Leyla Sawyer
Having a place where you can escape daily life and be yourself is vitally important to relax and recharge. Your personal turf, a.k.a the Man Cave, can be a room in the house, basement or garage or even in a shed out back.
Though home is your castle, you may not care much about fabrics or window treatments, decorative pillows or duvets. But when it comes to a flat screen, the latest sound system, the big chair, and high tech gizmos, you’ve got lots of ideas!
But service members have special considerations; your man cave plans should accommodate the fact that you PCS. You could consciously build around a major interest, ie: music, pool hall, garage/cars/motorcycles, patriotic/military history, or sports… or a persona you relate to like James Bond, Davey Crocket, a Superhero, a Surfer, or Bruce Lee.
This could mean dark woods and leather, camo and animal prints, mod with bold colors and hip furniture, retro cool, sleek stainless steel high tech, Harley style, Rock and Roll black and red, Irish pub or beach/tiki mode. Add personal touches like pics of you with friends, flags, medals, signed baseballs or sports jerseys, trophies, or whatever you collect. There are some things you will buy, especially the biggest pieces of furniture or the pricier items that will definitely go with you, with the idea that it needs to work not just where you are now, but with different floor plans.
That way, if you need to leave or sell a few things when you get orders, they will be easy to let go and replace when you arrive.
Regardless of the size, it’s key to keep the box and the styrofoam for the next move as you’ll never be able to duplicate what the factory invented to keep flat screens safe during shipping. Tempting as it is, mounting on the wall leaves a big hole and an unhappy landlord may tap your security deposit to repair it.
You need the right fit for you because it’s all about the comfort – and only a recliner may do – but if you’re happy with a wide arm chair and ottoman it can be easier to ship in a truck because it’s in two pieces. If you want a bar, rather than a built-in, check out the wide range of outdoor patio ones that are light and stand-alone but do the job.
Just remember the darker it is, it will most likely need a coat or two of primer before rolling it with the former color (see image below with one burnt orange wall). Poker tabletops come lightweight (about ½ thick) and collapsable – placed on any foundation when it’s game night, and stow behind the couch or TV when not in use.
Xboxes are small, as are any props like the Guitar Hero instrument, so a fair non-issue. Free standing book shelves can break down flat and come with you (or be sold at a tag sale), rather than being tempted to build them in or buy large, heavy cases to show off your trophies, medals and ribbons, action figure collections or sports memorabilia.
TIP: Invest in substantial power strips and some extra cords before you go if you are leaving the country. A great TV and chair and your dog might make it your personal heaven.
Rochelle Joseph is a Writer and Image Consultant who has had experience marketing, renting and buying/selling her properties for over 20 years.
She has written and edited for several publications, including the Boston Book Review,The Emerson Review, ZooBorns.com, WildLife Magazine, the Houston Zoo, The Wildlife Center of Texas, One Spirit Interfaith Seminary as well as AHRN.com.
