The Chulo Canyon Cave House, Arizona

You always said you wanted a man cave – one that was unique, different and cool. Now’s your chance to have a man cave that’s all of those things and more. Plus, it’s actually a cave! The Chulo Canyon Cave House in Bisbee, Arizona is on the market and waiting for the right buyer. While the owner’s asking price is set at a cool $1.5 million, the incredible attributes of the property just may justify the amount.

Tucked away in a canyon in the Mule Mountains of Arizona, the Chulo Canyon Cave House boasts an awesome 37-acre natural setting. At 5,300’ elevation the cave house, guest house, and various outer buildings make for an awesome private retreat. The property features a natural creek, a swimming pool and rock patios perfect for taking in the wildlife in the area, which is home to 79 species of birds, 113 species of butterflies, ringtail cats, foxes, skunks, deer, squirrels and snakes, just to name a few. The Chulo Canyon Cave House is initially entered through an inviting sunroom, featuring large flower and plant beds, hand-forged gates, tile floors and skylights. At the back of the sunroom is the entrance to the cave and upon entering you will find yourself in the kitchen. Notice that this not a rustic old set up, but rather a modern marvel complete with SubZero Refrigerator, Viking Stove, Whirlpool Trash Compactor and Subzero Ice Machine. The kitchen also features an infrared broiler and griddle with large copper hood and slide out pan storage.

Cave House Exterior

Cave House Entrance

Cave House Living Room

The cave house’s living room features high ceilings with incredible acoustics, making it the ideal location for the home’s media center, which features Satellite Direct TV and surround sound. There is also an extravagant dining room table with seating for eight. Just above the living room is a bedroom loft reached by an open metal staircase with mesquite slab steps. The closet and dressing room under the bedroom loft is a walk-in closet with a stone floor. Like the kitchen, the bathroom also features modern amenities including a Toto Dual Flush toilet. Interesting design elements include flagstone flooring and dragonfly stained glass light that faces into the bathroom and hall, and is always on, serving as a nightlight. Philodendron and other plants grow in large planters throughout the bath environment, creating a tropical feel. The Chulo Canyon Cave House also features an exercise room, slide rock pool, hot tub, dragonfly pond, picnic area, garden, car port and a separate library building. The owners are part of the Firewise Program – an agreement with the Bisbee Fire Department for fire protection services. The builders who created the house utilized age-old mining techniques in the process including Swedish straight wall mining, excavation with ammonium nitrate and utilization of air hammers to bolt the roof with 6’ rods made of spring steel; the result is a well-built, sturdy home that requires minimal structural maintenance. The house keeps a constant average temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit, also called “rock temperature”. In the summer it can get up to 72 degrees and in the winter down to 66 degrees.

The Man Cave Book by Mike Yost and Jeff Wilser

The duo are well aware that in the design world there is constant evolution and man cave design is no exception, inevitably changing with trends, technologies and most importantly, new and out of the box thinking. The Man Cave Book does an above par job of identifying the latest in man cave design trends and takes us on a rather whirlwind-like tour of a plethora of different man caves to suit a variety of tastes, budgets and levels of difficulty in regards to achieving. The book talks about The Everyman Cave that you can have without “plundering your savings, gutting your home, or ditching your family.” Mark Lau, the owner of one such cave featured in the book, which includes a plethora of razor sharp war memorabilia, says of his décor, “The collection of swords depicts my love of my German heritage, my love of America, and my love of weapons.” Manlier words were probably never spoken.

2010 Man Cave of the Year by Steven Clark

The Sports Cave, which is essentially “a shrine to your team that’s so spectacular, so heroic, that it actually improves your chance of winning,” gets plenty of coverage here as well. A great example is a cave owned by Alfred Wasilewski that includes furniture, framed photographs signed by players and even projections slides that shine on the cave ceiling, all in the theme of the New York Giants. Perhaps it’s the Gentlemen’s Cave featured in the book that is the ultimate style for the most ambitious of cave dwellers. Elegant, design-forward, and most of all, expensive, such a cave harkens back to another era when the bachelor pad was all the rage. However, in the modern age, such a cave will have the latest in technology (and maybe a stripper pole, too.) An interview with Wired’s Daniel Dumas featured within the book reveals some interesting tidbits about options for the Gentleman’s Cave; in regards to audio, “You can go balls-to-the-walls,” he notes. “There are companies that will come in to your room, measure your acoustics, judge the materials of your walls, and they’ll make a custom audio system. This is the kind of thing NBA players do. You can spend $100,000.” Additional man cave themes in the book include: The Bar Cave, The Clutter-as-Art Cave, and Odd & Outdoor Caves.

As the duo of Yost and Wilser say, “The man cave can be anything; a stylish lounge, a home theater, a high-tech Mecca to gaming; a music studio, or just an ode to your once great college crash-pad.” If you’re thinking about manning up and creating your own man cave, The Man Cave Book is certainly one resource that will help you to “cave on”.

Cesto from Corbett Lighting

Cesto from Corbett Lighting

If you want to add something entirely unexpected to a room, take a look at the elegant hand-crafted iron Cesto light from Corbett Lighting. It’s a completely updated and unique take on a basket-weave design – both solid-looking yet seemingly light as a feather. The oval open-weave lets all the available light shine through. Contemporary without being precious, this collection suits many different decors. Available as a one-light mini pendant or wall sconce up to a 10-light pendant, the Cesto is shown here in Napoli Bronze with a Champagne Shade. Also available in Modern Silver. For more information visit corbettlighting.com

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Hastings RHO Exotic-look tile

RHO Series Exotic Look- Beige

These eye-popping rectified, large format tiles are designed to suggest animal horn. Designing with these tiles will give any room a powerful and masculine aesthetic. Rich colors infuse each tile, giving them a naturalistic feel. The RHO series is available in three colors and three sizes, allowing you the freedom to create your own appealing combinations. Appropriate for wall or floor use, even in heavily trafficked areas. For more information visit hastingstilebath.com

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Custom Leather-bound books by Juniper Books

Dark Brown Modern Leather

There is nothing better than a good book – no matter which room you’re in. Imagine having a library of your favorite books all covered in the same rich luxurious hand-tooled leather. If the brown leather is not to your liking, Juniper Books will provide you your entire library in whatever binding you choose – fabrics, leather, or paper. No ideas are outside the realm of the possible when Juniper Books designs your custom library. Visit juniperbooks.com for more information.

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Caroma’s Adelaide

Caroma Adelaide

From the classically refined to the richly rewarding, the Adelaide collection exudes elegance and features a stylish European look. As a WaterSense labeled toilet, the Adelaide 270 Cube boasts the lowest water consumption in the market today with an average flush volume of 0.9 gallons per flush (gpf). To help conserve nature’s most valuable resource – water, the Adelaide 270 Cube toilet features a large fully-concealed trapway that virtually eliminates blockages and two buttons for flushing: the half flush which uses 0.8 gpf for liquid, and the full flush which uses 1.6 gpf for solids. Available with an easy height bowl (16.5” high) as well as a standard Adelaide 270 tank, the Adelaide 270 Cube is a floor mounted two-piece toilet with a round bowl and rectangular shaped tank for a more modern bathroom design aesthetic.Visit caromausa.com for more information.

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Fluid’s Jovian Lavatory

fluid Jovian

Imaginatively designed and crafted by artisans, the Jovian line from fluid™ is reminiscent of the enduring craftsmanship of the ancients. The collections’ formal and austere lines recall the tenants of classical architecture. The faucet is also eco-friendly and can be equipped with a low-flow aerator for an industry-breaking 1.5 gallons-per-minute, a rate that has awarded it WaterSense certification. Visit fluidfaucets.com for more information.

Pool Table Designs:

Man Cave with Nice Pool Table- Image courtesy of HGTV's Rate This Space.

This is one of the nicest designs we’ve seen that includes a pool table. This really has a “cave” atmosphere with the stone archway and bar elements. The leather theater and leather bar/pool chairs also bring the man cave’s decor to a new level, and a new price point when compared with some of the other designs in this post.

Here are some more pool table designs that we thought were interesting and might be perfect for your next man cave project:

Gibson Pool Table

New York Dalton Pool Table

These images and pool tables are from Barton McGill Ltd in Auckland, New Zealand.

The second pool table might not be your style, but it may just fit with a more modern man cave design like the one below. While this design might not be our style and remind us just a bit too much of a bad Vegas club, we were impressed with the way they were able to create a very “memorable” design without having a lot of space to work with:

Modern Man Cave Small Space

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Here is another man cave where they didn’t have a ton of space and yet made their theme and style work with what they had. This picture must have been taken before they were 100% finished because the ceiling and lighting still need to be completed. The “ski lodge” style is very interesting though, and I’m sure will be nice and cozy for the men enjoying their cave:

Skiers Man Cave

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Here are a few more man caves that we thought were very nice with great style:

Man Cave Room

Rainn Wilson Man Cave

The above man cave space is great and belongs to the actor Rainn Wilson who plays Dwight on ‘The Office’. The beet farm must be out those sliding doors.

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Man Cave Winner

This man cave actually won the 2007 NARI Residential Lower Level Finishes $50,000 & $100,000 (All Star) Award by Rhino Builders.

Clock / Aquarium:

Fishtank Clock

This Vertical Fish Tank II available on Opulent Items is a cool take on a modern design of a clock plus a place to keep your fish in your man cave.

Fireplaces:

EcoSmart Zeta

EcoSmart has their award winning Zeta – crafted from timber, leather, and stainless steel. This modern and energy-saving portable fireplace is modern and elegantly styled. Designed by architect John Dimopoulos, it features an inviting design with a glass and steel surround. The fire runs on denatured ethanol, an easily renewable energy source. The user can regulate the size of the flame and turn it on or off without having direct contact with the fire.

Conmoto - Travelmate portable fireplace by Conmoto

The Conmoto traveling fireplace has technology that allows for clean, smokeless fire with a weather resistant powder coating so that you can move this fireplace pretty much anywhere without worrying about harmful smoke or gasses. You can place this fireplace on the carpet, on the dining table, next to a sofa, on the terrace, or in the garage.

Max Blank Berlin Fireplace

The Max Blank Berlin Fireplace is another manly, high-tech stove that would be perfect for any man cave that you could pop a stove pipe out of. This designer piece can be viewed as a piece of design furniture, a functional heater, or even as a room divider. This design is actually able to swivel 360 degrees, giving you the freedom to move the direction of the heat and stove.

Bar:

Barina Craft Nautical Home Bar

Barina Craft, LLC makes Nautical Home Bars that are perfect for any man cave looking for a little sailing style. The starboard model pictured above shows how these bars are created by slicing marine inspired designs in half from bow to stern.   As shown, the covering boards / arm rail and deck trim are stained a walnut tone with a recessed bar top.

Bar Stools:

Coal Shovel Stool

The Coal Shovel Stool by Thos. Moser is a great stool if you have a wood bar or wood beams in your man cave.

Hoppy Stool

Above is the Hoppy Stool which was designed by Giorgio Manzali. This swivel stool has an adjustable height, frame structure in polished chromed steel and a seat in emery leather.

Tonda Retro Stool

The Tonda Retro Stool brings a vintage look to your man cave with its  central base column and  footrest in die-casted brushed or polished aluminum. This stool was designed by Pedrali Lab.

Man Cave Signage & Prints:

Dogs Playing Poker

Wood Poker Sign

These signs are custom resin cast reproductions of the artists unique designs and original carvings.

Always Cut the Deck Sign

• Vintage Seating - Vintage furniture is a must if you are going for the vintage look. A good place to start is with seating, and there are so many cool chairs, benches and couches out there with a vintage vibe that it will make your head spin. As with vintage lighting you can budget wisely, or go all out on a designer piece that was designed yesterday by one of the greats. Take a look at your home’s architecture and try to find furniture that will really bring out its good bones and character. If you know exactly what you want and don’t mind paying for it, you can even have it custom made by one of many expert furniture designers.

Vintage Bench by Chair Couture:

Cool Vintage Bench

Custom Vintage Couch / Futon by Fabri Kate:

Custom Vintage Couch

Beautiful Vintage Ekström Chairs by Swedish furniture designer Yngve Ekström sold by Furniture Love:

Beautiful Vintage Chairs

• Vintage Lighting - Lighting reminiscent of years past is very easy to find, whether you get it from your local Salvation Army, a flea market, or even brand new by a designer that brings old style back with impeccable design. Your lighting should complement the rest of your decor, while providing a light source that is not too bright, but casts perfect shadows on the rest of your design. One way to get a vintage look is to put a light cage around your exposed bulb. In this Etsy listing it is described as “Machine Age,” which is quite intriguing for a vintage design. This look needs to be combined with the right decor, but could be the look for you.

Light design by Rothschild & Bickers:

Cool Vintage Light

Light cage found on Etsy:

Vintage Light Cage

• Vintage Appliances -Vintage appliances like refrigerators, stoves and ovens are reproduced and refurbished all over the country as these appliance designs are still in high demand. You can also find vintage toasters with cloth cords, and reproduction SunBeam toasters with a more modern cord and controls (but still the same old style).

All Appliance images found on AntiqueAppliances.com:

Antique Appliances

Toaster Image from The Musings of a Vintage Heart:

Vintage Toaster

New Sunbeam Toaster:

New Sunbeam Toaster

• Vintage Bath Fixtures & Bathtubs - There are many things you can do in the bathroom to turn the clocks back decades on your design. Word to the wise, you should try to find new fixtures, as true vintage ones will probably be corroded and worn to the point where you’ll just have to keep fixing a leaky faucet or showerhead. We have noticed that new and refurbished claw foot bathtubs have been very popular in vintage bath designs for at least a few years. Not only are claw foot bathtubs beautiful, soaking in one is also a great experience.

Claw foot Bathtub by THG Paris.

Claw Foot Bathtub

• Vintage Home Decor - Last, but not least, vintage styled home decor can be an excellent finishing touch to your interior design. Pin-up girls, old jets, period pieces and even vintage film and cartoon prints and posters are popular items for decorating with a vintage style.

Pin-Up Girl by Moto Art, and more information on these Old Aircraft Pieces can be found in this post: MotoArt – Turning Old Aircraft Into Functional Art:

Moto Art Pin-Up Girl

Marilyn Poster found on The Kitty Packard Pictorial Blog:

Vintage Marilyn Poster

Volvo C30

Volvo C30 Rear

Spyker C8 Aileron

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo

Nissan GT R

Audi A3 TDI

Mercedes SLS AMG

Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 Superveloce

Jaguar XKR

Jaguar XJ

Fisker Karma

Ferrari 16M Scuderia Spider

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport

Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe

And our personal favorite, the Aston Martin One-77:

Aston Marin One-77

While interior design isn’t typically in itself “manly” we are seeing more and more men shopping for home-decorating products. Wendy Liebmann, founder and president of WSL Strategic Retail, who conducts a biannual survey, How America Shops, reported that 34 percent of the men interviewed said they were shopping more for home decor, compared to the 24 percent of women. Here are just a few products and designs that we found to be quite manly and stylish (click on any image for a larger version):

Troy Adams TV

Troy Adams Hidden TV

Now you see it, now you don’t: The HiddenScreen Media Cabinet by Troy Adams Design is a flat-screen television enclosure and storage unit, which conceals the television or storage shelves and doubles as a piece of art.

Magnetita Desk Lamp

Tech-savvy table lamp: The contemporary Magnetita by Designer Denis Santachiara for Studio Italia Design is a state-of-the-art table lamp equipped with high-efficiency, eco-friendly LEDs for direct and indirect lighting. The aluminum frame features an adjustable and cutting-edge balancing system in which magnets maintain its equilibrium for smooth and precise movement.

ALNO TV Cabinet

Kitchen cabinets with built-in flat screen television: The LIBERO collection by ALNO is a sophisticated combination of design, function and convenience. LIBERO elements can be paired with ALNO HOME or LIFESTYLE kitchen cabinet collections to create a seamless transition from kitchen to living area. One of the main highlights is a screen wall unit, which is a 17” ad-notam flat screen television that is located on the back of the mirrored or glass door. The picture is flawless, and the sound is transmitted through flat speakers. The inside of the unit can be used for storage.

Wenge Encased Bathtub: Italian Designers’ Ludovica+Roberto Palomba studied the interiors of homes in the world’s biggest cities before designing their Lb3 bathroom suite for Laufen. The freestanding bathtub encased in a wengé wood surround is perfect for the creation of a masculine bathroom:

LAUFEN Lb3 Bathroom

MotoArt creates high quality furniture out of vintage airplane parts. They are based in Los Angeles and use old aircraft parts such as rudders, flaps, stabilizers, engine cells, fuselage, windows, and even galley carts, which they make into mobile mini bars. The owners of MotoArt have a love for these old aircrafts, and are saddened when they see these magnificent machines that flew the skies for years just crushed and recycled for the metal. This is what has fueled their business, as they travel to airplane junkyards, cut the pieces off of the aircraft, and then transform them into remarkable and functional works of art.

MotoArt reception desks have become popular with big corporations that are looking for a wow piece for their reception area. These pieces appeal to corporations because they are so detailed, boast a modern style and are sure to spice up a reception area as symbols of style and power. MotoArt has been commissioned by companies including GE, CNN and even Boeing International.

DC Cowling Reception Desk

Residential items are also produced for aviation enthusiasts and include pieces such as lighting, beds, credenzas, desks, partitions, sculptures, seating, tables, and smaller items like book shelves, mirrors, picture frames and even fish tanks, just to name a few. In addition to functional art, MotoArt also has a line of B-25 Nose Art, which features your favorite pinup girl painted on authentic B-25 panels from WWII.

B-25 Noseart

The larger reception desks take hundreds of hours to sand and produce. The popular L1110 Cowling (engine cell) takes around 220 hours to create and can be completed in 10 or 11 days for. A piece of this size will cost you around $22,000-25,000 depending on its options. The smaller pieces are similarly priced and are perfect for the bachelor pad or luxury man cave.

Click on any picture to view the larger version and visit the MotoArt website for more recycled aircraft pieces: http://www.motoart.com/

L1011 Credenza

C 119 Desk

C119 Credenza

B25 Bomber Desk

Mile High Bed