If you are married to, or in an intimate relationship with, a male who desires a man cave, there are some important points that you need to bear in mind regarding this matter. Because you share a home with a male who wants a man cave, there necessarily is going to be some level of interaction about this issue before the man cave is built, while it is being constructed, and during the course of its existence.
Deciding Where a Man Cave Will Go
Neither the man who desires a man cave, nor the other party, have the right to fully dictate where the cave will be located in the house. Ultimately, this must be a mutual decision.
Due to the nature of a man cave, it really can be placed in almost any time of room. An unused bedroom could be converted to use as a man cave. A part of the basement could be converted in this way as well. Through the years, garages have been turned into man caves. Provided communication between the parties is kept friendly and open, they should be able to reach a mutual agreement as to where the man cave will be created.
Leave the Decorating to the Man
Unless a man who wants a man cave reaches out for assistance in decorating and fine tuning his man cave, his spouse of other significant other should stay away from that process. In most cases, a man does no expend a tremendous amount of money on a man cave. Thus, more often than not, there need not be any major concern about unnecessary expenditures being made to craft a man cave.
Stay Away from the Man Cave Once Complete
Another tip you need to bear in mind when it comes to a man launching a man cave in the house is everyone else really needs to stay out of it, unless a person specifically is invited to enter and spend time in it. The spouse of a man cave dweller needs to avoid frequenting the man cave. Ultimately, the primary intent behind a man cave is to give a male a space where he can retreat and do his own thing.
Avoiding the man cave brings up an interesting point. Oftentimes, a man with a man cave is not the person primarily responsible for cleaning the house and keeping it in order. Understanding that this remains a reality in the United States of the 21st century, a man cave dweller cannot expect his spouse, or really anyone else, to clean up the space. Keeping a man cave clean and relatively tidy is the responsibility of the male who uses it.
A dilemma can rear its ugly head is a male fails to keep his man cave at least somewhat clean. Because of the way a man cave tends to used, it is not inconceivable that food and other items will end up on the floor, and elsewhere. This type of waste is attractive to insects and other creatures.
Understanding this reality, there does have to be some sort of failsafe on the proverbial books of a man fails to keep his cave even moderately clean. There needs to be some sort of agreed market which your trigger some type of cleaning alternative.
This type of protocol in turn raises another question. If a male utilizes this trigger point as a means of getting around tending to his man cave, ultimately there needs to be some sort of ramification for that conduct. With that said, whatever that ramification is to be must be decided before the man cave comes into being. It must be mutually agreed between the parties.
Entertaining in the Man Cave
One of the reasons a man cave is created is to provide a space where a male can bring his buddies. Provided this doesn’t result in a constant parade of people in and out of the house, this use of a man cave should work well.
Once again, however, this is yet another issue that mandates some sort of agreement in advance of the man cave coming into being. In other words, the parties need to reach some sort of agreement about the social scene in the man cave. This needs to take into consideration that other people live in the residence, perhaps even children, and there needs to be some regulation of when the man cave is going to be used for some type of socializing. As with other issues, understanding parameters up front, keeps this smoother for the long run.
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Jessica Kane is a writer for The Pinball Company, the best online source for new, used, and refurbished pinball machines, arcade cabinets, and more!