In-house escapes: Man Cave
July 3, 2017
We all crave a little getaway from time-to-time, somewhere to go to get our mind off the everyday stresses of life, men and women alike. All too often that getaway is just not attainable – be it time and money constraints or perhaps your babysitter is the one off on a getaway! That’s why an in-house escape for the lads in your home, is quite possibly the next-best-thing…enter, the man cave.
When it comes to designing the ultimate in-home getaway for the man of the house, there are a number of factors to consider, but one of the most important things to remember is to have fun with the task! The first major step is to make sure that the man of the moment has his say. The second would be to choose the room you will be renovating:

    • A basement
    • An unused study / spare room
    • An outdoor or indoor bar area
    • An outdoor lapa / braai area
    • An unused garage
    • An old wendy house

Depending on your budget, there are a myriad of styles to choose from – and nailing the theme of creating a man-cave-of-envy is the first important step. Once your theme is sorted, the rest will flow from there…

To get the proverbial ball rolling a few popular man cave themes include:
    
    • A games room
    • The classic study
    • Nautical / boating / yachting
    • Fishing / outdoors
    • Sports fanatic / athletic
    • Western
    • Rock ‘n roll
    • Golf

Man cave layout

To tackle the rest of the room and its layout, there are two simple ways of approaching what may seem like a mammoth task. The first, is to work with an existing layout. Pick the main features of the man cave i.e. bar area, massive television screens or pool table and assign these within the space of your existing layout.
The second option is if you’re designing a custom layout from scratch, choose your main features, and then design your layout around those features. One of the most popular layout concepts for a man cave is an open-plan concept where all major features are in plain view of one another – they call these “bragging rights”!

Important features to consider to take your man cave up a notch include:

    • A home theatre system – think flat screen TV and surround sound
    • Long couches, reclining chairs, over-sized bean bags and even a hammock or two!
    • Adjustable lighting with dimmers
    • Designated bar area with an ice maker, coffee maker for non-drinkers and another flat screen TV
    • Games area with either a pool table, foosball, ping-pong table, darts or even old-school video games
    • Designated gym area with floor-to-ceiling mirrors and sets of weights
    • A Jacuzzi or sauna area for outdoor man caves!

Having our own personal space in our homes is vitally important to re-connecting with ourselves and maintaining a bit of sanity in today’s busy world! While the man cave is a popular trend at the moment, moms also deserve their own space too – read more on our blog about creating a beautifully peaceful space all moms deserve.

Share on Socials

By Kyra Harper August 15, 2023
Back in March of 2020, Bianca and Jana were dusting off their Fez’s and grabbing the pashminas out of storage in preparation to Rock the Casbah! However, as we all know and vividly remember - with March, came the eventual Covid shutdown, and instead of frolicking down the Moroccan streets, we all shut ourselves inside and watched the days tick by… 3 Years later, and now we can finally say - with conviction - that they’re going to Morocco at the start of September! This blog, filled with excitement and curiosity about all the weird and wonderful curios they might find, and endless sourcing they’ll do, stays as a reminder that sometimes plans change, things go awry and there’s not much you can do about it other than persevere - and that we did! So, here’s Bianca and Jana’s innermost thoughts about the trip, 3 years before it came to fruition, enjoy :) We've got our passports out and Jana has already picked out what she's going to wear each day… Come March [September] we'll be heading north with Air France to the Kingdom of Morocco, bright eyed and bushy tailed as we make our base in the ancient city of Marrakesh (also known as Marrakech to the French, but we're not French, so we'll go with the English version until all that fuss about Brexit is sorted out) - This turned into a year long negotiations trade, and now us outsiders would pay nearly double what we used to if we visit the UK - thankfully our flight is direct!! We'll be looking for inspiration and will be investigating what's there that we could possibly bring back to The Hoed. We can't wait to experience the atmosphere and afro-arabic influences of this amazing place as we visit the celebrated souks and off-the-beaten track artists and craftsmen that make Marrakesh so special. We're desperate to see the beautifully hand-crafted furniture, textiles, fabrics, rugs, carpets, objets d'art, accessories, lighting… anything that catches our eye and could possibly be brought back south. Berber mats and rugs are definitely on our list, as are the kind of furnishings you might find in a gorgeous Bedouin tent. If you think about it, the Bedouin refined the art of "glamping" into an artform - fabulous carpets on the ground, soft, billowing fabrics hung here and there, plump cushions spread on the ground, intricate leatherwork and carved wood, patinated metal… Total Glamping vibes! We just love all of it and will be tracking as much of it down as we can. We'll also have an eye or three out for wonderful ceramics and glassware and wonderful lamps that give off soft, filtered light.  For us it's about workmanship, so we'll hopefully be finding the people who make furniture and ceramics using techniques that have been passed down over countless generations meaning that everything we look at will have its own, and its own special story. Our mission is to share those stories with you and, if it's feasible, bring some of that special workmanship home to the Rainbow Nation. We're most definitely inspired and are sure this is going to be a truly special trip! Counting the sleeps till then! Less than a month to go now - we will be keeping the updates going on our social channels as well as another few blog posts to explain in detail our wild adventures - Stay tuned!
Tasteful Safari Theme
By Kyra Harper August 15, 2023
A safari theme never really runs out of viewing time and is particularly popular for interiors at the moment. The warm, earthy tones give a sense of comfort and the accessories offer the anticipation of travel and adventure.
Buy Mosquito Nets Online | Top Quality in South Africa
By Kyra Harper August 9, 2023
Stay protected from mosquitoes with top quality mosquito nets. Buy online in South Africa for the best deals. Shop now and sleep peacefully.
Share by: