BIG step up for the Man Cave Tomorrow!

The wife and I moved here two years ago. (My Dad and I built this 2,600 sq. ft. Ranch style house on 3.5 acres in 1975 for a retiring couple. I bought it from their estate in 2015) This house has a good size formal living room and a separate Den / Library both with brick fireplaces. I claimed the Den. The room is dark, and the decor is a tad dated but so am I! First in right away was two matching recliners and sofa and our 47 inch TV. Then things got put on hold for a while.

BUT, tomorrow...

Tomorrow I am having delivered a 75 inch Sony TV (XBR75X900E) DVD player and Soundbar with sub.

I stripped out the old TV today, it will be installed over the mantel in the formal living room for the Wife and Grandkids to use as desired if needed.

I lopped out a big piece of cardboard to help me with positioning on the wall... From my face to the screen is 15 feet.
Need to work on the lighting, OK for TV but nothing else. Gonna hang Grandad's old Double Barrel over the fireplace someday.

Hot damn! Can I get an AMEN brothers???

In case you were wondering, LOL! Thats an old Heathkit from circa 1960 under the TV. (I didn't build it but knew the guy that did) Receiver and Garrard turntable. I got the schematics and build instructions with it. Speakers are on each end. Still works and will still blow out the walls!!! Turntable needs a needle. It has sliding doors that go over the front, removed today for access.

Cool. You'll enjoy that.

Very nice! Amen brother!

A "tad" dated"? Enjoy those Starsky and Hutch reruns on the big screen.

Man, you have a ballin retro man cave! A few neon beer signs and a couple lava lamps and you'll be right!

Looks like a nice location for a man cave.

I would suggest new floors next...

That TV will be amazing.

AMEN! I can feel my gut settling already, stuffed with nachos, comatose on a recliner after the big game.

Lighting? Lots of indirect. The quick fix may be changing existing bulbs. Lower wattage spots?

That is a great man cave. Nice rustic wood floor would be great in there.

And add a cat. Or dog. Or both!

My Wife needed a home office and I lost my man cave.

quote:

Originally posted by armedprof:
I would suggest new floors next...

Actually a new floor is in the works... but ceramic tile in the utility room and a bath. Yea, it's gonna be her turn for a while.

That 40 year old Linoleum is hard as concrete! Gonna get a fresh coat o wax when the install is done. That will have to do for now.

Y'all never disappoint! Thanks for the chuckles...

If you need me you know where I'll be.


The only lighting in the room is two eyeballs lighting the fireplace, and they glare in your eyes some when on. Got a lamp to read by. Everything in the room is dark. Need to figure out how to light it up when needed yet keep it subdued when not needed.

Ya know I really do dig the 1960's theme.
Tommydog has the right idea! You could have fun with that and still have the modern necessities.

Congrats - that will be great!

If I could offer one piece of advice, consider not mounting the monitor quite so high. From a seated position that is going to be significantly "up" it looks like and will be much more enjoyable closer to eye level.

Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
Congrats - that will be great!

If I could offer one piece of advice, consider not mounting the monitor quite so high. From a seated position that is going to be significantly "up" it looks like and will be much more enjoyable closer to eye level.

Good luck!

Good advice

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:

quote:

Originally posted by armedprof:
I would suggest new floors next...

Actually a new floor is in the works... but ceramic tile in the utility room and a bath. Yea, it's gonna be her turn for a while.

That 40 year old Linoleum is hard as concrete! Gonna get a fresh coat o wax when the install is done. That will have to do for now.

2 things to think about:

40 yo linoleum may contain asbestos. If it has friable asbestos then I highly recommend hiring the pros to remove.

think about acoustics when you select your new floor. 100% hard surfaces will be echoey and movies/tv/music will sound like crap w/o acoustic treatment (throw rug, corner/wall acoustic panels, etc). Cool thing about acoustic panels is they’re selling them to look like paintings/pics.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
Congrats - that will be great!

If I could offer one piece of advice, consider not mounting the monitor quite so high. From a seated position that is going to be significantly "up" it looks like and will be much more enjoyable closer to eye level.

Good luck!

Good advice

Thanks for the opinions! I have been worrying about this a bit.
As is, with feet up in my recliner, but not actually reclined, my eye naturally falls very close to center screen. Part of what makes it look high is the size of the thing! As it sits the bottom is ~41 inches off the floor. The cabinet below is only 29 inches high.
I do agree on the look of it and will consult and discuss with the installer when he gets here but I do have strong prescription varifocal glasses and have to get it up high enough to get it out of my closer focus zones. Glad I went to the trouble to use the cardboard, it's much easier to move it then the real thing! Also, the sound bar will be mounted under the TV, not on the cabinet. The top of the cabinet raises up to open.

The installer is a third generation owner of the family business. I've done business with his Father and Grandfather for almost 50 years. When I was plumbing and wiring we did all their built in installs. Dishwashers, Ovens etc. The AV installs is the only thing he still makes home visits for. I highly respect his opinion... We will see!

Here's a divergent opinion:

If I were to have a nice man cave that I claimed, then paint the walls or cover with sheetrock, install new tile or laminate flooring, set up the mantle with a nice pickled whitewash, and redo lighting? Yeah, that would be a magnet for my wife to take that area over.

Me, I'd set everything up so that it's to my functional tastes, then leave it tacky enough that the ladies all kinda look at it with that "ewwwww" look, and the guys can spill a cold beverage of choice without any adverse effect.