for exercise, woodworking, or social activity. You need to set up your space in a way that makes sense with your goals.
Specialize
If you’re going to be playing games and watching TV, you’ll need to keep that TV at the center of the room. It should be the focal point. You’ll crowd enough couches for yourself and your bros around it.
If you want a place to work out, you’ll need to put all your equipment and weights at the sides of the room. Chairs and benches will go in the middle, as will a chair that you can relax and unwind in when the workout’s over.
If you’re a social guy looking to entertain friends, you’ll want to have some activities. A pool or foosball table is a great choice, as is a tabletop where you can play strategy or card games. There are tons of possibilities, so the ball’s firmly in your court.
Just keep the purpose of the room in mind when setting it up so you don’t accidentally set out anything you’ll trip over or take up much-needed space with unnecessary items.
Also, keep in mind whether you’ll need to park cars in your garage in the wintertime. It’s easy to become excited and take up a whole garage when you’re parking vehicles in the driveway, but you don’t want to find yourself in a pinch when it starts storming. A well-placed door or curtain can keep the “man cave” section of the garage away from the car park area.
Aesthetics
There are also tons of themes that you can choose from when designing a man cave. Some popular ones include:
- Sports
- Video games
- Gambling (Vegas vibes)
- Arcade
- Hunting
- Biking
- Bar aesthetics
- Movies (in general)
- Specific favorite movies (or shows/games/books)
These are just the tip of the iceberg. Decide which theme will go best with your plans for the space. Bar aesthetics are great for man caves meant to hang out with bros, but gamer vibes are awesome for a fortress of solitude.
Flooring and Foundations
Once you figure out the basics, it’s time to get cracking with specific design choices. A strong man needs a strong foundation for his man cave. This starts with the flooring.
Concrete is one of the most durable materials out there, making it perfect for those who want their space to last a long time. It’s hard and scratch-resistant, so you can exercise, work with metal, and build with wood to your heart’s content. It’s also waterproof and stain-proof, which makes it awesome if you want to eat in your garage man cave.
But in order to make the most of your concrete flooring, you’ll need an even stronger, bolder coating. Run-of-the-mill epoxy can’t measure up to Polyurea and polyaspartic garage floor coatings. These are stronger than epoxy and make a 100% seamless membrane on the surface of your floor when you have them installed.
This makes your man cave flooring completely slip-resistant, abrasion-free, and durable. Plus, it looks cool and unique, which is a plus for when you have your bros over.
Full-Chip Floors
You can get concrete coatings and systems in tons of different colors. Neutral hues are common, especially in man caves. They pair with any other decorations including rugs, pin-ups, neon signs, and wall art. They also go great with any kind of furniture you could buy or build at home.
If you want to show off your floor in the best way possible, then a full chip system of polyurea coating is probably the best membrane option. The first layer is a primer coat that holds the foundation of the concrete. It can be tinted in whatever hues you like.
The second layer is the “chip” layer, which gets its name because it’s heavily textured-looking. Don’t worry – it’s flat, and you’re not going to trip when you’re working out.
It just looks like it’s made from natural speckled stone so that your man cave can be sophisticated and tasteful in addition to being functional. A pro can help you figure out exactly what style of chip will look best with your other decorations.
Finally, a clear top coat will go onto the surface layer of the concrete. This will keep things sealed up and easy to maintain. It’s what will protect against scratches, chips, and spills.
Quartz-Look Coating Options
If you want something subtle and speckled, you also might be a fan of quartz system polyurea coating.
The middle layer is made from a tiny speckled coat rather than something that boasts bigger chips. It looks like natural quartz… which is a pretty solid way to emulate marble in a durable and functional way. Whether you choose black ice, blue stone, red tip, or southern moss styles, quartz system coating is a great way to keep things minimalistic.
The colors are bold and clean. This makes it perfect for rational-minded men who want to keep things tasteful and simple. You’ll be able to make other decorations and furniture pieces stand out. It’s perfect if you have a lot of artwork or signs and want to keep them the focus of an already busy space.
Metallic Concrete Floor Coatings
If you’re a fan of neon signs and metal furniture, a metallic coating system is the #1 choice for your man cave.
This polyurea flooring has the same colored base coat and clear top coat as full-chip and quartz systems. But instead of the stone-looking chip surface, the middle layer is a metallic coat of paint. It shines in tons of different lighting types, so whether you have a dimly lit space for gaming or a bright one for woodworking, it has your back.
Metallic options are generally best for dudes who want to give their space a high-tech, futuristic look. If you’re a gamer or a sci-fi fan, it’s a great choice. But it’s also just awesome for metalworkers and those who enjoy steel accents and equipment. The color will reflect off metal in a unique way that’s sure to impress your friends.
Rugs and Floor Accents
No matter which type of polyurea concrete coating you choose, you’ll need to pair it with some top-notch rugs.
While a man cave is a place where you can be unabashedly yourself, no one really wants things to look messy. A nice, boldly colored rug or two will keep things looking simple and clean while still giving off that rugged, no-frills vibe you’re aiming for.
Solid-colored rugs tend to work best in minimalistic man caves.
Red is an awesome choice for guys who want to get invigorated with crafting or exercise. Orange is awesome for entertaining because it gets us in the mood for social engagement. If you’re looking for a laid-back space to relax and watch TV, blue’s a calming color that comes in tons of masculine shades.
Just make sure that whatever you choose matches your flooring. If you have metallic red polyurea coating, for example, it’s important to pick a rug that shows off a warm or neutral color. Black, yellow, or orange is ideal, as is a darker (and manlier) shade of red.
If you pick a blue or green rug, your space is going to look awful. You don’t want your bros side-eyeing you like that, so be mindful of your decor when you’re setting up your space.
Pick Great Furniture
No matter what vibe you’re going for, you’ll want a place to chill sometimes. Even in an exercise-oriented man cave, you’ll want a comfy plush chair or a sleek leather couch to get some R&R in post-workout.
That’s where picking the right furniture comes in.
You already have picked a rug to match your concrete floor coating. This makes things simple since all you need to do is match your furniture to your rug. Keep your color scheme in mind.
Then, decide what pieces you specifically need.
Are you going to be gaming? You’ll need some chairs so you can plug your console in and play comfortably.
Want to add PC games to the mix? Get a little desk and a comfy office swivel chair to play at.
Or maybe your man cave is going to be used primarily for working with your hands. You’ll need a place to store your tools, so a toolbench is key. You might also want to (safely) hang some on the wall with nails so they double as decor, but most of them are going to go in cabinets or benches.
Get flat chairs and benches to sit on. Put them in the same space as your comfier couch meant for entertaining your bros. This will make it easier for you to use your man cave for its intended purpose.
Decorate the Right Way
Your decorations will of course depend on your man cave’s theme. For example, rugged hunting aesthetics will want mounted deer heads or fake bear heads. Sports enthusiasts will want dartboards and mini basketball hoops.
Still, there are some staples that you’ll definitely want to think about.
Signs are, of course, great for male-dominated spaces. Old-school Jack Daniel’s whiskey ads are awesome for dudes who love to drink. Other awesome signs with slogans like “what happens in the garage stays in the garage” create a great judgment-free ambiance.
You’ll also likely want a personalized sign with your name on it. After all, this is your space. You make the rules!
Line the walls with tons of signs that go well with your theme. If you pick metal signs, they’ll stand out even more when they match your flooring design. This is especially true when you choose metallic coatings.
Neon pin-ups and signs are also awesome man cave decor staples. You can get your name custom-made in neon lights, but there are image-based options that are awesome, too. Female silhouettes, sporting goods, and beer cans are all great neon sign shapes that men love.
You also are going to want some shelves around your man cave. You can easily make these or buy them online. Line the walls with your favorite drinks, gaming equipment, or decor items like lamps and statues.
Be unabashedly yourself. You can’t go wrong with that.
Start Designing a Man Cave Today
Now that you know the ins and outs of designing a man cave, it’s time to start building a strong foundation for your new favorite space. You’ll want to make your floor look awesome first so you can set up furniture and decorations on top of it.
Garage Force is excited to work with you to make your garage man cave everything that you dream of. We’ll help you figure out what concrete floor coatings will go best with your purpose, decor, and personal tastes. Book an appointment to get more flooring design tips and start the process of installing a decorative polyurea floor coating ASAP.
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