So I was challenged to make a homemade den, and I was all ready to give my thoughts on reading nooks or how to create those cosy intimate spaces that I know I bang on and on about all the time, but then G pointed out that the people who need a little den most are him and Mungo as the only boys in the house!
Problem is that left to his own devices G’s dream space would be a dingy messy tip. His wishlist is a mini-fridge with beers, foosball table, lazy boy recliner, huge horrible looking TV, speakers, game console you know the sort of thing. Add in Mungo’s pig ears, dog bed and pizza takeouts everywhere, and I might just freak out! Actually I’d be OK with the pigs ears, but I draw the line at the TV. That’s a step too far.
That’s the typical mancave image, and it doesn’t exactly inspire me. More like makes me shudder and scream and run in the other direction. But I’m never going to turn down a challenge, so I had a shot at creating a moodboard of a stylish, luxurious, ultra cool mancave-esque hangout instead. I actually gravitate towards masculine design elements a lot – rich leathers, rough textures, beaten up armchairs and warm woods. I wanted to try to translate that upscale gentleman’s club vibe to a bachelor pad or homemade mancave.
Most important is getting the seating right because you have to nail the comfy but cool and laidback feel. Not to mention the dark and inky colour palette, the total opposite of all those girly pinks and pastels, but I don’t have to tell you to run a million miles away from those anyway! For seating my absolute favourite go-to are leather club chairs – if you’re not lucky enough to have a family heirloom or perfect fleamarket find sitting around, Argos have a really cool range of armchairs that already have that beautiful worn-in leather look, or even this incredible leather beanbag. I’m kind of obsessed with it and it’s managed to make me rethink all my prejudices about beanbags! Maybe I should give them a shot. Alexander Wang recently designed his own beanbags too, but as they were like $8000+ I think I’ll stick to the highstreet version. Once the seating is sorted, plop down a cushion or two – for a more manly textile I like tweed or maybe this fab dog cushion from Argos (they are man’s best friend after all).
As well as the pics above, my complete Mancave inspired moodboard is on Pinterest. Super stylish, right? It’s everything you (or the bloke in your life) would need to make their own little boy’s only den at home, and without blowing the budget either. Best of all is that the mancave look and attitude can fit in anywhere. Whether it’s a Hendrix inspired music den, an old-school library and billiard room, gym, home cinema, office space, complete gaming and sci-fest nerd fest or even just a telly watching spot. There’s tons of ideas for all of them, so mission complete I reckon! I even managed to include (almost) everything on M and G’s wishlist too – right down to the dog bed.