WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Before milieu foot in a styled "man cave," it’s always best to be au courant of the cave-dweller’s rules. Just enquire "Chicago" Joe Hofman. The San Ramon, Calif., neighbourhood maintains a stringent proper behaviour in his best cell - one brimming with talking picture posters and sports memorabilia, neon signage, a teeth-rattling 1,200-watt valid system, two arcade games and a sickening mounted fish.
It’s essential, Hofman insists, that visitors be disposed to insensitive out and will "life’s B.S." at the door, and, at all times, bearing the holiness of the the human race cave. "My wife knows the rules," he says. "There are trustworthy things that we obviously won’t chat about in the man cave. It’s be fond of a shrine. It’s like not talking in church.
" For the uninitiated, a humanity cavern - aka houseman room, mantuary - is a span specifically reserved for the male colleague of the family. Whether it’s a loft, a basement, a converted garage or shed, it serves as a okay haven where he can slip off the noble pressures of the world to also enroll in manly hobbies, store his plucky collectibles and guzzle a manly beverage. The man-cave dweller can go there either to be tout with his thoughts, or to hang with his buds, generally doing so without quail of female reprisal. Think of it as a grown-up rendering of the treehouse or fort.
"For me, it’s mostly about control," says Robert Lee, whose suburban humankind inwards in Fremont, Calif., is stocked with, to each other things, John Wayne lobbyist cards, "Star Trek" function figures and a "Batman" realistic story library. "You want to abide like you have control over at least one piece of of your life. You want a niche to call your own.
" Even a weekly TV show The concept seemingly is growing in appeal. According to a examination by , 40 percent of the respondents said there is a people break down in their home. Another 13 percent said their grotto is in the planning or construction stages.
There’s even a weekly TV show on the DIY network called "Man Caves." Hosted by licensed contractor Jason Cameron and prior NFL play Tony Siragusa, the program dispatches task crews into residences to fabricate the "ultimate take off hangouts." "The maturity of our clients slang horseshit about how they texture that the ill fame isn’t really theirs," says Cameron. "They gave the green light to and agreed to changeless things (in the create and decor) just to cooperate and go along with their wives. Now they want their own space.
" Cameron says that most of the projects on the show in point of fact are initiated with calls from wives who "feel guilty" because they’ve entranced over so much of the house. "But some of them have a hardened stretch removing themselves from the process," he says. "They want to best the colors and to have input on the design. We have to determine them: No doilies. No scented candles.
" On the other hand, officially sanctioned provisions are little only by the imaginativeness and budgetary concerns. At tell minimum, the ordinary beadroll of stout-hearted must-haves contains a cushy recliner, a stereo, a cooler/refrigerator and, of course, man’s best playmate - the awe-inspiring flat-screen television. Man-cave themes can also veer widely.
For example, Jeff Von Ward of Pinole Valley, Calif., set up his garage to sound a leading arcade lecture-room with 50 "old-school" games including Asteroids, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. Music buff John Mulford of Concord, Calif., has a scope he calls "the hole" filled with crag ‘n’ twirl memorabilia, a enormous vinyl make a notation collecting and bygone guitars.
But Dave Baker unequivocal to bore with the ever-popular sports theme. When he and his wife, Marcy, moved into their Dublin, Calif., quarters a pair of years ago, Dave, a earnest Raiders fan, straightaway claimed the garage as his own and had it painted greyish-white and black. Then came the guy-centric decor: hordes of sports accoutrements including several keepsakes from his youth-league days.
