Do you feel like you could use a space of your own in your home? Sharing a house with children can leave you feeling like there’s nowhere to go that isn’t overrun with toys and school supplies. A mancave can be the perfect place to get away from all the commotion, enjoy your favorite hobbies, and entertain friends and family.

If you have space in your basement, this could be the perfect place to create your one-of-a-kind room.

Finishing Your Basement

The first thing you’ll want to do is finish your basement if it isn’t already. There are a few important considerations you need to make before getting started.

Insulate Pipes

When you go into your basement, no matter what time of year it is, you'll probably notice the temperature is cooler than the rest of your home. This might be ideal in the summer, but it certainly won’t be in the freezing winter. One of the major reasons the basement is colder is that the pipes are still exposed, so you need to insulate them. Using foam insulation sleeves, you can decrease heat loss and condensation.

Remove Moisture

Basements are often damp when they aren’t finished, and moisture can be trapped in the concrete of the floor. Before you lay any new flooring over the concrete you need to add a waterproof layer. If you don’t do this, as the temperature in your basement rises from insulation, the moisture will seep out.

Change the Flooring

Once you have added a waterproof layer, you can now lay new flooring over the existing rough concrete. You want to choose your flooring carefully because this is still a basement. If you have experienced leaks in your basement before, or just want to be careful, tile or laminate flooring is going to be your best option. Carpet might be comfortable, but it can also lead to mold and mildew if a leak goes unnoticed, and you certainly don’t want hardwood floors rotting in your basement. If you have your heart set on carpet, make sure you check for any chances of flooding.

Add Walls

If you want to change the layout of your basement, or need to add drywall to the exposed foundation, you’ll want to plan this out before starting on any flooring. Depending on the size of your basement, you may be able to add a spare bedroom for guests, or a bathroom so you can make fewer trips up the stairs.

You can also add walls to enclose your man cave in only a portion of the basement. This is a good option if you want to save money by leaving the rest of the basement unfinished. It also gives you the option of waiting to decide what else you want to add to the basement later on.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Once you have finished adding flooring and any additional structure to the basement comes the fun parts, deciding how it is going to look. The first thing you need to do is paint all of the walls, and possibly the ceiling. Painting can be a big project to take on yourself, and it doesn’t always come out the way you want it to. If you don’t feel comfortable painting the new mancave yourself, consider hiring a professional painter to do the job for you. You want to pick colors that are going to go well with the theme you choose.

Decorating Your Mancave

Once the basement is finished, you can start decorating. Choosing a theme can be something like sports or movies, or you can keep it simple by picking a few colors to base everything off of. Here are some theme and activity ideas to get you inspired.

Sports Enthusiast

If you envision spending time in your new mancave watching the games with your friends or family, designing your basement around this is a great idea. You can hang sports memorabilia on the walls, get some table games, and of course the TV.

Movie Theater at Home

If movies are your thing, consider investing in a large TV and a surround sound system to create the ultimate movie-watching experience. Movie posters make for easy and stylish decoration, and of course, you’ll want the option of dimming the lights.

Versatile and Modern

If you want to stick to a more neutral theme, try starting with a few colors that you want everything to be in. You can have a TV perfect for gaming, sports, movies, and anything else you want to enjoy. This is also a great design option for adding a bar, refrigerator, and any other kitchen essentials you want to enjoy in your mancave as well.

Jenn Walker is a freelance writer, blogger, dog-enthusiast, and avid beach goer operating out of Southern New Jersey.