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

-
-

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

-

-

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.

-

-

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.

-

-

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

-

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

-

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.

-

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

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