The desire to return to the cave lurks just beneath the surface of every man’s consciousness. When the man of the house needs his space, or a place to hang out with “the guys,” he wants to do it on his own turf.
Though man caves are enjoying fresh celebrity, the concept is hardly new. Mark Twain had a billiards room and a “writing hut” (as others referred to it, though in an 1874 letter, Twain called it his “study”), Winston Churchill had an art studio and Frank Lloyd Wright had a drafting studio. But in contemporary homes, men have had to steal sections of partially finished basements or garages. Not anymore—adding a well-planned male space has evolved into part of the design.
Architects today regularly include man caves in new construction blueprints, and the sky’s the limit when it comes to these masculine play areas. In Osterville, a client of Tom Catalano of Boston-based Catalano Architects Inc. requested that a two-lane bowling alley be included in his man cave and purchased it from AMF, the world’s largest bowling center. The mahogany-paneled social space also includes a bar, an office, a billiard table and an area reserved for card games. The room even has a high-capacity air-filtration system that allows for guilt-free cigar smoking.
Tastes, of course, vary greatly. In 2007, Wellesley architect Jan Gleysteen designed a man cave/game room as part of a major renovation project in a Back Bay house built in 1875. Off a garden entrance space that formerly served as a studio apartment, Gleysteen created a luxurious mahogany-paneled lounge with a 42-inch plasma TV, overstuffed wing chairs, and a billiard room that channels the officers’ quarters on a 19th-century ship. Gleysteen is particularly fond of the high-end audio system by Bang & Olufsen.
Hand-carved ceiling-beam brackets and a walnut and maple striped floor are decidedly masculine. Each wood surface in the room was hand-finished—the work took over a month to complete. Vertical panels add to the nautical theme, and Gleysteen custom-designed a pool cue rack that’s recessed into the wall. The original fireplace was replaced with a gas log and a classically old-world mantel. “The yachtlike setting is where the man of this family goes to crank up Springsteen and enjoy a cold one with friends,” says the architect.
Catalano says these rooms provide a great escape not just for men: “I think women like them, too,” he says. Not surprisingly, the trend toward “woman caves” has begun, and Catalano has already designed several. “These spaces tend to be used for yoga, meditating, reading or just as a place to go and not be bothered. Caves represent a place where men or women can get away from the day-to-day. It’s all about escaping,” he says.
The upscale man caves are nothing like the small, generic spaces men once claimed as a place to bond with friends. Gleysteen says, “Today it’s not uncommon for a contemporary man cave to be comprised of several rooms including an exercise studio, office, sports bar and in-home theater, and cave designs can cost anywhere from $100,000 to over a million dollars.”
You may never want to leave.
