If you ask me, the garage is already my husbands man cave. It’s the place he stores his tools, equipment for the garden, and the toys he likes to play on during the summer months such as quad bikes. But to be a true man cave it really needs to be somewhere where he can immerse himself in his passions. It needs to be a place where you can show off your stuff, and be comfortable at the same time. Kind of like a cross between a traditional gentleman’s club, toy store, and play room.

The great thing about creating a man cave in your garage is that the space has enough separation from the main house to make it a little private, so it can be personalised and individual. At the same time it can have access to all the services you need like electricity and water, without having to connect them separately to say an outside shed.

In most homes, the car is the last thing to be stored inside the garage. It becomes a dumping ground for all the stuff we don’t need, or think we’ll need sometime down the road. Decluttering the garage can be a great excuse to turn it into your man cave. If you’re lucky enough to have a double garage, then there can still be room for your vehicle, with the rest of the space taken over as your man cave and not full of junk.

A garage can be attached to the main house, or a separate building. If it’s attached to the house then there is likely to be some degree of insulation and weatherproofing already installed, as well as electric and plumbing. However, if it’s detached from the house not all of these things may be true. Depending upon the state of the garage you may have to give it some TLC.

Preparation

Take a good look at the garage you’re going to turn into a man cave. There are a few things we need to check out to ensure the structure is weatherproof, insulated, and free from dangerous mould.
Weather proofing. Generally, we need to make sure the exterior is properly painted, and that there are no obvious gaps or cracks in the outside brickwork or cladding. A new coat of waterproof paint will make your man cave look inviting from the outside, and help protect it from the weather.

Mould protection. Mould can be extremely dangerous and cause lots of illnesses and respiratory problems. If an area of your home is too damp it can be due to water getting into the structure added with poor ventilation. If you garage has any mould it should be cleaned with soapy water and bleach before making any changes.
Insulation. If you’ve ever spent time in your garage you know that without any insulation it can get pretty cold in there during the winter, and stifling in the summer. If you’re going to turn it into a man cave then it’s a wise idea to add a layer of insulation to the inside walls. It also gives you the opportunity to put up wood panelling rather than drywall, to add some opulence to the place.

Climate Control

Garages are not often heated, or linked to a home’s air conditioning system so if you’re going to spend some time in your man cave consider heating and cooling. In temperate climates you may just need fan heaters for the winter, and on very hot days open the up and over garage doors.
Check out the floor. The chances are your garage floor is just bare concrete, and not ideal for your man cave. There are a number of options available. If the concrete is uneven and broken in parts you may want to consider recovering the floor, which can be expensive. Polished concrete flooring is very popular these days but it’s not cheap to achieve. Another cheaper option is to coat it with epoxy resin. The epoxy resin is hard-wearing , very durable, and easy and cheaper to install. If the floor is uneven you can use the resin make it level. You can then be as creative as you like with the floor. You can put wallpaper or other material into a layer of epoxy resin to create a fake wooden floor, or how about fluffy cloud wallpaper on the floor, how cool is that!

The Conversion

Lighting

Not every garage has a window, and nobody expects you to keep the garage door open when you’re in your man cave, so the colour of the place and the lighting becomes crucial. With no natural light areas that are in shadow can be brightened by the use of colour. The use of colour can brighten, accent and differentiate areas within your man cave.

Bright vibrant colours and pastels will reflect light in the garage. It can be enhanced with the use of lighting and mirrors.

However, no matter what colour the walls, it can all be undone if you don’t get the lighting right. Invariably the garage will have some form of ceiling light, which is a good start. Consider modern flat LED lights that have variable colour temperature and can also be dimmed. This can give a wide variety of lighting effects covering the whole space. However, you may need to think of wall lights, or standing lights to add illumination to areas that are in shadow, or if you want to add and accent to a particular area. You may want to add some light to the place where you keep your memorabilia or family photos, so eyes are drawn to it. If you use modern LED light bulbs that can also be dimmed, there are innumerable effects you can create with even the simplest lighting set up.

Furniture

Picking furniture for a man cave has all to do with the purpose of the place and any theme you want it to have. If you’re turning your man cave into a garage bar it’ll need bar stools and at least one table, but if it’s going to be a gaming cave or a reading den you’ll be looking for something else entirely. So before choosing any furniture to put into your garage man cave you have to be 100% certain about what you want to achieve and the look and feel you want it to have.

Most people like to theme their man cave, cars and bikes along with sports are probably the most common. However, there are man caves that look like pubs or bars, others can be devoted to hobbies such as model making or photography. And don’t forget if you’ve got a two car garage you can always keep your vehicle in one half, and have the other as your man cave, even making your car centre stage of the man cave.

Author's Bio: 

Laura Green is an avid writer on health and home Subjects.
When she isn't creating healthy recipes or hiking up a mountain trail, you can find her focusing on improving her home and garden