Have you always dreamed of the ultimate man cave but you just don’t have the room in your home? Fear not, we’ve got some ideas for small man cave creations regardless of space limitations.
Whether it’s a small garage, basement, attic or other room in your home there is always space for a man cave.
Sadly the grandiose ideas of a pool table, bar and cinema room combined may have to be confined to the ‘dream home’ scenario there’s certainly nothing stopping you from theming up a small room with man cave glory.
Type man caves into Google and low and behold some of the most beautiful man caves in the world that wouldn’t look out of place on an MTV Cribs episode.
But before we start planning man caves like we have Michael Jordan cash to splash let’s dial the realism level down a bit.
We’re not talking multi-million-pound refurbishments, we’re talking small rooms within your normal home and items you can add within them that are small, compact and still add that personal man cave feel.
In this article, you’ll find a whole host of ideas that combine relaxing, gaming and entertainment in one man cave package to give you a little inspiration as to how to theme your very own realistic man cave.
So without further ado let’s dive right in with ideas for your very own small man cave within your home!
Chairs
Regardless of the size of your room, you’ll need somewhere to sit down.
Being a small room you’ll need to decorate the room with one large piece of furniture, a focal point where people will head instantly and chill out.
With us being very limited to space there is no need to clutter the room with several large pieces of furniture and as I don’t know the size of the room you’re specifically transforming I’ve added in various sized pieces of furniture to match a whole host of room sizes.
Bean Bag Chair
Whether you’re just a bachelor who needs one or you need to buy a few bean bag chairs are compact and don’t take up too much space.
They’re comfortable, inexpensive and provide a decent amount of comfort to lounge around in within your small man cave.
Want to step it up a bit?
Then why not try a bean bag sofa?
More expensive of course but certainly the ultimate man cave lounge accessory. Throw a few pillows on there in front of a TV and you’re already way ahead of the game.
Recliners
It’s the dream to have those Joey and Chandler recliners in every man cave up and down the country but sadly space may not always be available.
I’ve added recliners to the list in the event that you have enough room to fit them and with added compartments to store drinks or even fold-out tables on some (not to mention built-in mini-fridges) it’s the ultimate man cave furniture.
TV’s
Now I could write a whole article about what the best man cave TV’s could be but all you need to know is how it should be displayed.
Man cave TV’s in a small room should absolutely be mounted onto the wall so that you don’t have a big clunky stand underneath it taking up space.
Get some brackets and throw them on the wall and if there is space underneath then store your films, games and accessories under there within a shelving or film storage unit.
Not got the space for a big storage unit? Invest in some floating shelves and make use of your wall space to display your game/film collection.
Mini-Fridge
As we wave goodbye to having a full-sized bar in your man-cave it’s time to scale down our operations to a mini-fridge.
Small, compact and with enough space to store a good nights worth of alcohol a mini-fridge is your next best option if space is limited.
There are a whole host of mini-fridges of varying sizes so you can pick and choose which one is best for the space you are converting.
I’m a big nerd myself so anything retro or movie-themed in terms of the fridge design and I’m straight on it.
After scrolling through the internet I spotted this glorious Rubix Cube Mini-Fridge that I absolutely love!
Drinking Equipment
The title of this particular section is certainly more formal than the after-effects of said drinking experience but what would a mini-fridge be without a little bar set-up or pint glasses to drink from.
Whether it’s a standard pint glass or a themed pint glass there is always something for everyone but you need somewhere to put it all and this compact glass and bottle holder.
Sure you can keep all the glasses in the kitchen but after 6 pints the trip to the kitchen becomes far too much of a herculean task and you need spare glasses at the ready.
Sure you can go old school and just drink from the cans or bottles but just in case here’s a nice bottle/pint glass holder should you need one.
But what about the cocktail loves out there?
Get yourself a nice compact cocktail mini-bar set and get rustling up some mojitos!
Movie Posters
What would a man cave be without posters/wall decorations?!
With the magic of printing, you don’t need full-sized cinema posters hanging from your walls, you can have much smaller posters and if your room is tiny you could even have a wall display made from DVD slip-case cover art.
Movie posters are a great way to personalise your man cave to your tastes by showing your favourite films, sporting events, concert posters or more.
Signed photos or photos of you with celebrities if you have any are the perfect man cave bragging accessory and always make the room just that extra bit special.
Why not hang your favourite football shirt up in a laser-cut display?
The displaying possibilities are endless but space is no restriction as frames come in all shapes and sizes!
Movie / Gaming Memorabilia
From gaming, movie and TV inspired mugs, coasters, figures and more creativity is your friend when it comes to memorabilia.
You can set your own budget, buy items dependent on the space you have and transform your room into a little nerdy wonderland.
Not being a big gamer myself I would absolutely theme my room with movie props.
Props that are used in the films themselves but if your budget is small then replica movie props work just as well.
I still have the Hasbro Boba Fett replica helmet in my little man-cave and I love it!
If you want affordable movie props that won’t take up the space the size of the Smithsonian Museum then The Movie Prop Warehouse is the company for you.
Specialising in affordable movie props you can own a piece from your favourite movie or TV show that you can proudly display in your man cave.
Brag to your friends that you own a sword from Braveheart or a costume worn by a famous celebrity.
The ultimate man cave for me is always part museum, part sanctuary.
If you’re more of a collector then maybe your pleasure lies in the limited collector’s edition film sets you have which are display pieces in their own right.
Or maybe you’re more of a figures and collectables kind of guy.
Why not mix and match a bit of everything and really theme that cave up to its highest potential.
Lighting
If you’re a real DIY kind of guy this is where you can strap on your overalls and design a star-studded LED ceiling or some sort of YouTube streamer lighting package to make your friends jealous.
If you’re a complete novice like me and simply want to plug in a light and add some extra ambience to proceedings then make sure your light is something unique and funky.
I’m thinking of those neon lights you see all across Vegas or those American themed bar signs.
Just something to add ambience to the room and a nice focal point for when the lights go out and it’s party time!
If you have a little more cash to splash you can even have your own customised neon bar sign for your room!
Arcade Machines
Now with space being an issue, I was debating whether or not to add this particular item into this ideas for a small man cave creation list until I stumbled across Numskull Designs.
Numskull is notorious for their TUBBZ figures that have taken the pop-culture scene by storm but they also create quarter arcades. Arcade machines that are a quarter the size of the real thing.
The perfect man cave accessory and without taking up an insane amount of space in the process!
Experience the original 80’s retro arcade machines how it was meant to be played – on an arcade machine, but at a quarter the size.
Made with real premium quality wood and metal materials, our arcade cabinets are the most authentic, highest quality miniatures available on the market, right down to the air vents, screws, and plaque!
Whether you’re a huge Pac-man fan or you’re keen to enjoy Galaga like the good old days, our cabinets use the original arcade ROM on a bespoke emulator, giving you 100% accurate emulation.
Check out the full range on Just Geek now!
Poker Table
No man cave would be complete without a poker table, a little spot for you and your buddies with a nice drink, a few cigars and a game of cards.
Speaking of cigars…
The first rule of a successful man cave event is that you must have good quality Cuban cigars to experience all the delights of smoking.
If this event is evening, night, or designed for at least a couple of hours, you need to choose the right cigars by strength, saturation, and value.
There are so many types of Cuban cigars with different flavour combinations like Davidoff, Montecristo cigars, Cohiba Siglo IV, Trinidad Fundadores.
If there are beginners between your friends then treat them with Cohiba Siglo IV which has medium strength and can be good for an everyday smoke.
But real aficionados will like Davidoff cigars the most as they are world-class cigars that rival the finest Cuban cigars.
Anyway, I digress.
From championship-sized tables to small compact boards there is a nice variety of tables you can choose from depending on the size of your room.
I personally like the portable tables that you can buy so that after your game you can pack the table away and put it into storage.
This certainly saves space but there aren’t many solid-built portable tables out there.
I tend to find the legs give way rather easily and despite paying close to £100 for a table the legs always feel flimsy so please do shop around.
After a quick browse on Amazon, this Redtooth 8-seater certainly looked the most stable and affordable out of the range.
If you just can’t fit a table into your man cave set-up then a simple poker mat would suffice!
Consoles
If you’re struggling for space then stay clear of the Nintendo Wii unless you want to break a wall, a TV or yourself.
A nice portable Nintendo Switch will save you space on the go but if you want that something extra then opt for the slimmest designs of your favourite consoles.
A PS5 slim is rumoured to be on the way and if you want to buy a trashcan, I mean an Xbox Series X, then make sure you have enough vertical space to display it.
The XBOX One X and of course the Series S are much more compact in nature.
With man caves taking an almost retro approach in terms of artwork/arcade machines and more why not throw some GameBoys or GameCubes into the mix
Get your TV linked up to a Pandora Box and choose from a whole host of HD retro games!
This little controller contains all you need for a retro game showdown from Street Fighter to Mario and more.
3D Pandora offers the users 8000 retro arcade games and 200 3D experience games. While allowing users to return to the fun of childhood, Arcade Console 3D also provides users with the opportunity to experience modern games.
So there we have it, our ideas for small man cave creators out there to go and create something special!
We hope this article has been of some use to you and as always if we discover any cool additions to add to this page we will do so!
Stay nerdy!
