How to Create a Man Cave Office

How to Make a Man Cave Office

We now live in a society that increasingly leans towards alternative accommodations for our workforce.

Worldwide, the number of people who, for one reason or another, are tasked with working from home is higher than ever before. This means that establishing a home office is now a requirement for many, who must now find ways to create comfortable and functional spaces to work and complete their daily tasks.

However, creating a home office is not always easy, and it has the potential to easily spiral out of control. This is why below you will find several useful ideas aimed at facilitating a home office.

But, we want to focus on a particular solution that has the potential to not only solve the home office conundrum but offer you an extra set of benefits designed to make it extremely worthwhile.

First Let’s Talk About Working From Home

Working from home carries a unique set of challenges that demand we shift the way we think about and approach our jobs.

It entails a change in mentality because, while demanding, it can be turned into an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and our capabilities to adapt and grow as individuals and professionals.

Comfort, organization, motivation, peacefulness, and enjoyment are a few of the challenges of the ideal home office. So, if you already have a traditional man cave it likely fits the bill pretty well. On the other hand, if you don’t already have one, why not kill two birds with one stone?

A man cave, if done properly, is the perfect place to merge business and pleasure. This can be the one spot in your house that invites your creativity to flow and above all, that skyrockets your productivity beyond your wildest dreams.

A home office does not require large spaces, as the most important factor is that you can feel comfortable and motivated.

On a basic level, your home office should have a comfortable chair, plenty of natural light, and adequate storage to keep your space and ideas organized.

However, there should be more to it than basic function. Your home office should also be a faithful representation of yourself. This personal touch will go a long way to transforming the way you approach work from a home setting.

Working from home in the man cave

In essence, your goal when designing a home office is to make it functional, but also practical, and aesthetically pleasing, and above all, it must be inviting since you’ll be spending a considerable amount of time in it.

Most experts recommend that you find a quiet place in your property that is as soundproof as you can make it, to avoid distractions and promote concentration.

Working from home has many advantages, but also some very impactful disadvantages. This is why managing distractions and time becomes a priority and everything in your home office should be tailored to help you achieve this goal.

When presented with the possibility of having to work from home, it is very easy to succumb to the temptation of brushing it off and deciding to work from a dining room table or living room couch. However, from a productivity standpoint, this would be the worst decision possible. As it turns out, from a comfort standpoint, it is also an abysmal decision.

So, it is time we teach you how to define and design a home office theme for your man cave so that you can approach work with comfort and determination.

The first thing you have to do is think about your specific circumstances and answer two questions. How much space do you need?

Not all of us will have the same dimensional options, so you must tailor our tips with this in mind.

The second question is, of course, where in your house to establish your masculine home office man cave?

The ideal home office is quiet, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, practical, and separate from the normal flow of the rest of your house.

This is why, regardless of your schedule, your daily routine, or how many people live in your home, a man cave office is the ultimate solution!

Everything To Consider When Building a Man Cave Office

Location In Your Home

Natural light is important in any room of your house, but it is much more important in a work environment.

We know that when designing and building your optimal man cave office you will likely need to make a few concessions. After all, you have to adapt to your available space. However, do everything in your power to set up your office desk, sideways, near, or by a window.

Finding the perfect spot to build a man cave office

Doing so will provide you with a twofold benefit. First, it will allow you to rest your sight by giving you access to an extended field of view. Focusing your eyesight all day long on objects that are close range can have a very detrimental effect on your health.

Secondly, finding a window spot for your desk will provide you with plenty of natural light to do your work.

Better lighting always boosts productivity. Think about this when choosing your curtains. We recommend thin or semi-transparent curtains in light colors to help increase the amount of natural light.

How Much Space For Your Man Cave Office?

Once you have decided on a cool man cave office as your preferred work-from-home setup, you must start thinking in terms of the available space. Neglecting to do so is a mistake that can end up costing you time, money, and energy.

On average, you want to have between 60 to 85 inches of space to work with. Even if your available space does not meet these dimensions, you must consider how you are going to move within your office. Ask yourself if you have enough room to slide an office chair, for example.

The important thing is to be able to achieve a level of comfort as you complete your daily tasks.

What Will Your Home Office be Used For?

This is a very important question to answer because the use you will give your home office can determine to a great degree how to approach its design.

For example, if you will be using your home office to attend video conference calls most of the day, your needs will be different from those of someone who will be drawing schematics or brainstorming, etc.

Understanding what your office’s main purpose and function will be will allow you more freedom to design a highly personalized space that is also appropriate to all the tasks you will be required to fulfill.

Separate Atmosphere For Separate Environments

It is also very important that whichever design path you choose for your home office you make an effort to differentiate the space from the rest of your house.

This is because regular day-to-day family interactions can distract you from work. At the same time, having a fully functional office smack dab in the middle of your home can distract you from spending time with your family.

Thankfully, you don’t have to rely on the services of a professional interior designer to achieve this. With the support of various easily accessible online tools and applications, you can plan your space down to a T.

We recommend that you check out some of the following tools:

  • Sweet Home 3D
  • Floorplanner
  • SmartDraw
  • HomeByMe
  • DFS Room Planner

Using these tools early on can help you eliminate common problems in home office set-ups such as clutter and distractions. You will be able to detect the need for vertical or modular shelves, creative furniture that doubles as storage, etc.

Speaking of specialized software now would be a good time to talk about the technical requirements of a home office.

Tech Requirements For Your Man Cave Office

You must determine early on what your particular technological requirements will be when building your man cave home office. This process is not just about being able to identify your tech needs, but also about being able to configure or structure your home office

A high tech home office

Here are some questions you should ask yourself:

How many electrical outlets will I have access to? How does my existing furniture block access to outlets? How will future furniture impact access to outlets?

Where is the light and where will you be sitting? You don’t want to wake up every morning and have to close your blinds because the sun is glaring in your face. At the same time, you want that light, so it should not be blocked,

What are my job’s internet bandwidth requirements? How strong is my current Wi-Fi signal?

Also consider things like home automation, since it can help you a great deal to maximize your productivity.

Comfortable Furniture, Or The Importance Of Ergonomics

I know plenty of people who think that a “home office” means they can spend their workdays sitting on a couch or bed with a laptop in their laps in comfort. While this can be quite comfy for a little while, it is not even close to being the optimal situation or setup.

That is why it is very important to spend time and resources on adequate furniture for your home office.

Comfort is important to design

It is essential that you learn to choose ergonomic and versatile furniture pieces that allow you to work comfortably while assuming a healthy and ergonomic posture so that you can maintain good mental and physical health as long as you need to work.

For example, let’s talk about the importance of having a good quality office chair. An office chair is a critical, albeit often overlooked component of good health. Your office chair should optimally have built-in lumbar support, height-adjustable seating, and reclining functions. (You may even consider these qualities when purchasing a desk).

If your work shifts tend to run long, you should consider splurging in a professional office chair such as a Steelcase Gesture or a Herman Miller Aeron. However, even if your workload is light and your days inside your new man cave office are short, you may want to consider spending a bit more on a good-quality office chair that offers comfort, adjustability, and support.

When Natural Light Orientation Is Not Available

The orientation of your man cave home office, and the furniture inside it, is important in making the most out of the available natural light. But if the place does not have access to sufficient natural light or your work schedule does not align with daytime work, you should invest in some quality lamps and other sources of artificial lighting.

With the right lighting plan, you can increase your comfort, concentration, and productivity.

We cannot recommend enough that you consider getting an anglepoise lamp, or clamp lamp if space is limited, that is at least 1000 lumens and neutral to warm in temperature.

Modern LED lights are energy-efficient and relatively inexpensive, so go with LED when choosing your lights for your man cave home office.

Man Cave Color Psychology

Color psychology is an often neglected concept in home decor. However, when it comes to setting up your man cave home office, you must consider color psychology and select the right colors for your new office based on its precepts and not just personal preference

This is because the right color can positively impact your productivity and concentration levels, while the wrong color can be a detriment to your performance.

what the color of your room says about you

Furthermore, the principal color in our environment can significantly influence your mood and emotional stability. So, we recommend that you foment calmness and concentration, by keeping color psychology at the forefront of your decision-making.

Here are some basic points to keep in mind when setting up your man cave office so that you don’t come out of each shift feeling like you have been crammed inside a tuna can for 8 hours.

Paint your walls a color that motivates and inspires you to work hard, while maintaining chromatic harmony with the furniture and other elements of your new office. The right color choice can be the difference between an oppressive, cluttered environment, and a bright, airy, and relaxing one.

While Reds, Yellows, and Oranges are associated with excitement, creativity, optimism, and friendliness, we recommend that you choose more subdued hues for your man cave office. Blues and Greens are very good at conveying calm and tranquility, balance, and stability.

The right shade of blue can turn your office into a place that reminds you of the open sky and instills a sense of serenity. The right shade of green will help to stimulate your creativity and breakthrough any blocks that slow down your productivity.

Of course, painting your office only one color can easily saturate the senses and have the opposite effect you seek. That is why you should find the right balance of neutral colors like Off-whites. Grays, Beiges, and Browns, to achieve the best possible look.

Check out our full detailed Guide to Picking a Color For Your Man Cave

Office Plants

Working from a home office can be a tiresome and oppressive experience if our environment is not primed for it. One of the easiest ways to avoid this, and to promote emotional and physical well-being when working from home is to include plants in your design.

Your man cave home office will likely turn into one of the spaces of your home in which you spend the most time. One that, regardless of your profession, can be much improved by the simple inclusion of some live plants.

Office plants not only complement the normally austere atmosphere of a work environment, but they also provide you with multiple benefits such as cleaner air, more balanced humidity (very important when staying near electronic devices for a prolonged period), reduced stress and increased productivity, etc.

An office plant, even the simplest potted variety, can provide a source of inspiration and serenity. Two vital aspects of positive job performance.

However, you have to know how to choose the right plant, since there are thousands of species and many of them are not suitable for a work environment.

You can check our post on how to choose a plant for your man cave.

Tips For Setting Up Your Man Cave Office

  • Make sure your desk is situated in the brightest or most well-lit place in the available space. But make sure that your source of natural light does not cause bothersome reflections on your screens.
  • Make sure to arrange your furniture in a way that permits you to place your lamps on the left side of your desk if you are right-handed, or on the right side of your desk if you are left-handed.
  • Make sure that your WiFi signal is strong enough so that no inconvenient interruptions occur to your service leading to lower productivity. If possible, arrange for the installation of a wired connection as it will lead to more secure internet access and increased productivity.
  • Your main computer screen should be centered on your desk, and it should be placed as far away from your body as possible within the available space. The ideal distance for a work computer screen is about 50 cm or an arm’s length.
  • Your desk can be a standing desk or conventional height depending on whether you can work standing up or if you prefer sitting down. While some professions are more apt for standing desks, this is simply a matter of taste. Feel free to experiment.
  • If you can get by on a laptop, you won’t need much more than 40 cms of space. However, if you work from a full-blown desktop PC, you will need about twice as much desk real estate for a comfortable set-up.
  • Position your keyboard so that it is not all the way to the edge of the desk. You should optimally leave about 10 cm between the edge of the desk and the keyboard in order to have enough support on your wrist while you work.
  • Speaking of your keyboard. The board and the mouse should be aligned with your elbows to minimize strain.
  • Keep your feet planted on the ground at all times. This will help to alleviate fatigue and promote good circulation.
  • Your hips should be bent forward slightly, and your back straight as you sit up uptight. 
  • Strive for organization. Always have your work items at hand. Getting up constantly to find the things you need will lower your productivity and also do a number on your back.

Your first few days working from a home office may feel a bit draining. You will likely find it hard to concentrate and get things done at the same pace that you are used to can be quite challenging. So it is imperative that you take the time to make the most of your home office design and actively work to combat this situation.

A multi purpose man cave office

One of the biggest advantages of setting up a man cave office is the distance you can create between your workspace and your home space. A common mistake made by people who aren’t used to working from home is to take a break in the middle of the day by laying back on their couch or bed. The temptation is just too great. However, it is one of the biggest performance killers, so make sure not to fall victim.

Working from home offers a plethora of advantages. From the feeling of being your own boss, an increased ability to manage your time on your terms, the absence of a lengthy commute, etc.

However, working from home also presents you with a few distinct and potentially significant disadvantages. This includes spontaneous interruption from your neighbors, family, and loved ones, motivational slumps, poor ergonomics, lack of proper equipment, etc.

Remember that working from home does not mean that you get to go on a pseudo vacation. You are still fully responsible for your work and for maintaining your performance.

That is why the man cave office is such a fantastic solution to the work-from-home conundrum. You get to create a space that can help you avoid the many pitfalls of working from home while maintaining the ability to enjoy the many perks that come with the territory.

Take the time to create your ideal man cave office. You can call it whatever you want, but make sure to take the time to do it right. Create a space that is fully yours, and that inspires and motivates you to be your very best self.

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