When I decided to create my man cave, I used a rustic design. But there are many other types of man caves you can create. This article is going to talk about something called industrial interior design, and how you can incorporate it into your man cave.
After researching what makes a room “industrial”, I think I have figured out how to create an awesome industrial man cave. First, you need to choose a color that is from a natural or earthy pallet. An accent wall can be used but is not needed. Using wooden and metal elements on your walls can add enough personality to your man cave. You are going to want to include decorations and furnature in your room that show off their natural wood or metal qualities. Industrial interior design is more about the incorporation of raw woods and metals instead of drawing focus on the room itself.
I am guessing you have made it here because you are trying to decide if you want to make an industrial man cave. You probably already know what industrial interior design is, but let’s review.
What Makes a Room Industrial?
The industrial interior design follows a similar color scheme/pallet as rustic design. Like I have mentioned in a previous article, a rustic/industrial room is one that focuses on the raw and natural elements of a room. The décor in your industrial room will want to have lots of metal and wood. You also may want to include things like pipes or wood paneling.
The central focus of the industrial interior design is on raw and natural metals and woods. Unlike other designs, colors don’t exactly matter as much. The focus is on the décor you include in your room. You will want to stay away from colorful fabrics. Instead, focus on raw and bare materials.
Building an industrial man cave is a very popular choice. The natural wood and metals can lend itself well to a man cave. The metals are in an industrial man cave will be more nickel colors than that raw irons of a rustic room.
When researching this article, I wanted to understand the difference between a rustic and industrial man cave. The best way I can describe the difference feels a little… simplistic. A rustic man cave is going to have more natural wood; it will have a log cabin feel. An industrial man cave is going to have more metal in it than a rustic one; it will feel more like a warehouse.
What Industrial Colors Should Be Used In Your Man Cave?
Before I even start, I want to say that this is my least favorite part of designing a man cave. But this is an important step to take seriously; it’s the first step in creating an industrial man cave’s feel. Don’t you dare think about wallpaper in your industrial man cave.
According to Interior Craving’s article, the colors that we are going to want to stick with are white, black, greys, and browns. These are similar to the colors that can be used in a contemporary man cave. If you want some suggestions for colors, check out this article I wrote on building a contemporary man cave that explores color selection.
Something that makes the industrial design unique is how it can use woods and metals. It is common practice to use things like wood paneling or metal bars on walls. These are the features that lead to the warehouse look that is so important in industrial design.
The colors that you will want to be using for your walls or other elements will be whites, blacks, greys, and browns that fall into the natural or earthy color palettes. My suggestion to you is to find a few colors that look decent together. If you want to have an accent wall, paint it one of these colors. I do want to say, an accent wall is not needed in industrial design. It isn’t needed because of the use of woods and metals. Those additions do plenty to liven up your room, an accent wall isn’t needed.
I find the whole color thing the most boring part of these design things. So if this isn’t your favorite thing either, I hope you made it this far. Now it’s time to talk about the interesting stuff.
Things to Consider While You Design Your Industrial Man Cave:
Use the Rooms Natural Industrial Features:
A big part of industrial interior design is showing the parts of a room that are people are normally trying to hide. The most comment part of a room that is shown in an industrial room is piping or ventilation. Not all rooms will have this to show off, but if your man cave is in a garage, this may be a good opportunity!
Similarly, a lot of garages will have a bunch of metal racks or shelving. These are authentic elements that some people would pay a lot of money for! Integrate them into your man cave’s design.
Use Woods and Metals In Your Man Cave:
Like I have already mentioned, the most important aspect of industrial design is natural wood and metal. The key is for these woods and metals to be practical, not just for decoration.
At the heart of the industrial design is the idea that decorative elements should be practical and decorative. If your thing is buying decorations that are full of color and bright light, this may not be the design for you.
In a rustic man cave, there is a lot of wood with some metal. In an industrial man cave, there is a more equal combination of metal and wood. This difference is what makes the room feel more like a warehouse.
Think Carefully About Your Industrial Man Cave’s Furniture:
Getting furniture for your industrial man cave will cause you to look at different options. Unlike contemporary design, you are going to want to stay away from bright, colorful and textured textiles.
You are going to want to find ways to incorporate natural and raw materials into your furniture. Doing this research, I found myself wondering what this would mean for a couch. Your regular couch would probably be a big, overstuffed one with soft arms and a soft textile feel. An example of an industrial couch would be a couch with leather cushions and exposed metal arms with a little leather on the armrest.
There is no industrial décor cop that is going to challenge you for using a couch that isn’t truly an industrial design. At the end of the day, if you can find furniture that has exposed metals or woods and have a natural or earthy color, they will work well in your industrial man cave.
Take It Easy on the Bright and Colorful Decorations In Your Man Cave:
This one is a tough one for me. I love a good neon sign on or over a bar. The decorations you have in your industrial man cave will need to be a little softer spoken.
At the end of the day, you can do whatever you want to decorate your man cave. But if you are going for an authentic man cave, you are going to want to stay away from the bright and flashy lights. Bright and flashy lights get away from the core principle of industrial design, natural and raw appeal.
Instead of going for the brightly lit neon signs, explore metal signs. There is some awesome raw metal, stencil-like signs out there. Those are a break way to liven up the industrial man cave.
Final Thoughts:
Building an industrial man cave can make your man cave look awesome. Make sure every element you include in your man cave is either an original part to the room or are showing off natural and meatal materials. There is no decoration police that is going to say your man cave isn’t industrial enough. If you like the look of your man cave, that’s all that matters.
By including industrial elements, you can add an awesome feel to your man cave. I hope you give the idea of building an industrial man cave more thought than I did!
Until next time,