Man Cave Renovation Reveal: Cozy, Cool
Table of Contents
Man Cave Renovation Reveal: Cozy, Cool Disclaimer: I’ve included affiliate links to products I love. If you purchase, I will receive a small percentage at no extra cost to you!
While we’re talking affiliate links, RUN to amazon for these picture lights!
They make everything look more high-end–even sports jerseys!
I bought three versions before I found this one, and it’s perfect.
The lights are battery-powered, so you don’t need an electrician to wire them, which can get super expensive. And they’re easy to put up yourself! We’ve had ours for seven months and have only charged once!
I want one above every picture in my house!
Background
The House
Since this is my first post on our new house, here’s some background!
My husband and I got married in April (2022) and bought our new house the day we got back from our honeymoon! (It was a whirlwind!)
The house is a Folk Victorian built in 1893. It has all kinds of old house charm (and, of course, old house issues!).
It sits right on Main Street in our little town, surrounded by other historic beauties. And we can walk to the restaurants, shops, and our church on Main Street!
It’s always been my dream to own one of the big, old homes on Main Street, and now we’re here!
The Project
For one reason or another, my husband hasn’t really had a space of his own for the last few years. He’s a good sport and lets me have full reign over the decor in the rest of the house, but he needed a designated space to fit his style and needs. So we decided to build him a Man Cave!
We moved into the house in June and wanted the Man Cave done before football season. After the wedding, moving expenses, and a tight deadline, we had to stick to a budget, but I didn’t want to compromise on style or quality. I think we hit the nail on the head with style and went with the highest quality products we could manage!
We had some of the work done and did some of it ourselves. We’re new to home renovation, so we made many mistakes and learned a lot too! Living in an old home forces you to get handy quickly!
Here’s the story of the first Man Cave renovation project in our new home! Check out the remodel!
My Man Cave Renovation Inspiration
Here’s the mood board I made for inspiration!
The top right picture is from the Sherwin-Williams blog for paint inspiration.
The bottom right picture is from Apartment Therapy for trim inspiration.
Of course, my biggest inspiration was my husband. It’s his space, after all! He knows I love home decor and was sweet enough to let me help with the design!
He wanted to paint the room black. He also requested a pub table, a bar, a place to hang his jerseys, and a swivel chair. And, of course, he wanted a huge TV!
I wanted to create a room cozy enough to curl up and watch a movie in but cool enough to watch a game with friends. I didn’t want cheesy Man Cave vibes, but I wanted it to be masculine. I didn’t want the room to feel like a museum. But I also didn’t want the decor to look out of place in our historic home.
The Walls
Before we ever started painting, we had someone come in and smooth the texture on the walls. There was old Spanish Lace-type texture all over the room. It took time, cost money, and made a mess, but I’m still glad we did it! It updated the room and gave it a clean look!
The Paint
I was actually excited when my husband told me he wanted to paint the room black! I had wanted to try a dark, moody room.
The paint on the front door in our other house was Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore, and I loved the color! So I chose it for the room. It was black enough for my husband but more subtle and interesting!
I knew I didn’t want a black ceiling, but I worried black walls next to a white ceiling could be jarring. I loved the two-tone effect in the picture! The transition from white to black was more comfortable to look at and a lot more interesting!
I wanted a warm white and chose Sherwin-Williams Snowbound for the ceiling. The ceilings and trim in the rest of the house (and any white walls) will be this color for continuity!
We painted the ceiling and walls with flat paint to hide all the historic home flaws. I wanted to do dark trim and used the same color as the walls but in a satin finish for a bit of contrast.
The Trim
As I mentioned before, I wanted to do two color walls. But my husband had asked for a black room.
So I decided to place the wall trim higher on the wall, more like a picture rail, to allow for more black.
Picture rail felt classic and at home in our historic room, but we did it with a modern twist with our less decorative trim!
My dad and I bought the trim supplies at Home Depot. I painted the boards, and then my dad hung them for us!
The Hardware
I chose black door plates with white porcelain knobs from House of Antique Hardware. I love how they match our color scheme!
None of the door knobs in the room matched or worked very well, and most of them weren’t old. Getting new ones made everything more functional and looked more cohesive.
I got switch plates and outlet covers to match my knobs from Nostalgic Warehouse. They were more expensive than the normal plastic ones, but I think they look cool and high-end! And the plastic ones can look out of place in our historic home.
I got black knobs for our cabinet.
Pro tip: If you get dark switch and outlet covers, don’t forget that you’ll need dark switches and outlets (like I did)! I got the ones linked below from Amazon.
The Hinges
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- Hinges Before
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- Hinges Final
Almost all the hardware in our house is covered in a few layers of old paint.
In this room, I redid all the original hardware.
Pro tip: I used CitriStrip stripping gel to get them clean. After applying, I wrapped them in cling wrap and left them for a few hours. Then I cleaned them with mineral spirits and a wire brush. (Be careful! Rags saturated with mineral spirits can catch fire!) I repeated until they were paint free. Then I spray-painted them with matte black paint using several thin coats.
The hinges turned out so pretty! They look brand new but with their old charm!
The Decor
Once we got the walls done and the hardware up, it was time to decorate!
One of the first things we chose was this cool light fixture from Poly and Bark. I just discovered Poly and Bark and love it! Everything we’ve gotten has been of excellent quality for the price!
I love the fixture because it’s super on-trend with its Mid-Century Modern vibe, but it could be a vintage piece that has lived in the room for a long time!
We matched its Mid-Century vibe with a lot of details in the room!
We had a big room to work in, but it was very long. And the cable jack had to come in from an exterior wall (old house probs), so our television placement options were limited.
Pro tip: Get paintable cord concealer tubes to hide your lines (linked below).
We decided to create four separate areas to use up all the space. We have the back sitting area with the two black chairs, the front sitting area with the couch, the pub table area, and the bar!
My husband made sure you could see the television from all the spaces!
The Jerseys
Of course, my husband’s jerseys had to take center stage!
We chose heavy frames from Hobby Lobby. I love the frames, but they weren’t easy to hang!
Pro tip: Get a heavy-duty jersey hanging kit from Home Depot!
As mentioned before, the picture lights made the jerseys look super cool!
The Front Sitting Area
The Couch
After the light fixture, our next big decision was the couch.
My husband picked the couch out himself. And I was super excited because I’ve always wanted a Chesterfield couch! I love that the style is reminiscent of something that might have initially lived in the house. And the warm color is what I wanted to keep the black room feeling warm and welcoming. The low back is also perfect for allowing the people behind to see the television over it.
He ordered it without seeing it first from Amazon, which scared me! But it worked out! The delivery was quick, and the couch was great! It’s genuine leather (one of my criteria) and very solid! I linked the actual couch below!
The Rest of the Front Sitting Area Decor
I kept the color scheme in the room simple. We used black, white, and warm browns. To honor my husband’s favorite team, the Razorbacks, we added a couple of pops of red, like the red throw on the couch. The actual throw is linked below!
I found the swivel chair my husband requested at Target. I love the style of Target furniture, but I know it’s almost always going to be on the small side. The chair is small, but that’s okay because it needed to be small to fit. I like how the white matches our black and white walls and knobs! And the boucle fabric is cozy!
I ordered the gray boucle throw pillows, the wooden box, the marble coasters, the entertainment center, the brass cocktail table, and the coffee table from Target too! The pouf came from TJ Maxx.
Pro tip: Boxes are great for hiding remotes!
My husband wanted a cowhide rug. We found this one at Cowhides Direct. The mix of black, white, and brown tied our colors together perfectly!
We threw in a few of my husband’s sports books to decorate the coffee table! And I found that fun Sam Pittman saint candle at Domestic Domestic in Little Rock (one of my favorite stores!).
The Back Sitting Area
We put some of my husband’s signed photos and sports memorabilia in a gallery wall in the back! We ordered that cute bat holder from Amazon (linked below), and the frames came from Hobby Lobby.
The chairs are (again) Poly and Bark (linked below)! Their vintage look fit perfectly, and so did the black and brown! The round coffee table and the decorative wooden chain are also from Amazon (linked).
The side table is vintage.
The rug is from West Elm, and its texture made the space super cozy.
And the wooden bowl is from Target!
The Pub Table Area
My husband wanted a pub table and picked this one and the stools from Amazon early on (linked). He likes industrial decor, but it didn’t really match anything else in the room. So we ordered an industrial shelf for his bar to match, which helped tie it in!
My husband thought three rugs were too many for the room, but the table just looked like it was floating without a rug. When he realized the table scooted around on the slick floor, he let me order the rug from Amazon (linked) for safety. And it finished the space!
The little amber bottle is from Target!
Man Cave Renovation Vintage Pieces
I like to add a few vintage or antique pieces to every room to make everything feel more interesting! And it makes our modern decor feel a little more at home in our historic space!
In this room, we have the cute tray above.
Pro tip: I love trays because you can use them to group small items that might feel cluttered and make them look like decor! I love them for bar carts or bathrooms!
We also have the big framed picture at the center of the gallery wall, the table between the chairs, and adorable etched-glass Razorback lowball glasses. The glasses are extra special because they were my grandma’s!
I found the table at a flea market and loved the shape and its cute lion details on the sides, but it was rough. I repaired the peeling veneer as best I could and sanded off the finish. Then I treated it with a coat of Tung oil.
The lowball Razorback glass isn’t vintage, but I linked it below!
Pro tip: Keep some Command picture strips on hand for gallery walls featuring old frames. Old frames never quite hang straight and need help!
The Bar Closet
The bar closet was our biggest DIY! We did it all ourselves!
My husband wanted to paint it Razorback red, and I was terrified! But now I like it!
We ordered the shelf from Amazon to match his bar table (linked).
The sconces are from Amazon, too (linked). And they were great for our budget because they’re battery powered and didn’t require wiring.
We bought a butcher block countertop from Home Depot and I finished it with Tung oil.
I wanted the bar to look built-in with a cabinet, fridge, and counter. But the closet wasn’t standard counter-depth, so that was a challenge. We ended up buying a bathroom cabinet, which fit almost perfectly (after removing the baseboards). We had a friend trim down the butcher block to fit. And I found a fridge that was a little shallower than counter depth (linked).
Pro tip: If you need to remove a section of baseboard or trim, don’t hack at it with a hand saw for hours and make a huge mess (talking from experience here). Just buy an oscillating tool (linked)! They’re also great for detail sanding! I use ours all the time!
Man Cave Renovation: Before and After
Here are some Man Cave renovation side-by-sides so that you can see the difference!
The room is cozy with dark walls and warm brown furniture, but I think the white ceiling keeps it feeling open! The brown ceiling really weighed it down before!
I love this little corner!
This is such a small thing, but removing that string from the attic door made a huge difference!
We still need to access the attic, so I bought an attic door pull kit from Amazon! I’ll link it below!
Well, that’s the Man Cave renovation! Thanks for checking it out!
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2 Comments
Liz · January 8, 2023 at 5:04 pm
This is AWESOME! I needed all these tips and will definitely be going back to this!
mholifield09 · January 8, 2023 at 5:35 pm
I’m glad you found it helpful!!!!
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