There are endless possibilities for your man cave. That being said, man caves tend to fall into different categories or “themes”. This article is going to discuss what a home theater man cave is and it will give you some ideas for building your own. There is nothing like the theater experience in your own home.
When building your home theater man cave, you are going to want to make sure that you have seating people want to sit in, a screen that is no smaller than 75-inches, smart lighting that is either automatic or voice-activated, and a killer sound system. The things you are going to want to avoid are bright lighting, insufficient seating, a dinky sound system, and over decorating your home theater in a distracting way.
What Is A Home Theater Man Cave?
When I say, “home theater man cave”, I am talking about a man cave that has an emphasis on the viewing experience. This is an awesome choice for a man cave. Movies are so expensive now, why not stay in?
You are reading this article because you are considering a home theater themed man cave. This type of man cave is for you if you love watching movies or TV. As you may have guessed, the focus of this themed man cave is on your screen and the room’s orientation around it.
If you are going to have decorations, they are probably going to be related to your favorite shows or movies. The feel in a home theater man cave is going to be comfortable, relaxing, and quiet. It will be important that people can focus on their space.
Important Things To Have In Your Home Theater Man Cave:
When building a home theater man cave, there are some elements that your guests are going to expect to see. Now, that doesn’t mean you NEED to have these things, but if you are going for typical, you need these things.
Seating Guests Want To Sit In:
The first thing you need to have is comfy seating. This really shouldn’t be a surprise to you. Forget the industrial benches that look nice. You are going to be spending a lot of time sitting in your man cave, so you best get comfortable seating. Using a chunk of your budget for a nice couch is probably a good call.
If you have seen my other content, you know that I am all about planning out our man caves and future-proofing them. How many people are you planning on having in your man cave? If you are going to be having a lot of people over, you are going to need more than just one couch.
If this is the case, you will have to look at sectionals instead. You can turn those things into whatever you want. An option that is a little off the beaten path is bean bags. If you get good quality ones, they are comfy and can be moved wherever you want them.
A Screen No Smaller Than 75 inches:
You are building a home theater man cave. What do all theaters have? A huge screen. In a past article I talk about saving money by buying a smaller TV, but this probably something you don’t want to do. Your screen is going to be the focal point of the room. You want it to demand attention.
For the best home theater screen experience, you are probably going to want to consider getting a projector. This is especially true if you are on a tight budget. If you are considering getting a 75 or 85-inch TV, you can buy a very high-end projector for the same amount.
If you are interested in learning more about the differences between projectors and TVs check out this article I wrote on the topic. You will be surprised by how much there is to learn. I also give my suggestions on which ones you should consider.
Smart/Hands-Free Light Controls:
We already talked about big screens, but what is the other thing that you can expect from a theater experience? You got it, dimmed lights. This is doubly important if you have or plan to have a projector set up.
I may only be speaking for myself, but once I am sitting down, the last thing I want to do is stand up to go turn off the lights. If you are with me on this, you have all kinds of options. The first is the smart outlet. I talk about it in this article. It lets you control whatever is plugged into with your Alexa device. This gives you the most flexibility.
That option is an easy inclusion of your space. Another option for you is an actual light switch that can be connected via Wi-Fi to your home’s network. This allows you to control your man cave’s overhead lights. This is a little harder to install. That’s the one major drawback. If this is something you are interested in, the Kesa Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch is one of the best-rated switches you can find.
There are all kinds of options available. I could probably write an entire article on this topic. The important thing is that whatever you install lets you turn the lights off from the comfort of your seat.
A Beefy Sound System That Checks All The Boxes:
Creating the best viewing experience possible is the center of what you are doing while building your home theater man cave. A huge part of that is getting the right sound system. You are going to want to allow for your sound system to take up a good chunk of your budget.
You are going to want the sound system you get to be loud enough, surround sound, and accessible. Why get a sound system if you need to call a professional any time you want to change it around? I always think that simpler is better. Because of this, I think you should seriously consider a WIFI sound system.
My suggestion would be the Enclave Audio CineHome HD 5.1 Wireless home theater system. It has everything you need for a sweet, 360-degree, home theater set up. At the same time, it is wireless and surprisingly affordable. This is one of the best wireless home-theater-in-a-box setups you can buy.
Another option you have is to simply by a nice soundbar, and then get two speakers that you put on either side of your couch. It’s not as flashy, but it sounds pretty good. Here are the soundbar and speakers I use in my man cave. They do work pretty well. But a word of warning, this option does not work if you are trying to entertain or plan on entertaining multiple guests.
Things To Avoid When Building A Home Theater Man Cave:
There are a lot of things you are going to want to avoid while building a home theater man cave.
Don’t Have Bright Lighting:
In some rooms, bright lighting is important. But it has no place in your home theater man cave. You don’t even need overheard lights. Those things are usually the ones that are to blame for the bright lights.
You could also get some nice floor or table lamps. Be careful to buy the right soft light bulbs though. I will give you some lighting alternative suggestions later in this article.
Make Sure You Have Enough Seating:
What’s the point of spending all this time creating an awesome home theater if you can’t share it? If I were building a home theater, my man cave would have failed in this category. There are only two seats in my man cave that have to surround sound. All the other seats can see the screen perfectly, but they have just normal sound quality.
You are going to want to make sure you have enough seating for any occasion. Be sure you have enough seating that is in a place that is in the sweet spot of your room. The sweet spot is the place where the seat has surround sound, is far enough back from the screen, and is also within the optimal viewing angle range. If you want to learn more about viewing angle or distance back from your screen, check out this article I wrote.
Don’t Buy A Dinky Sound System:
One of the worst things you can do is spend all kinds of time, effort, and resources on making the best home theater possible, and then going with a dinky sound system. There are a lot of things you can save money on. But if you are specifically trying to build a home theater, a sound system is the last thing you should be trying to save money on.
Like I mentioned earlier, you can just go with a soundbar and two speakers. Buy the higher end of these two things, and you will be just fine. Just do your best to avoid cheap budget options. I don’t want you to waste your money.
Avoid Over Decorating Your Space:
It can be tempting to want to load your walls up with movie posters, memorabilia, lights, and whatever else tickles your fancy. But I want you to remember what the focal point of your room is. Your focal point is your screen.
By loading your room up with all kinds of other stuff, you will be distracting from your focal point. Try to allow wall space in between everything you are displaying on your walls. It’s important that you still display what you are proud of and what you enjoy, just avoid cluttering your walls.
Too much stuff on your walls will distract your guests, and it can also make your man cave feel a lot smaller than it is. No one wants that!
Ideas For Your Home Theater Man Cave:
Now that I have gone over the do’s and don’ts, I want to give you a few ideas for your home theater man cave. If you are familiar with my writing, you will know I am all about authenticity when designing your space. So, take these suggestions and turn them into something that you can use. I hope that these ideas just get you thinking.
Outlet Lights To Break Up the Dark:
The first thing I want to suggest to you is outlets that have some type of lighting. Outlet lights are a great option for a home theater because they provide some amount of light, while still letting people easily see your screen. For the sake of flexibility, the outlet light I chose is more of a surge protector.
You plug it in over your entire outlet. IT’s flexible because it adds all kinds of outlets, and it also can be turned on and off. If you want something a little more seamless and automatic, check this outlet out.
Smart Outlets To Control Your Lighting:
If you have floor or table lamps, it can be worth it to plug them into a smart outlet. This will allow you to turn them on or off with just your voice and your Alexa device. The nice thing about these Smart Outlets is that they are super flexible. If you don’t want to use them to control your lighting, plug your air conditioner into it!
For the flexibility they add to your space they are honestly really affordable. They also add a good amount of wow factor to your space.
Comfortable Seating:
Seating is an overlooked part of your man cave. I think the most comforting thing you can add to a home theater is an oversized bean bag. They are super comfortable and can be moved anywhere in the room. So when you aren’t using them to gather around the TV, you can move them to another part of the room to free up space.
All things being considered, this bean bag is pretty affordable for how big it is. The worst part of a bean bag is how low you need to sit, but this keeps you nice and high off the ground. There are also a lot of colors… if you care about that type of thing.
Theater Inspired Lighting:
At this point, I am feeling like a broken record. But, in case you haven’t heard, lighting is REALLY important in a home theater man cave. What better way to light a home theater than with theater lighting. This is a good way to provide some light, but not enough to disrupt other things going on in the room.
I am sure you can find some more expensive ones. Bu at the end of the day, I see these as a good test. They are a good way to see if this is a direction you want to go. They also look authentic. They definitely can pull the room together.
Every Theater Needs Popcorn:
The last suggestion I have for you is something you probably guessed was coming. Every theater needs popcorn. The popcorn machine I chose to feature here is an awesome value. It is one of the cheaper options on Amazon if you have a Prime membership, and it is also one of the top-rated.
Not only is it affordable and well-rated, but it is also really nice looking. You would not feel bad at all just having this sitting on the bar or table in your home theater. I can’t imagine anything that would pull your home theater together more than an authentic movie theater popcorn popper. You will have a hard time keeping guests away once they realize they get popcorn when they come over…
Final Thoughts:
Building a home theater man cave is an awesome choice. When doing it, you are going to want to make sure that you have seating people want to sit in, a screen that is no smaller than 75-inches, smart lighting that is either automatic or voice-activated, and a killer sounds system. The things you are going to want to avoid are bright lighting, insufficient seating, a dinky sound system, and over decorating your home theater in a distracting way.
My hope for you is that these do’s, don’ts, and ideas help in some way. If you are taking the planning process of your man cave seriously, and want a tool to help you budget, check out the free tool that I designed. To get it, just fill out the below form!
Until next time,
