The concept of a ‘man cave’ is a pretty recent innovation in the world of interior design and use of space – not as recent as the use of canvas art, but recent enough. It reflects, in some ways, the changing sex roles of modern life: In the far past the study or home office was generally considered the man’s domain. In recent years women have taken on a more equitable role in the home, and can be found in the home office just as often – and the canvas prints used throughout the home have reflected this shift. Men seeking their own private space in their homes slowly evolved the concept of the ‘man cave,’ a place in the home where they would be free to express their obsessions, hobbies, and male sensibility.
Decorating a man cave is tricky. On the one hand it needs to feel individual and unique, while adhering to a certain ‘manly’ vibe that can far too easily take a turn for the juvenile. Whether you’re secretly decorating a spare room or finished basement as a surprise for the man in your life, or a man struggling to finish off the perfect ‘man cave,’ here are some thoughts on the appropriate use of canvas art and other design elements.
Avoid School Days
One of the biggest mistakes often made in a Man Cave is to assume that men stop growing or changing when they’re about thirteen. While many women might be tempted to assert the absolute truth of this, the fact is while men might hang onto childhood hobbies or obsessions throughout their whole lives, how they interact with those hobbies or obsessions does, in fact, change and mature. It’s an absolute must that the Man Cave not turn out resembling his room from his teen years.
Canvas prints are, by themselves, a step in the right direction, because they upgrade and replace cheap paper posters and give a sheen of maturity to every piece of decor in the space. Choosing upgrade imagery helps as well – instead of juvenile images of spaceships or monsters, finding modern expressions of those icons can help maintain his personality without making the room into a time capsule.
Hitting the Spot with Canvas Art
At the same time, wall art that skews too abstract or contemporary loses that ‘old-school’ feel that really makes a Man Cave. It’s a fine line, and if your chosen art prints are so modern and abstract they don’t really speak to his interests any more, then you don’t have a Man Cave any longer, you just have a nicely decorated room.
Another mistake is to focus too much on his hobbies and interests, which can also make the room feel like a kid’s room and not an adult retreat. While a few images that touch on his fandom or hobbies will add a personal feel, it’s also fine to focus on his adult interests – like his family, which can make for some wonderful canvas art in the room, or some of the interests he’s taken on since moving out of his childhood home.
A Man Cave never needs to be overly fancy. The main purpose of it is to have a space for him that isn’t routinely invaded by children, the vacuum cleaner, or anyone demanding to change the channel on the TV from the cricket. Decorating it doesn’t have to be complicated, either, but the canvas art you choose does need to walk a thin line between the old and the new.
Got it? When you’re ready, send us your perfect macho images and we’ll turn them into wall art he’ll be happy to have on his walls.
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