In honour of Father's Day I'm going to swallow my pride and write about man rooms. But I simply cannot do it without a minor preamble first, so indulge me briefly and then we'll move on.
I'm not comfortable with the idea of a "man room." It hits a nerve and here's why: I live downtown in a big city where space is at an absolute premium. I'm currently searching for a new home because my family needs more space. We have several requirements for this new home and most of them are things that my husband and I agree on. A backyard, a front porch, two bathrooms and four bedrooms. And then there's the "man room" requirement. For some reason he's absolutely set on this. Not a "family office" or a "den" or a "work-shop" but a MAN ROOM. Meaning, I have to assume, that my daughter and myself are not welcome. At least not on a regular basis.
Not fair! I mean, we ladies like music and television! We even like video games sometimes! And books! We all love books. Why should he get a space to stash all of his stuff and to retreat to with chips and beer whenever he feels like getting his "man" on? Oh. Wait a second now. A place to stash all of his stuff? Like the plastic batman figurine and 27 milk crates full of dusty records? A room for the piles of hideous video game equipment and stacks of games? A place where the beer caps and chip crumbs can easily be hidden away behind a tightly sealed and always closed door?
I have just changed my mind. We DO need a man room in our new home! Bring on the man room!
But I still can't sacrifice style. So here's my compromise, the man room can stay as long as it's sexy. A sexy man room is something I can get behind. Here are five examples (well four, and one that must be sexy to someone). Happy Father's Day!
Eclectic and Cool
Photo via diynetwork.com
This man room was designed for actor Rainn Wilson, who you may know better as Dwight Shrute from The Office, for an episode of DIY Network's Man Caves. This room has comfortable style without being overly stylish. The mish mash of furniture and collectables comes together without looking messy and unsophisticated, and is infused with some very well-designed masculine pieces like the industrial overhead pendants and the gorgeous, yet comfortable chairs.
Stuff without Sacrifice
Photo via unplggd.com
Found this cave over at unplgged.com (see the full gallery here) and realized that this guy has everything that I lament about my husband's collectibles but it is all tucked away, tidy and dare I say attractive? In this photo I can spot all the offenders that I struggle with in my own house: DVDs, records, audio/visual equipment, Star Wars toys (ahem), yet when I look at this space I don't break out in hives. Granted, this is A LOT of space, but it still gives me hope that with plenty of organization anyone could eek out a little space to store the man-stuff in a fun and functional way.
Stuffed Animals and Naked Women - With Class
Photo via materialgirlsblog.com
See? It doesn't have to be all posters of Pamela Anderson and a giant stuffed buffalo head! This room, designed by Robert Passal, is a beautiful example of how things men love can be done tastefully. This tailored, classy, dare I say stunning, man-retreat is playful, sexy and sophisticated. I'd love to go on a date with my husband in this room. Enough said.
A Man Cave. Literally.
Photo via houzz.com
Obviously this is over-the-top. But hey, if it's a man cave you're after why not consider going all in? I stumbled across this cave while browsing media rooms on Houzz.com and thought to myself, huh, what a fitting place for that batman figurine.
Wishful Thinking?
Photo via blog.2modern.com
My personal taste runs towards the ultra-modern, even though I recognize that in real life it's an extremely difficult style to pull off. It certainly is not how my house is decorated by any stretch of the imagination, but that doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to have an imagination! A girl can dream. A man room like this, full of sleek, sexy lines, with no cords, clutter or crumbs to be seen, is a fantasy for sure. I think there are at least a few men out there would agree with me when I say - this room is awesome.
Let's hear it - a man room - would you or wouldn't you?
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