I am like you; I didn’t have an unlimited budget when I built my man cave. In my travels, I discovered a few ways to get the most mileage out of my budget. When I say, “on a budget” I do not mean “cheap”. This article will give you some tips and tricks for saving some money without sacrificing quality.
You can build an awesome budget man cave by setting a budget, planning exactly what will be going into the man cave, using a budget flooring option (laminate wood or rug), getting a 55-inch TV instead of a 75-85 inch one, shopping for needed tools online, and DIYing some of the room’s furniture. Building a budget man cave does not mean you are building cheaply; it means you are building smartly.
Plan Out Exactly What You Need:
Okay, this may seem like a cliché answer but hear me out. When I was building my man cave from scratch, I had all kinds of ideas. I made the mistake of not planning out exactly what I wanted to have in it and not picking an exact budget. I didn’t nail down an exact floor plan until later in the process.
I’ve found in life that things are easier with a concrete plan. Building my man cave was no different. You will want to know how many square feet of floor space your man cave is, what furniture you want, and roughly where things will be.
By knowing the actual size of your room, you will avoid buying an excess of flooring materials or paints. That being said, most places will accept the materials you didn’t use as a return.
I will talk more about it later, but by planning out what furniture you want, you can decide what you will be building yourself. This way you can buy the correct amount of materials, and not waste money and time by waffling back and forth. I am always guilty of that one. The more focused you are, the further your budget will go.
Save Money By Going With a Budget Flooring Option:
Flooring is an expense that can add up fast. There are some awesome budget options you have access to. The two options I would suggest are either laminate wood flooring or wall to wall rug. I decided to use laminate wood flooring in my man cave.
In an earlier article, I discuss that the cost per square foot for wall to wall rug is approximately $4.30 to $10.60. This includes the costs of materials and paying a professional to install it. Laminate flooring will cost $2.70 to $10 per square foot to be professionally installed.
The true savings happens when you install the flooring yourself. Wall to wall rug is more difficult to install yourself. This is why I went with laminate flooring. It is incredible how expensive it is to have people install flooring. By installing laminate flooring yourself, you can expect to pay $.70 to $2 per square foot. That is an awesome price. You will need some tools for this job though!
A Smaller, 55 Inch TV Will Help Your Budget:
It’s a normal thing to automatically go for the biggest TV possible. This may not be the best use of your budget. It is insane the difference in price between a 75-inch TV and the same TV at 55-inches.
If you go to Amazon and look at the Sony X950G 75-inch TV, you will see that you can get it for around $3,000. Now if you look at the 55-inch version of the same TV on Amazon, you will see that you can get it for around $1250. That is some huge savings.
I can hear you now, “but I want the bigger one”! Food for thought, most rooms do not have enough room to sit at the optimal distance from the screen. So, the best viewing experience may come from getting a smaller screen. Bigger doesn’t exactly always equal better.
You will free up a lot of money in your budget by going with the smaller screen. To make up for it, you could put some of that money into other additions to your man cave. Take that money you saved and pick up a decently priced sound system! Heck, with the difference, you could buy a pool table! It’s all about priorities.
Shop For Your Power Tools on Amazon:
There are so many types of tools out there. Shopping for tools can feel so overwhelming unless you have all the different specifications in front of you. That information is exactly what Amazon offers to us.
I bought my tools a while ago from my local hardware store. There are just so many different versions and options for a regular ol’ drill. I realized how nicely Amazon compares the options while I was doing the research for my article that outlines the only tools you will need to build your man cave.
Not only are the prices some of the best you can find, but you know exactly what you are getting. You will never accidentally buy more tools then you need. This means that you will only be spending the money you need to. Another one of the things that are unique about shopping for tools is the different packages and bundles that are sold. Amazon does a great job of making sure you know what packages are out there. You will find that bundles are usually better deals.
This is just another way to make sure your budget goes as far as it can.
Get Creative, Figure Out What You Can DIY:
DIYing the furniture in your man cave is one of the best ways to spread your budget as far as it will go. Some projects will be a little harder to build yourself. So, figure out how comfortable you are with tools, and make a list of man cave furniture you want to make yourself.
With the tools I suggested you get earlier, you will have everything you need to do a respectable job on any project. Some of the more common projects are:
- Coffee Table
- Bar
- Shelving
- Lighting
Harder DIY Project But More Savings:
If you are going for the biggest savings, you are going to want to build your coffee table and bar. There are all kinds of awesome build plans available on the internet. Building your bar or coffee table will save you the most money, but they are also some of the most involved projects.
I built my bar and it was a bigger undertaking than I thought it was going to be. You will first need to build the base, then the bar top, install the bar top, and then figure out a plan for shelves. It took a lot of time, a lot of mistakes were made, but it has more meaning to me now. Plus, when you build something like that yourself, the materials aren’t too expensive.
Easier DIY Projects Will Still Save You Money:
If you aren’t feeling too confident in your handyman skills, give building your shelving or lighting a shot. For building your lighting, give Pinterest a look. There is no construction involved, just put some battery power LED lights into an emptied whiskey bottle or wine bottle and bam, you have some awesome lamps.
If you were to buy your lamps, you could expect to spend at least $30 a piece. Let that money go to something else!
Building your shelves will take a little bit of handyman know-how, but it’s an awesome place to start. Especially if you just make your floating shelves, you are saving all kinds of money, and you are still proudly displaying your collections and hobbies.
Final Thoughts:
Just because you are building a budget man cave does not mean it needs to be cheap. You will be able to make an awesome budget man cave by setting a clear budget, planning what you want in it, exploring budget options for floors, figuring out what you can make yourself, and going with a small TV.
I have gone through the process of creating a man cave from scratch. Take it from me, planning is an important part of this journey. I hope this article has shown you that a budget man cave does not mean a cheap man cave and that it is possible.
Until next time,
