Maisy Dawson
A garage offers enough of a separation from the main house to feel individual and private while having access to electric and being within easy reach of water, unlike a shed for example. A garage offers the perfect space for a man cave as it can easily be adapted into a useable room.
But, instead of being considered a usable addition to the home they tend to become littered with old junk that seldom gets used.
This means that when you are considering how to design your garage man cave you usually have a lot of options that would not necessarily be open to you in other locations, such as a small spare room or a shed. Most modern garages are attached to the house and are already weather proofed and have been treated on the inside against mold. However, if you have a garage that is separate from the main building of your home, or that is need of some TLC, then you may want to begin the process of a man cave conversion by weathering proofing the outside and damp-proofing the inside to protect it from mold.
I outlined the process of weathering proofing an outbuilding in the article how to turn your shed into a man cave in 10 easy steps. Weathering proofing the outside is an easy task and only requires the correct type of paint. Mold can be dangerous and, as outlined by the CDC, can cause respiratory problems as well as a host of other illnesses.
So, it’s a good idea to add a layer of insulation to the walls especially if you already intend to put new drywall up. At this point you may want to put wood planking on the walls instead of drywall as the effect can be striking (see the featured image at the top of this page). Electrical fans and heaters are often all that is needed to properly cool and heat a garage man cave, especially if you will spend limited time in it and/or you live in a reasonably moderate climate zone.
If you have a modern garage that is attached to your house then it will likely already have sufficient flooring that is more than good enough to work in your man cave. If the floor is damaged then you will need to take action to repair it so there is less chance of accidents occurring, due to tripping for example.
Just about any material you can think of, including 3D wallpaper art, can be laid on the ground and then covered with epoxy resin to create amazing flooring designs.
If the floor is damaged you can add a layer of epoxy resin first to fill in the dents, cracks and crevices. Although color choices are most important in basement man caves, where there is usually no natural light, it also applies to most garages. Wall lighting is very useful for both illuminating the space and highlighting specific areas of the man cave – where you may have memorabilia or family photos for example.
In fact, as I’ve mentioned numerous times on this website, dimmer switches or smart bulbs , are a good investment to make in a man cave as they allow you to create different atmospheres. The furniture you put into your garage man cave will greatly depend on how you intend to use the space. As I covered in a previous article the first step in designing your man cave is to be 100% clear on its purpose. The key to getting the right furniture for your man cave is to pick items for functionality and comfort first and then for aesthetics second. Below are a few man cave garage conversions to inspire you and get your creative juices flowing. If you own a Hog then there are a ton of Harley Davidson decor items and furnishings that you could put in your man cave to complete the look.
Building a man cave bar doesn’t have to cost a fortune, it can be done very cheaply as I demonstrated here. Some of you guys will need to use your garage to store your vehicle in as well as for man cave activities. If you have a 2 car garage available for conversion then you can create just about any type of man cave you want. Bike-brand themed garage man caves are very popular, as are biker cafes.
Whatever the design you choose for garage man cave (when you want to use it also for storing items or vehicles) it must work well with the space you have available. This means the them you pick will depend largely on the space you have available as well as the things you need store in the garage.
For example, if you store fishing equipment in your garage then you could go with a tackle shop man cave theme or a mariner’s diner or an old fisherman’s tavern because your stored fishing equipment will actually help complete the look of the man cave. You could also just use your stored items as a showcase piece in your man cave like the fishing rods in the image below. If you keep woodworking tools in your garage, like a circular saw for example, then why not create a rustic man cave.
The key is to incorporate either your vehicle or garage-stored items into the man cave design. The gifts you get depend on the person you are buying for and the theme and purpose of the man cave. There are varied items that are completely different from one and other but that would fit in any man cave, such as a racing car engine table, cowboy man cave bar novelty bottle holders, baseball glove chairs and floating football helmets that compliment football helmet snack holders.
