Decluttering your life and home is the talk of the nation right now. Op-shops are being overloaded with donations (its true), storage systems are flying off the shelves and previously cramped rooms are now bright, light and open.
One great way to clear away some of the mess is to create a “Man Cave”. A space to let sporting memorabilia shine. Where years of history can be unleashed. Where non-stop sport on the TV is actively encouraged, not frowned upon.
Reno extraordinaires Shannon and Simon Vos have been flat out creating the Ultimate Man Cave for their mate Tim, with the help of YouiRewards. Inspired by them, here are our 5 Top Tips for creating your kind of Man Cave.
1. FINDING THE RIGHT SPACE
The idea of a Man Cave is to have a spot tucked away, ideally in a space semi-removed from the main house. Popular Man Cave spots include under the house or in the garage. Another good option if you’ve got space in the backyard is to resurrect an old shed and create your Man Cave in there. It keeps the house free of clutter, and can be locked up and left securely when not being used.
Whichever space you find, it’s amazing what a simple coat of paint can do to give you a blank canvas to create your Man Cave from. In their challenge, the Vos Brothers painted over the exposed brick under the house with a simple gunmetal grey to help pull all the elements together. It makes sense to keep the surrounds neutral to make your manly possessions stand out.
2. SPORTING PROWESS
That Best and Fairest Trophy from the Under-12’s has been collecting dust for far too long. Time to get it out on display along with any other sporting awards picked up along the way. A great addition to any Man Cave are some framed jerseys or sporting memorabilia on the walls. Keep an eye out at local garage sales and op-shops from other people decluttering and you could pick yourself up a bargain.
In their challenge, the Vos Brothers found a few ways to give the space a sporty feel, including a putting green, mini-skateboard ramps and plenty of framed treasures.
3. THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR A BAR
As your Uni days are long gone, so too should the makeshift bar in the living room be a thing of the past. Make the centrepiece of your Man Cave a bar instead. And it doesn’t need to be an expensive exercise. Measure up the space where the bar would go, pick up some MDF and work out a plan. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out this 10 Steps to A Home Bar clip here:
The Vos Brothers whipped up a bar in no time as part of their challenge but gave it their trademark twist by including a tool chest as part of the design in place of the standard drawers. It’s the little details like this that can help you put your own stamp on your Man Cave.
4. SCREEN TIME
TV cabinets went out fashion at the same time TVs stopped having massive tubes in the back. Declutter your space with a TV on a bracket instead.
Whether it’s the big match or binge watching your favourite crime history show, a big screen is a must-have for your Man Cave. With technology changing so quickly, there’s always a good deal to be had when shopping for a new TV. With YouiRewards, you can even save 5% at JB Hi-Fi on your big-screen purchase. Gumtree is a great site to pick up a second-hand games console, along with a stack of games for very little coin.
And here’s a little tip we picked up from the Vos Brothers. By putting the screen on a pivoting bracket, you’ll be able to enjoy the action from wherever you are in the Man Cave.
5. THE FINISHING TOUCHES
To complete the room, you need a few special extras. But we’re not talking throws and brightly coloured cushions here. A few hand-picked extras can reflect your interests and personality. A few golf clubs strategically placed around the room, some fishing rods in the corner, some classic car mags on the table. The kinds of things that might be cuttering up your house but can now take pride of place in the Man Cave.
The Vos Brothers used a crab-trap as a feature art piece on the wall in their Man Cave challenge. Think a little differently about the space and what you can do to make it feel unique to you.
We hope this has given you some inspiration to declutter your home by creating a self-contained Man Cave space.
You can watch the Vos Brothers take on the challenge of creating the Ultimate Man Cave in our series of clips here. Plus you can enter the draw to Win $10,000 worth of YouiRewards Partner Gift Cards, perfect for picking up a few things for your upcoming Man Cave project.
