Can’t get away with a dedicated man cave room? Enter… The man cave office combination!
If you’re really struggling to create a man cave in a dedicated space, then all hope is not lost. We’ve been seeing a man cave home office trend really starting to take-off over the last few years, and it makes total sense.
Especially in places like the U.K where ample spare rooms in a home just aren’t a reality for a lot of people (and rising rates are meaning that people are staying-put in their current homes), we’re seeing homeowners really starting to get creative in order to see their man cave dreams turn into a reality.
So, what are the benefits of a man cave office, and how can you build one for yourself? We cover all of this and more in our guide below.
7 tips for building the perfect man cave home office
1. Where you can double up on dual-use items, do it!
The most obvious is your gaming setup and how you’ll likely be able to use it for work too if you have a work from home job. This can also really benefit your work too, especially if you’re running programs all day where a much needed memory or power boost from a modern gaming PC is a welcome addition.
It’s a little harder to justify the games consoles, although again, you can always play them on your lunch breaks like you would if your office had a communal chillout area. You just might not have room for the classic table tennis table to really tie-in the office vibe..
2. Think about practicality with your choice of tech and gadgets
A home beer pump might be at the top of your list, but do you want it front and centre in your Zoom calls? We’re not saying that this would be an issue, but just think about associated costs for new tech and gadgets, and how you can get the most bang for your buck in terms of usage.
For example, swapping-out the beer pump choice for a premium coffee machine, so that you can stay caffeinated during an excel spreadsheet session and later in the day when you switch to taking on the online world in your man cave.
3. Lighting for both room ‘modes’
Neon lighting is cool in a man cave, but can you realistically rely on this when going through your work day too? And obviously, neon signs are a must, but think about maybe having them as wall features rather than a sole reliance on neon strip lights or what some would deem as more ‘novelty’ lighting.
Think about how you can combine soft lighting that will really make your home office a comfortable and relaxing space, but also mean that your man cave has the cool look that you desire. Many lighting strips have colour-changing modes, and something like this is ideal so that you can change your lighting preferences based on things like ‘typical’ lighting for a Zoom call versus futuristic lighting for your latest expedition in No Man’s Sky.
4. TV/monitor combinations
Can you use a TV as a monitor, or can you really invest in some fantastic monitors that provide the right options for both work and gaming requirements? As these can often be quite expensive, think about how you can find the perfect ones to balance dual usage… it means that it’s then much easier to justify what can already be an expensive tech kit-out.
5. What are your options for furniture?
Many home offices simply don’t have the space for a super comfy man cave recliner, but what about a modern gaming chair that can support your posture during work hours too? The last thing you want to do is cram too much furniture into an already cramped space, so if you can get away with a dual purpose gaming chair that is as comfy as it is cool-looking, then you’re really on to a winner.
Unless you do have enough room to introduce a La-Z-Boy with a giant cupholder, then why wouldn’t you!?
6. Will the room benefit from soundproofing?
Soundproofing for an office is actually something that not a lot of people consider, and it can actually be really handy for when you’re going on those calls in the middle of the day to block-out any of that pesky background noise. This also means that you can game loudly to your hearts content, and not bother the rest of the people at home when you go on your daily online Fifa rants.
Yeah we get it, it was lag that caused you to miss that penalty… But with soundproofing, the rest of the home doesn’t need to hear the fallout!
Soundproofing is something that we cover in our garage man cave guide, and you can also apply those recommendations to a smaller home office too. You’ll find that it’s probably a lot cheaper than expected, it’s just a bit of graft for someone who has never done it before.
7. Giving your man cave home office a theme
Is it as easy to theme a combo man cave compared to a standalone cave build? No, of course not, as there are the office aspects that you need to consider. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t adorn one side of the office in your favourite gaming and tech decor, and still keep one side looking arguably more bland for a corporate Zoom call backdrop.
Or, just use a custom background on video calls and have a Star Wars themed man cave home office… We know which one we’d rather have!
How much should you be spending on your man cave home office?
This can depend on your job and the tech you need to work from home, as much as it can depend on what you actually want to fill your man cave with. We have put together a really handy man cave cost calculator so that you can start to get a rough idea of the costs involved, but typically with a man cave home office a lot of the biggest costs will be larger furnishings and the tech itself, as for many people they’re not starting a room from scratch, they’re essentially modifying the home office that they’ve already got.
Well, we say modifying, but the reality is you’re making the space much better by adding incredible man cave elements!
In Conclusion
Having a man cave home office is such a cool idea and not something we expect to see people abandon any time soon. If anything, we’re going to see much more of hem, and we can’t wait to see how creative people get with their builds.
If you enjoyed this guide or if you’re looking for more information on man cave builds and advice, you might also enjoy these following guides from our team of man cave geeks:
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My core areas of expertise include technical, local and organic SEO, alongside targeted content development and white-hat outreach strategies for link building purposes. When I'm not doing SEO you can find me gaming in my man cave!
