The Importance of Having a Man Cave
While spending quality time with family and friends can be a fun and enjoyable thing to do, having some alone time to relax and rejuvenate is also essential. In fact, it’s just as critical.
The good news is that you don't have to board a plane or get in a car to achieve the alone time you need. If you have a "man cave" on your property, you can retreat to this safe space whenever you want. Are you interested in learning about the benefits of having a man cave? Do you even know what the term refers to?
Keep reading to learn about what a man cave is and why you certainly need one straight away.
What is a Man Cave?
A man cave is a place that serves as a male retreat or sanctuary. It can be set up in a treehouse, a basement, a garage, a spare bedroom, or someplace else. If space is a concern, a man cave can be a sectioned-off area in your home.
For instance, you can use a portion of your garage for a man cave. This might mean using a room divider to provide some sense of separation. You’ll then want to equip the space with some creature comforts, such as a sofa, a TV, a radio, and a bar fridge.
While it's referred to as a man cave, that doesn’t mean that women can’t create equivalent sanctuaries. In fact, the female equivalent of a man cave is called a “she shed.” It can serve the same purpose for women as a man cave serves for men.
Why Do You Need One?
While you don’t technically need one, man caves offer the sort of benefits that make them critically important. It’s the sort of thing you should consider a must-have based on what they offer. And since you can make your man cave whatever you want, you can make it as simple or as extravagant as your preferences and budget permit.
Here are some reasons why you should set up a man cave if you don’t already have one.
Space to Practice a Hobby: Did you know that one study shows that almost six in 10 Americans pursued a new hobby during the pandemic? That's not surprising when you consider that it wasn't that long ago when work-from-home orders were in force. People were spending more time at home than they were used to, so they had to find something to pass the time. Furthermore, it turns out that having a hobby can actually make you a better individual. One study shows that people who pursue hobbies have fewer negative emotions and less stress. A man cave provides a great space to pursue a hobby.
Place to Have Alone Time: While it’s nice to spend time with people you know and love, you also need time to be alone and to hear yourself think. If you have a man cave in a garage, you can enjoy your own company for a while. Whether you kick back and enjoy watching a football or hockey game or you work on a model car kit, you can enjoy some “me” time anytime. Unless you live in a rural area with few, if any, neighbors, you might have difficulty getting alone time. But if you have a man cave, you can have time for yourself regardless of where you’re based.
Space to Enjoy Time with Friends: Having friends can increase happiness, lessen stress, and provide a greater sense of belonging. As the saying goes, no man is an island unto himself. A man cave is the perfect place to host friends. Do you all love to watch football? Are you interested in ordering a pay-per-view to take in an MMA event? If you’re not into TV all that much, you can listen to music or even shoot the breeze while working on a puzzle. Having a dedicated space to spend with people you know and care about will make entertaining easier.
Place to Display Prized Possessions: Do you collect sports cards, signed footballs, and football jerseys? If so, a man cave is the perfect space to display your prized possessions. You can also add to the decor and feel of your man cave by adding metal signs. If you'd like a place to store certain items when you're not in the man cave, then it makes sense to invest in storage solutions.
The sky’s the limit in terms of what you can display. Perhaps you’ll choose to hang some stuff on the walls. If you like to play instruments, then hanging a prized guitar on the wall might be a good idea. You might also get a display case if you want to showcase some hockey rookie cards or signed hockey pucks.
Your Space, Your Rules: While you’ll need to compromise with your loved ones when it comes to decor in your home, your man cave is about what you want. You won’t have to engage in give-and-take discussions. Since it’s your personal space, you’ll have full say on how to set it up, what color the walls will be, what type of equipment to include, and more. It’ll be like a home away from home -- even if it’s physically part of your home. In your personal space, you’re the interior decorator. You’ll enjoy having a space that’s specifically and intentionally yours.
As you can see, there are some great reasons to have a man cave. And you don’t have to create a separate structure somewhere on your property to have one. You can use a spare room, the basement, or a portion of another room to set up a man cave. When you choose where to create it, the next step is to figure out what you want it to be like.
You can start small and add to it over time. Since it’s your space, you can go at your own pace and make your man cave everything you want it to be. You’ll wonder why you waited so long to start one.
