Not everyone has the option to create their dream man cave in a huge room or build a huge cabin in their garden. Sometimes you’ll have to make do with what you’ve got. And sometimes that’s not a whole lot. What kind of man cave can you create in a very limited space? Let’s find out.
When you’re decorating a small room, it’s not only important WHAT you do whit it but also HOW. There are a few things you should know before you start. Click here to find a few important tips that can make your man cave feel much less claustrophobic.
What is mini?
Man caves are usually created in basements, garages or sheds. These rooms have a decent amount of space to do almost anything you could want in a man cave. Those rooms are not what I would call “mini”. But what is?
In my mind, a mini room would be the size of a walk-in closet. So how big is the average walk-in closet? Houses are different so they aren’t all the same. This home designer quotes that most walk-in closets range from 25 to 100 sq. ft.
In my mind 100 Sq. Ft. isn’t super mini anymore. That’s almost the size of a small bedroom. On the other hand, 25 Sq. Ft. is barely enough to walk into. So let’s take the average of the minimum and maximum quoted above. That means I’d say a “mini” man cave is roughly 75 Sq. Ft. (+-7m2) big. That really isn’t much space, hence “mini”.
Mini man cave ideas
What kind of man cave can you create in a space that is that limited? Certainly not everything is possible. But you can still do some cool things. Here are the six best ideas:
1. Home Gym
What’s manlier than lifting up heavy iron things and dropping them down? Not much and this is the one that your partner is most likely to approve of since it’ll improve your body.
A home gym doesn’t have to be very expensive and big. I asked Matt from homegymresource.com how much space you need for a home gym and how much it would cost. Here’s what he said:
“For a basic weightlifting setup with bench and dumbbells you need at least 7′ * 8′ (56 sq. ft.) of free space. Even a short barbell would fit Those dimensions are large enough to fit the equipment and use it, including bodyweight exercises.
https://homegymresource.com/how-much-space-do-you-need-for-a-home-gym-weights-cardio/
So if you’ve got 75 square foot like we presumed in this article, a home gym is perfectly possible. Check out some of the example floorplans Matt made here.
1. Reading room
The next option is the one that takes up the least amount of space. A reading room is perfect for a small man cave. It’s the perfect opportunity to create a place to read in peace without any distractions. All you need is a comfortable chair a lamp and a book.
Of course some people have a book collection that’s rivals a library. While you might not be able to get a book collection of that size into a mini man cave, there is enough space for a good sized bookshelf, comfortable chair and a small table. What else do you need from a reading room?
Add a small desk and you’ve got a room to write as well!
2. DIY Workshop
You might not think it but, it is very possible to create a complete DIY workshop in this amount of space. All the tools you need plus workspace and storage? Yes it’s possible in this amount of space.
Ultimate Small Shop promises to show you how to create a complete workshop in a space as small as 10’ x 6’. That means it easily fits into our walk-in closet. It shows you which tools to buy, which lay-out is best for your shop and takes care of some often overlooked issues like; lighting, safety, wiring and ventilation.
Click here to get the full guide on how to build your mini man cave workshop for UNDER $1000.
3. Gaming room
Whether you like PC or console gaming, a gaming room fits perfectly into this small man cave. You’re not moving around a whole lot while gaming so you don’t need a lot of space. For PC gaming you’ll need a desk and chair. For console gaming you’ll need one or two comfortable chairs and a small table.
You’ll still have some space left over for a small fridge and some storage space. Nobody wants warm drinks and your action figure collection has to live somewhere.
Suggested post: Gamer Man Cave
4. Personal home theater
Who doesn’t like to watch a movie, football game or something else on a big screen? Since 99% of TV’s are very flat nowadays, they don’t take up much space. The limiting factor is how far you can be away from the screen. You don’t want to be so close to the screen that you have to move your head to see the different characters.
That said, if you’re sitting about 7 feet away from the screen, you can still use a 55” screen. That should be big enough for most people.
Seating and audio are a bigger challenge. A sofa is great but takes up a lot of space. If you’re just going to be in there alone, a recliner is a better choice. Then you’ll have space left over for a small fridge to keep your cold drinks within hands reach.
A home theater isn’t complete without good audio. Here’s where you might have to make some compromises. A surround system is going to be difficult since you need to put speakers behind the seating. That puts the seat to far towards the screen. A good soundbar, stereo setup or headphones are definitely possible however.
Suggested post: Build a Home Theater For Under $2000
5. Poker room
It’s going to be quite tight but if you don’t plan on inviting too many people it’s possible. For a 48” round poker table plus chairs, you need about 9’ x 9’. That’s just a little bigger than the space we’ve got (+-8.5 x 8.5’). The 9’ takes into account all the chairs and room for moving around. So if you’re willing to go with smaller (dinner table) chairs, it’s definitely possible to fit this in.
It won’t be the most spacious setup so inviting more than 3 people might be too much but it’s possible. While playing poker, you don’t have to move around much. So once everyone is settled in, the space should be sufficient.
What are you missing out on?
What are some of the things you won’t be able to do in this limited amount of space? There are a few good reasons to upgrade to a bigger man cave if possible. Here are three things that take up too much space for our mini man cave;
- Home bar
- Pool table
- Foosball table
- A place to hang out with many friends
Suggested post: How big should your man cave be?
As you can see, there are good reasons to upgrade to a bigger man cave if possible. Most people don’t have this option however. So if you’ve only got 75 Sq. Ft., you can still choose one of the 5 cool things listed above.
Make sure to think about WHY you want a man cave. Just getting a mini man cave because that’s all you can get, is OK but make sure you’ll actually want to use it once you’re finished. Otherwise you might as well leave your walk-in closet alone.
Still don’t know what a man cave is? Read: What is a man cave?
