Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.
Is there any topic more timely? Let your voice be heard.
Reader Interactions
Comments are closed.
28 comments
Comments
Lee in Floridasays
I have no problem with the term, although I can see how some might think it’s cliche. What jumped out at me, however, is the hostility toward a man having a room of his own, regardless of what it’s called.
I mean, a guy needs a place where he can belch, fart and scratch in peace. So what if he spills popcorn all over the place… you’d rather it be in your living room?
It’s no different than ladies that like to retire to a spa-like bubble bath when they need some time alone. I wonder why these women bother having families, if they can’t wait for Calgon to take them away.
70mm foreversays
I prefer the term Screening Room — a room dominated by a screen sized to fit the room and provide a truly cinema-like viewing field of view, mounted high on the wall. Coupled with Ikea Poang chairs providing a no-neck-craning viewing angle and a perfectly tuned surround system, such a place is surely too capable, too nice, to be called a Man Cave.
Add a flat black ceiling and screen wall, MR16 dimming spots and floods, Glidden Soft Sapphire everywhere else, cinema-themed carpeting (Joy Carpets makes some) and you have a screening room you don’t want to ieave, and that honestly, beats 8 out of 10 commercial cinemas in picture quality and sound.
Briansays
“Den” should still work just fine as a name for a casual living area, especially if it’s being distinguished from a formal living room.
The problem with “man cave” is that it encourages the men to make cliched, overstated, hypermasculine design choices. I attended an open house where the sellers had outfitted the basement with a replica of a sports bar — overhead TV (in addition to an awkward home theater nearby), prominent beer tapping station and large beer-branded cooler, several illuminated signs advertising beer … can’t remember if there was taxidermy. The real estate agent was perched there, since it was the most dazzling selling point of an otherwise cookie-cutter McMansion. I mentioned that it would cost a lot to rip out all the macho junk to make way for the sewing room.
JPsays
Completely in tune with the Fred Flinstone era stone and granite overuse in vogue these days.
As a chef, my man’s cave is actually the kitchen, but he’s nice enough to let me visit his cave as long as I pay the baked goods toll 😉 Like Kate I am the house DIY-er and decorator, so the rest of our house is my domain…. (insert evil laugh here)
despite being a pretty femme woman, i definitely vote “i love my man cave.” i think my little room fits the definition perfectly – though in more of a “hemingway’s office” than a “football fan” kind of way.
i think the secret of it is having your own little space. the basic compromise that was made in our house was i get the teeny weenie room that is totally out of the way as my office and my wife gets the biggest room in the house, but one that everyone wanders through all the time as her office. which is what makes hers more of an office and mine more of a cave. yeah, i love my man cave. =)
During the 60’s my Great aunt and Uncle lived in a totally swank ranch house. Uncle Henry had a workroom of sorts just off the carport. Aunt Mildred called it his “Pouting Room.” After they died in the late 80’s we discovered that Uncle Henry had a little black and white TV, a comfy chair, his gun tools, a huge mounted caribou head, hunting magazines, ashtrays and a treasure trove of Playboy mags!
pam kuebersays
hilarious!
Elainesays
I equate the Man Cave with a big screen TV turned to sports. If my man liked to watch sports, heck, I’d build him the man cave myself, just to get that stuff out of my area of consciousness. I do have to say that when he gets control of the remote, the family room is all his. I hate channel surfing.
I do not like the idea that the guy gets the man cave and the woman gets the rest of the house. The house belongs to both of us and is decorated so we can both be comfortable. Recliner in the family room for him, nice reading lights everywhere, stacks of magazines and shelves of books. We can spread projects out on the big table and have each other’s company while we work on them.
Kellysays
Whoops – somehow I posted this directly on the polldaddy site:
Frankly, we don’t have a basement or any spare room we can carve out for a “cave”… but I’ll tell you, I’d be the one decking the place out w/a huge TV, wireless networking and streaming music and other media until the cows come home. With a bar. And all the crap that goes with it. Heck, I’d even stick a bunch of tiki lamps and globe lights in there for good measure. Oh, and foosball. Definitely foosball. And maybe a pottery wheel or something. [I’m a woman… this will be my den and I will “invite” my husband and kids there on occasion when it pleases me]. 🙂
ChrisHsays
It’s cliche. Both men and women have “caves” or specific rooms, but these are usually assigned by traditional gender ideas about types of work, and usually involve some tools or equipment. We guys may “own” the garage or the workshop, our wives may “own”” the sewing room or the craft room.
But traditionally only men get to have a “cave” or den which doesn’t have to include any tools or equipment and doesn’t have to have anything to do with any kind of work. It can just be a fun and private place to hang out.
I don’t have a need for a den, but I can see how some men might need one. One of my brothers has a wife and 3 daughters. No sons. He could use a place for some estrogen de-tox.
Lee in Florida says
I have no problem with the term, although I can see how some might think it’s cliche. What jumped out at me, however, is the hostility toward a man having a room of his own, regardless of what it’s called.
I mean, a guy needs a place where he can belch, fart and scratch in peace. So what if he spills popcorn all over the place… you’d rather it be in your living room?
It’s no different than ladies that like to retire to a spa-like bubble bath when they need some time alone. I wonder why these women bother having families, if they can’t wait for Calgon to take them away.
70mm forever says
I prefer the term Screening Room — a room dominated by a screen sized to fit the room and provide a truly cinema-like viewing field of view, mounted high on the wall. Coupled with Ikea Poang chairs providing a no-neck-craning viewing angle and a perfectly tuned surround system, such a place is surely too capable, too nice, to be called a Man Cave.
Add a flat black ceiling and screen wall, MR16 dimming spots and floods, Glidden Soft Sapphire everywhere else, cinema-themed carpeting (Joy Carpets makes some) and you have a screening room you don’t want to ieave, and that honestly, beats 8 out of 10 commercial cinemas in picture quality and sound.
Brian says
“Den” should still work just fine as a name for a casual living area, especially if it’s being distinguished from a formal living room.
The problem with “man cave” is that it encourages the men to make cliched, overstated, hypermasculine design choices. I attended an open house where the sellers had outfitted the basement with a replica of a sports bar — overhead TV (in addition to an awkward home theater nearby), prominent beer tapping station and large beer-branded cooler, several illuminated signs advertising beer … can’t remember if there was taxidermy. The real estate agent was perched there, since it was the most dazzling selling point of an otherwise cookie-cutter McMansion. I mentioned that it would cost a lot to rip out all the macho junk to make way for the sewing room.
JP says
Completely in tune with the Fred Flinstone era stone and granite overuse in vogue these days.
Sarah V says
As a chef, my man’s cave is actually the kitchen, but he’s nice enough to let me visit his cave as long as I pay the baked goods toll 😉 Like Kate I am the house DIY-er and decorator, so the rest of our house is my domain…. (insert evil laugh here)
lady brett says
despite being a pretty femme woman, i definitely vote “i love my man cave.” i think my little room fits the definition perfectly – though in more of a “hemingway’s office” than a “football fan” kind of way.
i think the secret of it is having your own little space. the basic compromise that was made in our house was i get the teeny weenie room that is totally out of the way as my office and my wife gets the biggest room in the house, but one that everyone wanders through all the time as her office. which is what makes hers more of an office and mine more of a cave. yeah, i love my man cave. =)
Becky P S says
During the 60’s my Great aunt and Uncle lived in a totally swank ranch house. Uncle Henry had a workroom of sorts just off the carport. Aunt Mildred called it his “Pouting Room.” After they died in the late 80’s we discovered that Uncle Henry had a little black and white TV, a comfy chair, his gun tools, a huge mounted caribou head, hunting magazines, ashtrays and a treasure trove of Playboy mags!
pam kueber says
hilarious!
Elaine says
I equate the Man Cave with a big screen TV turned to sports. If my man liked to watch sports, heck, I’d build him the man cave myself, just to get that stuff out of my area of consciousness. I do have to say that when he gets control of the remote, the family room is all his. I hate channel surfing.
I do not like the idea that the guy gets the man cave and the woman gets the rest of the house. The house belongs to both of us and is decorated so we can both be comfortable. Recliner in the family room for him, nice reading lights everywhere, stacks of magazines and shelves of books. We can spread projects out on the big table and have each other’s company while we work on them.
Kelly says
Whoops – somehow I posted this directly on the polldaddy site:
Frankly, we don’t have a basement or any spare room we can carve out for a “cave”… but I’ll tell you, I’d be the one decking the place out w/a huge TV, wireless networking and streaming music and other media until the cows come home. With a bar. And all the crap that goes with it. Heck, I’d even stick a bunch of tiki lamps and globe lights in there for good measure. Oh, and foosball. Definitely foosball. And maybe a pottery wheel or something. [I’m a woman… this will be my den and I will “invite” my husband and kids there on occasion when it pleases me]. 🙂
ChrisH says
It’s cliche. Both men and women have “caves” or specific rooms, but these are usually assigned by traditional gender ideas about types of work, and usually involve some tools or equipment. We guys may “own” the garage or the workshop, our wives may “own”” the sewing room or the craft room.
But traditionally only men get to have a “cave” or den which doesn’t have to include any tools or equipment and doesn’t have to have anything to do with any kind of work. It can just be a fun and private place to hang out.
I don’t have a need for a den, but I can see how some men might need one. One of my brothers has a wife and 3 daughters. No sons. He could use a place for some estrogen de-tox.