The man cave is the escape that most men need to provide them a chance to unwind and relax. It can be a simple sanctuary, to an elaborate shrine to sports teams and friends. Every man’s man cave is different. Once of the most important things to determine, when working on a man cave, is where to build it.
The obvious choice is to keep a man cave located in the home. It has electricity, air conditioning, heat and easy access to bathrooms. The problem is where in the house to build it. Keep in mind the ultimate goal of the man cave. Is it going to only be used by you as a workshop and place to unwind? Do you want to entertain others in your man cave?
You will have to choose a room that provides the space to fit your needs. Avoid rooms that are in traffic areas. The idea of the man cave is to be isolated or to have only a core group of people. If the wife and kids come through every few minutes then it is hardly a island of solitude. Some rooms are simply too small, such as bathrooms and storage closets.
Unfinished or finished basements make great man caves. They offer the promise of creating your personal sanctuary from the ground up. They are more work to set up, if they are not finished but often provide a good level of privacy from the rest of the house. Depending on the condition of the basement this could be an expensive endeavourer, but the finished product will be a man cave large enough for entertainment, hobbies and alone time.
Spare bedrooms are good, because they are already finished. You simply need to decorate. They are usually around other rooms so noise may cause others to invade the sanctity of the cave. Man caves that use unused bedroom space are often taken over if there are guests in town. This limits decoration capability and may make the man cave inaccessible when it may be most needed, to escape company.
Detached or attached garages are excellent areas of the home. With a little work; soundproofing, power and even plumbing can be added to create a fully functional man cave. If the garage is big enough, it can even still be used for the car. This is especially nice for men who like to spend time working on cars. Smaller garages have one major disadvantage. That is the garage may not be usable for storage and parking, so consider the functional need of the garage if a small garage is all that is available.
Man caves that are outside the house offer a great deal of privacy, but are vastly more work to set up and outfit. Sheds ranging from simple tin with dirt floor to custom made fully finished wooden structures can provide the ultimate cave away from home. These are more expensive to build and take a good bit of knowledge to build one to have power, cable or other escapes that a man may desire.