The Man Cave Reveal

It’s time for the man cave reveal! This was the biggest DIY project we’ve undertaken to date. Ross gets all the credit for transforming a little 80 square foot room off of our laundry room into the modern industrial man cave that it is now.

DIY Industrial Pipe and Wood Shelves

While my idea of a DIY is a 30 minute craft, Ross decided he wanted to BUILD A WALL OF SHELVES from raw wood and unfinished pipes! I questioned the idea from the start. 😉 It definitely wasn’t the type of project I would be good at helping with and Ross hadn’t done much carpentry before. It seemed like so much work, and I just wanted the room done!

There were endless hours of research, careful measuring, and working away in the backyard over the course of a number of weekends. In the end, Ross built this amazing shelving system and built-in desk to maximize the main wall in his man cave. It completely transformed the room and I am thoroughly impressed. It was so worth it! You can get the tutorial here!

Vintage Hockey Photo Gallery Wall

With the shelves in place, we slowly chipped away at the rest of the room. We took our time finding just the right pieces to fit the space. Ross wanted to incorporate some personal elements from his days on the Penn hockey team. I thought his idea for a wall of team photos dating back to the 1800s was perfection.

It took us awhile to figure out what to put on the walls. That’s always the hardest part of finishing a room, isn’t it?! Ross came up with the idea of framing some old Penn hockey team photos and I came across these raw wood frames on clearance at Michaels for $4 a piece .

Ross spent an afternoon staining them to match his wood shelves and hung them up behind his recliner. I love how the gallery wall wraps around the corner of the room.

Vintage Gym Locker Turned Wine Storage

My main contribution to the room was scoring this vintage locker at a local antique and salvage store. I was won over by the blue color and thought it would be a great storage piece for the room. However I wasn’t sure what Ross would actually put in it.

Well once Ross had those shelves done, he was unstoppable… he transformed the locker into WINE STORAGE!! Needless to say, it is my favorite addition to the room.

Check out this step-by-step tutorial for how we converted the locker to wine storage.

Ross is smiling because it feels so good to be DONE! Do you also have a project that has been on the back burner for too long? Now is your chance to get it done before the end of the year.

Peppercorn Paint by Sherwin-Williams

The first thing we did back in April was land on a paint color. We knew we wanted it to be moody and masculine, without literally turning the room into a “cave”. To help us decide, we got a few different tester paints from Sherwin-Williams. I find this to be a much safer approach than just taping a swatch to the wall. It give you a much better feel for how the true color will look once it’s on the wall.

We ended up choosing the color on the far right – Peppercorn (SW 7674). It is like a dark gray with a hint of navy. A perfect base to showcase all of Ross’s Penn gear (our alma mater’s colors are red and blue).

The Man Cave Decor

This was my (small) contribution to the room! I kept an eye out for pieces that would give the industrial vibe to the room and provide helpful storage. I scored all of these items at Home Goods on the cheap.

Wire Baskets

The wire baskets now hold some of Ross’s old hockey jerseys and gloves. 

Sports Momentos  

We incorporated other personal items like a truck from Ross’s employer HEB and photos from a golf tournament he played in.

A letter organizer holds scorecards and course maps from past rounds of golf.

I jokingly separated them into “Good Rounds” and “Bad Rounds” 😉

The comfy leather recliner from West Elm was the splurge piece in the room. Ross found a small accent table from Dot & Bo and we got the old phone at an estate sale for a few bucks.

The cowhide rug gives a little nod to Texas and was the perfect match for the stone floors. We trekked to the Wimberley Market Days earlier this summer to find just the right one.

I found this vintage stamp holder at the Goodwill, and my dad gave Ross the stamp. Despite my desire to rush things along, taking the time to find unique little details like this has made the room special.

Phew – we did it!! Ok, Ross did it. And I’m so proud of what he created. Too bad I’m not allowed inside. 😉