Accessories can do a lot for bettering the look of any man cave. Most people can easily have an adequate entertainment setup but few people make them look truly awesome. So what are some cool ideas to level up the look of a man cave? Try starting with LED lights, getting a mini fridge, some movie posters, and a mock concessions stand booth!
You can put these anywhere to accompany any shape or dimension of a room, TV, or desk. They come in all kinds of different lengths, settings, and colors. If you do nothing else but get LED lights, you’re set! We got ours online for about $45. The ones you see in the picture weren’t the first ones we got either. We also have some around our TV in the living room. I also recommend if you want the same look that I have below that you spend a little extra money to have someone install a shelf for them. This will easily keep them in place and once they’re all set up then you won’t have to touch them again! The remote is responsive and takes a mini battery and that’s it! Low maintenance overall once they’re set up.
If done correctly, they won’t pollute your room with too much retro light but rather add a nice refreshing look around what you put them on. Be sure to get ones that are remotely controlled so it’s easy to turn on and off. The ones I use are incredibly durable and can be left on for hours on end (even when I accidentally fall asleep with them on). Bottom line: they put a good look around any foreground you put them behind. A good LED light product will let you adjust the brightness of them as well as the color.
2. Amazon Echo Dot
Do you want a smart room? If so, then the echo dot was the easiest and affordable way for me to get away from using the remote on my TV. TI know this doesn’t necessarily have to do with the look but if you’re already in the know about the effectiveness of having one of these in your house, then you know that it can voice activate your media devices to an app such as Netflix or Spotify. There’s a wealth of plugins you can freely download on the mobile app to make Alexa more tapered to the tasks you want her to do for you. You can even ask her to put on a certain show on Netflix and her execution is almost instantaneous. You don’t need internet access to have her work for you, she also can connect using Bluetooth if your TV or speaker system has it as well.
Some common sayings she can respond to:
- Alexa, open The Office (on my fire Tv…. etc…)
- Alexa, turn up / down the volume by 5 (4, 3, 2….etc)
- Alexa, pause, stop, play, rewind
- Alexa, play The Last Airbender on Amazon Video
There are a million more commands that you can use for more than just watching movies such as setting timers and reminding you to run errands. Definitely look into downloading plugins for her so she has a bigger bank of responses and tasks she can do for you.
3. Mini Fridge
I don’t even have a big house but I have one of these in my room that I brought back from college. It can be used for more than just drinks. I store varieties of concessions and drinks in it and it really gives a refreshing vibe to have one in a man cave especially if it’s late at night and you’re gaming online and can’t leave the lobby because your the last man standing in The Last of Us multiplayer.
- They don’t use an insane amount of extra electricity and you won’t notice an increase in utilities if you’re concerned about that. It costs about $80 a year to run at the ideal temperature (37 degrees F) at 11.8 cents per kilowatt an hour- not much at all!
- The one I have is projected to last for about 14 years as opposed to a larger one (17-year lifespan)
- It’s completely safe to plug into a power strip instead of a traditional node
- It doesn’t take up a lot of space! The one I have fits perfectly under my desk and I can still have a chair tucked into it
- It weighs about 45lbs and if I wanted to move it to a different part of the house I could easily do that too
4. Movie Posters!
- The average poster size is about 24 x 36 INCHES (I recently ordered one that measured in centimeters and I didn’t check that)
- Average horizontal poster sheets are about 22 x 28
- Print Runner is a good site that I recently used to get a high gloss 300 Spartan wallpaper. It’s a little expensive but once you have it you have it.
- Head on over to a local Homegoods store to get a nice black border frame put around them as well. This puts a nice finishing look on the poster and preserves it longer.
I found this awesome site that has virtually any movie poster from almost every movie I could think of. Hunger Games, Batman Trilogy, Incredibles 2…you name it.
Feedback? Better ideas? Anything I didn’t think of? Reach out to me at entertainmentden.ns@gmail.com
Related Questions
How can I make my room look bigger? Put wallpaper or paint on the ceiling to project space vertically. Use light colors when painting. Pull furniture away from the wall to create a feeling of spaciousness. Make use of hidden storage and implement shelves where possible.
What are some DIY methods to wall art and decor? Find scrap metal signs to hang up. My roommate found an old Laguna Beach metal sign that was worn down but actually looked really cool when he hung it up. Hang up tire rims from favorite car brands or other things related to that. Hang skateboards on walls to use as shelves if you have some lying around.
Also, check out this website I found that actually depicts the various ways to go about doing that. It shows you a lot of ways you can make your own wall art and chairs out of bats! Some of the designs are extremely simple and implementing just a few of the ideas can dramatically increase the overall look if you’re on a budget!