We’ve been busy working away on the house and I know I haven’t showed you a lot of progress yet in each space and with the exception of my office and Mark’s man cave, nothing else is totally done. Mark has almost finished hanging artwork in his space and he’s really loving it, so I thought I’d show you where it started and where it is now.
He’s a little protective of his man cave and hasn’t let me take final pics in there yet, but I’ll show you what he did in there to make it a very cozy space for himself. Hopefully he will let me take pics and share, but he hasn’t given me the go-ahead yet, so stayed tuned. It’s totally him and his personality shows in all the details of nostalgia that fills the room.
Here’s where he started in this space. It was painted 2 shades of blue and had small baseboard and window molding. He loves chunky Craftsman molding and decided to change it all out for something bulkier to suit him better.
See all the small molding around the room?
All the window trim and baseboard and door trim was ripped off and discarded and he started with a clean slate.
First up was painting the room. He loves shades of brown and khaki so this room is all shades of brown, which I think is his favorite color because that’s what he surrounds himself with. He painted all the walls and ceiling in this shade and it does make it cozy.
He had used this custom khaki color before and wanted to use it again, so since it’s his room, he got to choose everything in here. I did give my opinion of course, but it’s his space and he needs to be happy in here, which he totally is now. He bought this rustic cabinet at Scott Antiques a couple of months ago to house his antique Art Deco glass collection.
With all the blue gone, it felt like a different room already.
It took him a couple of days to paint the room and ceiling but once done, it was ready to trim out again.
I didn’t get all the progress pics of the painting being done, but you can see the difference in the ceiling.
Next, he took the time to add beadboard to the back of the cabinet and that really made this piece look so much better.
I helped with this part and once everything was cut and fit in place, I painted the beadboard and he glued it in with liquid nails.
He used the same color we used on the kitchen bar, Ben Moore Knoxville Gray.
Glued into place.
And this piece turned out so much better with the addition of the beadboard.
He installed 10 of these pucks lights inside with dimmers and it’s very nice with the glass in there.
Here’s a look at the room after the paint was finished and the window and door trim went up and was painted white.
See how much bulkier the trim is now and how much that adds to the space?
He took the closet door off and added trim here and has his lawyer shelves in here.
Adding bulkier trim to the windows made a big difference too.
He used a Craftsmen style 5″ board for the baseboards and trimmed it all out in cove molding, which we are also adding downstairs instead of regular quarter round. That was his idea and I love the way it looks.
He chose this fan for his space and it’s a perfect complement in here with all his masculine things.
Ceiling fan from Lowes.
And this rustic cage style fixture for the closet looks right at home. He loves the Edison style bulbs and we now have dimmers on almost every main fixture in the house, so that’s fun too. Dimmers just give such a nice feel to a room at night.
Light fixture from Home Depot (affiliate link below, click the pic)
Here’s a good look at the bound carpet we had made from Shaw Floors. It was great to get this large carpet in here, it’s about 12 x 14′ in size and fits over the hardwood creating a very cozy vibe. In a large herringbone pattern in deep brown tones, it’s a great looking carpet. This carpet from Shaw is called Total Effects and the color is Truffle. It comes in lots of different colors and Mark picked this one. We are more than thrilled with all the products we have in our house from Shaw Floors and I’m very grateful for the sponsorship with them this year. It couldn’t have come at a better time for us.
Do you see a pattern in his man cave? Brown, lots of brown! The man loves brown.
So, that’s a peek of how Mark’s man cave is looking. We did finally figure out how to get my brown leather loveseat through the door, thank goodness. The bottom of the loveseat has wood trim and the bun feet are mounted to the trim. There were about 10 screws that held the wood trim in place and once those all came out that trim came off, with the feet, and we could move both pieces in and put it back together. He has a dark brown leather chair and ottoman and that’s in there too, so it’s a cozy space with a lot of furniture and his collectibles, but it has a really nice feel and he loves it.
With the 70″ TV that I had in my den space in here, it’s like a little theater. He added surround sound speakers and his stereo system in his cabinet and it’s totally a man cave! He can crank up his music and enjoy it all and I’m glad he has it. Men need a space of their own just as we do, so it’s nice that we can utilize this house for our needs. A man cave for him, a pretty feminine office for me and we still have a guest room to set up and when we have overnight guests stay with us, they will have their own room and bathroom downstairs. It’s really the perfect floor plan for us and not too big or too small. We are really enjoying our house now and have been here 2 months. We still have many finishing touches and some holes to fill in, but that will be the fun part.
Hopefully, he’ll let me share all of his room later!
It looks fantastic. So rich and warm. The addition of the chunkier molding made such a huge impact. And I love the closet light fixture. Do you mind sharing where it’s from?
Hey, Lauren, it’s from Home Depot, Home Decorators collection and I added the link!
Even though it is all browns, it does look nice! And that trim is great!
That ceiling fan is AweSome!! And the baseboards are great, y’all are right about the cove molding. I’m doing that next time. You both are so talented.
I LOVE that rustic cabinet and I can’t wait to see it with his collection inside. My husband collects metal banks. Most are reproductions but a cabinet like this would be perfect. I’m always looking for ideas for his banks.
Oh Rhoda…I love hearing about Mark’s definite opinions about style and decor! My late husband was the color guru in our relationship and I miss his input and his many practical home reno skills. I love hearing how you two have found each other and are enjoying building your nest together! Take your time and enjoy it!
Thank you, Hope, yes he definitely has opinions and I run things by him constantly. But even though he might not love everything I choose decor wise, he will let me get what I want and then he usually really likes it. We are having fun with this house and so happy we found each other late in life.
The most enjoyable part of your new house posts is seeing you so happy as you and your fella make your nest just for you two! Many blessings!
Susan from GA
Looks great! I would like to add that in addition to loving brown, seems he also loves blonde! Enjoy the room.
Haha, Sharon, it would certainly seem so!
looks awesome! I would love to have a man cave like that
I think it looks great. I like the brown tones- it has a masculine and calm feel to it. I like that rug pattern a lot. The new trim work is wonderful- whaat a nice home you two have. I think you’ve gotten a lot done in the short period you’ve owned it.
Thank you, Liz, we have made a lot of progress in the 2 months since we moved in so I’m feeling good about that.
Looks my husband’s man cave back home in Va. Here in England now he has a “snug” a small room decorated as a den. He brought his brown love seat snd has a big UK wired tv. I have mentioned Before I live in a barn conversion in England now for 2 years. I would love to share some photos with you. It used to be a stone milking barn. Last note….what isit about surround sound? My husband hasit back home in the mancave not here. Love your progress on the new home. Mark has done s nice job.
Hi,Lorraine, your barn conversion sounds so neat and interesting. Would enjoy seeing pics. They do love their surround sound, don’t they and loud music still (which really doesn’t bother me, I’ve always liked it loud too!).
Love it! Ask Mark will he allow you to share a picture of the 70″ tv; working on a movie/multipurpose room in a 14x 11 space.
Hi, Onyx, I’m going to keep asking him and hope he will let me share it all. I know you all would enjoy seeing the whole thing. It’s totally his personality all the way.
Mark has great taste! I like the idea of painting the ceiling the same as the walls. It’s masculine yet very cozy. The new trim work adds so much to the room too!
Kay, I agree, painting the ceiling added an extra layer of cozy to this room.
I love this room, Mark’s skills and choices! We are building a guest apartment and I have started with a gifted brown velvet sofa and an old brown leather chair and a rattan wing back chair. I was thinking of adding some color through accessories, now I think I will do browns, cream/white and black accents…. Thanks, Mark
Gayle, those sound like great things to start with. YOu can always added some color in accents with all the brown. Shades of blues would work too, but creams would be a really pretty look along with black.
Looking pretty awesome!! Every guy needs a man cave like every gal needs her “she shed” !! My guy loves his….Cannot wait to see more…Mark is a very talented guy…and must say in the words of my mother, “you two are like two pods in a pea” !!! I laugh every time she tells me that about me and my hubby … and I never correct her because I think it is so cute! My mom has her own version of “Yogi quotes”
Thank you, Shirley! I love your mama’s saying, so cute. Mark is very talented and we make a great team together, we’re always talking about ideas.
I’m convinced the Man Cave is the secret to a happy marriage! I’m obsessively neat, my husband…isn’t. When we built this house 25 years ago, he got his own hobby room. I never go in it, just shut the door and avert my eyes…44 years of marriage, going strong. I love what Mark has done with his space. Must admit to heart palpitations seeing him put down liquid nails on the new carpet!
I love that Roxanne, what a happy testimony you have! Mark is very neat so I don’t have to worry about that and no mishaps on the new carpet either with LN.
Love this room!!!! How difficult is it to do the molding? Did you all do the molding yourselves or hire out?
HI, Joyce, Mark did it all himself. He’s very handy though and has the right tools, like miter saw and nail guns. If you’re handy, it’s not too hard to do, but you have to be good at figuring and measuring wood and getting those angles cut just right. He’s great at it!
Love it all!
I’m really liking the details of Mark’s man cave. I’m even more impressed with Mark’s agility while sitting on the floor, and painting in that almost full lotus position!
Mark’s Man Cave is so nice! He is really going to love his space! Have a great week! Blessings!
Of course it looks wonderful and you must be loving doing a man cave. My husband’s man cave is off limits to my decorating so it LOOKS like a cave for a man! I’m most impressed, I think, with your husband’s ability to sit Indian style! I couldn’t even do that when I was a kid and flexible.
Can’t wait to see the final pics of the man cave! I apologize if I missed this, but I would love to hear how you & Mark met, and what type of career he has.
HI, Jill, I haven’t shared a lot of that, but we met on e-harmony. Maybe I’ll do a post on that later.