1/15/2011

Media Room/Man Cave House Tour

Everyone should have one...if they have a man that resides there...don't you think? Our Man Cave is also our media room. It's in the basement...no windows, 50" plasma with surround sound equals great movie watching. In fact, I only go to the movie theater once a year...because of this room. It is also the room my hubby has his collections in...and there are many. He's into political memorabilia, war (especially WWII), old typewriters, old adding machines, Mission furniture design, and I could go on and on.


Before we start the tour I have to scare you with a before picture.  This teal room was what it looked like when we moved in. Beautiful right? NOT
Before
See, in 1997 when the built-in media center was first put in, TV's were not so big, in general. Behind this built-in is an alcove were the fireplace is built up on the main floor livingroom. So we asked our young and cute, handy dandy handyman to come over and remove it. He then put in a free standing electric fireplace that we already had and made it look built-in. We then hung the Plasma TV above it. Here is what it looks like now before we got those awesome Masonic Columns as seen above.
Here's the really good part. Our existing fireplace was 1/2 inch smaller than the opening=perfect! And when we bought it on a radio auction, we didn't know that the moldings on it exactly matched our built-in wall to wall bookcase, but look!
Fireplace moldings

Bookcase moldings
Now that's kismet don't you think?  I painted the TV wall a brown color called Portabella by Sherwin Williams. The other three walls are Practical Beige by SW.
To the left is the foyer, to the right is my sewing/craft room.
There is a foyer at the base of the stairwell, it is hubby's Timewell museum area. He grew up in a tiny town called, Timewell, IL and he has made it his hobby to collect all memorabilia from there.
The town saying is on the wall...Time in Timewell is Time Well Spent.

Postcards of the town.

The family bank in this town, still operating today after 100 years.

Everything in this room is from Timewell, school desk, lightening rod, crock, old bottles, etc.
One of our many pillar collection in the corner. Foyer off to the right.

 I bought this old oak mission bookcase for $11 at a farm auction 14 years before I knew my hubby! We also target shoot with my son.

This child's rocker was found under hubby's grandmother's porch. Dated over 100 years ago.

This cabinet was custom made using antique Hoosier doors and holds the electronics.



Here's that $5 checkboard coffee table that I did an older post on.

This room has a doorway into my sewing/craft room so when I am in there, I can just turn on the TV and watch it from that room. Convenient.
Another interesting story~One day hubby brings home a 'surprise'. It's an antique Barrister bookcase that looked like this...
He excitedly said, "Isn't it wonderful, they were going to throw it away and I saved it...all YOU have to do is strip it!" Well, four layers of paint (yellow, green, blue and beige) later and lots of elbow grease, it now looks like this.
Hubby found a guy on eBay that bought the actual blueprints from The Globe-Wernicke Co., the original maker of this late 1800's bookcase, and this eBay guy was able to replicate the missing glass and oak doors. And they look original.  Each part of this bookcase is separate then stacked on top of one another to whatever height. It was first intended for use by lawyers but the convenience of purchasing any quantity in a few different styles made it attractive for home use and people started to buy these for their home libraries. Oops sorry, I didn't mean to give you a history lesson. Anyway, I told hubby to wait at lease 5 more years before he brings me home a 'surprise' like this again. I have to forget all the work that went into this first.
Terry

I am linking up to these parties:
Sunday Showcase
Re Party
Met. Monday 
Show off your Cottage
Amaze Me Monday
Make It for Monday
Motivate me Monday 
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Masterpiece Monday
Piece of Work Wednesday 
Boring To Better 
ReStore It Wednesday
Power Of Paint Party 
Transformation Thursday 
Under $100 Party
Frugal Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Saturday Nite Special
Every Room In The House @ A Joyful Cottage

36 comments:

  1. Terry, I like that you are proud of your hometown and show it off in your home. Super cool! Your mancave is awesome. :D

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  2. Absolutely GORGEOUS man-cave! Does your hubby ever come up for air? Mine spends most of his spare time holed up in his cave! It's hard to tear a man away from a 50-inch plasma.

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  3. Beautiful blog, beautiful home! I ENJOYED my visit!

    Hugs,
    Maryjane

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  4. Wow, what a great room!! I just love that dark brown wall and all the white woodwork makes it stand out so much. I'd never leave this room if it were in my house!!
    Suzy

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  5. What a great man cave! I can lots of fun movie and game nights taking place in this awesome space! The tranformation is amazing, too. Great job.

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  6. Words cannot express how much I love this man cave, however it looks to me like a place that I would be very comfortable in, I absolutely adore this space and what you have done with it, so much history so much interest, and some of the best taste I have seen on the net!

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  7. Looks Awesome! Does that mean I get a "Woman Cave" since I am the only girl in the house??

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  8. Nice man cave. Love love the old rocker. I have 2 or 3 children's rockers myself. I'm bad about buying old chairs! Hope you'll come see the picture wall I helped DD2 create for her home.

    Allison
    Atticmag

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  9. Wow, your room is lovely, a treasure trove of antiques and beautiful paint and finishes. Oh how I wish I had a basement, something about the water level here in Florida LOL Thank you for visiting!

    Carol

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  10. Stopping by from "Make it for Monday" and I'm so impressed with your room/basement! What a wonderful job you did!
    I'm most interested in the fireplace surround you built. I just bought an Amish heat surge insert, and plan to start building mine in the next few weeks.. hope you don't mind my saving the photo and using it as an eyeball for my creation...
    Since moving to Florida I sure miss my big basement in Illinois....
    Wonderful!
    Thanks
    Sandy

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  11. Great color for this room, Terry! I love the addition of the electric fireplace. It really cozies up the room and makes it feel so warm and inviting!

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  12. Mancave?? This would be MY womancave!!
    xo
    Jill

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  13. my hubby wants a man cave, he'll have to wait till the next house. this one doesn't have a basement! lol

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  14. The Timewell theme is SO interesting! I really like a room with personality, and this definitely IS one! Very tastefully done, Terry!

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  15. Love the room! Isn't it fun to decorate for someone else? Especially when they have such cool interests? Great job with making a man-cave that is comfortable for anyone.

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  16. This is so nice. I love the postcards and the way that you included so many details from the town. so creative. My hubby would love to have a room like this! I would love for you to link up to my Sew Crafty Party & Giveaway!

    http://wildflowersandwhimsy.blogspot.com/2011/01/sew-crafty-saturday-adventure-date.html

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  17. This is an awesome post, I would really love it if you linked this up to Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage as well! Have a nice Week! Mary :O)

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  18. Wow- I really don't think I'd call it a true "man cave" since it is such a versatile room that anyone could use! Let's just say this great media room reflects your husband's tastes and his collections! It looks wonderful, and even though there aren't any windows in this basement, it really doesn't seem to feel closed in. The colors you used are nice and neutral- I've had my SW fan deck out trying to select some colors for my own home, so I checked them out! LOL You did a wonderful job of salvaging that barrister's bookcase, Terry. A little ingenuity went a long way in finding the replications of its doors.
    There are just so many interesting accessories in this room that make it such fun. Thanks for showing it off to us! And thanks for stopping by for a visit. :-)
    ~ Sue

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  19. it looks awesome! love the wall color!

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  20. My husband and I grew up in a small town too (Just 15,000 when we left for college). We still have fond memories of our childhood and Market Street (the main drag in those days).
    I'm so glad to have come across your husband's collections. Such great old "stuff."

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  21. I love the Timewell corner and all the little stories behind all the pieces. This room is so welcoming and warm and clearly a work of heart. Thanks for sharing!

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  22. What a fantastic space!! I love the colors you chose for the walls.

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  23. Wow, Terry, what a nice media room. Definite improvement over the before shot. Love the fireplace moulding. You did a great job on that bookcase. That was great that you could get doors made for it. Thanks for joining again.

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  24. Man Cave? Man Cave? Kick the man out and let mama in!!! Wow! What a beautiful room. It is so warm, cozy, and inviting. You all did a wonderful job redecorating it!

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  25. This is truly a wonderful space. I like that it isn't so over-the-top masculine, as is often the case of media rooms. Yours just looks warm, cozy and inviting even with hubby's collections. Great job!
    CAS

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  26. I love it, I love it!!! So warm and inviting, but definitely masculine. Just right!

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  27. This is so great! Terry, you have such a lovely home :D

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  28. Very pretty!!! May I ask where you bought the postcard holders?

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  29. Gigi, I can't access your email or site. Hopefully you will read this to answer your question. You can purchase the postcard hard plastic sleeves on ebay.

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  30. I love the postcard hanging idea but can't really tell how they are hung..are they metal hangings like the ones used for plates?

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  31. You managed to make a man cave beautiful!!
    ..you've also inspired me to do a post on the phenomenon of man caves!

    Check it out -
    http://realnessinto.blogspot.com/

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  32. This is wonderful blog. I love it.

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  33. Great media room Terry full of awesome relics from the past. Lov'n the old typewriters and adding machines. I love that you added your town's slogan and postcards - nice touch! Oh my the child's rocker is awesome - you must look at the wear along the seat and think about all the children in days gone by who sat in it. Lovely!
    Marie @ The Interior Frugalista

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  34. Love, love, love this Terry. What a classy man cave! Thanks for sharing at Every Room In The House. I'm happy to be featuring this, too. :) ~ Nancy

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It makes me smile to hear from you!

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