We have done a lot of sharing in the past. Sharing a room with a sibling as kids. Sharing a gaming controller as teens. Sharing a cheap flat as young adults.
Here are 4 reasons why we are adamant now is the time to be selfish and have a space to call your own.
1. Personalization
Each one of us has a unique blend of interests, hobbies, and hates. When it comes to our homes, they look more or less the same. Dining rooms have chairs and a table; kitchens have a sink and stove.
Man caves are the tried-and-true place to embrace our passions and make our own, whether it is intended to be a place for work, play, or relaxation.
The two most common blockers we see are a lack of funds and a lack of perceived imagination.
Managing your limited budget is a mixture of setting realistic goals, searching for bargains, and good ol’ DIY. As you have figured out, this site caters to budgets of all sizes.
Overcoming your lack of perceived imagination is a matter of getting all your interests down on paper and checking out the related ideas we have curated. Creative blocks happen when you try to force ideas into existence. That’s not how the creative process works, so be patient and trust in the process.
Be careful, though - personal likes that require structural changes could make your house harder to sell in the future. Turns out, not everyone is thrilled with a wine cabinet that slides out from the wall..
2. Upskill
Building your own space isn’t just about buying a sofa, neon sign, pool table and calling it a day. The amount that goes into one can be overwhelming.
Negotiation, hand-eye coordination, woodworking, painting, decorating, budgeting, to name a few. Each being an opportunity to learn and grow.
A Jack of all trades in every sense of the phrase.
Once you complete your build you will be better equipped to deal with other areas of your life. That includes the mental side since the patience you will have cultivated will make you a modern-day monk.
3. Boost Productivity
Being productive in your den may be the last thing on your mind. Lounging with a beer in your hand, de-stressing from a hectic day? Now that’s more like it!
This could be the single biggest reason for building your own space. If you plan on making it a place to work/create, productivity can shoot through the roof if you play your cards right.
Why?
You will be away from distractions in a place designed specifically for you. No one hogging the printer, messing with the thermostat, or sniffing incessantly. Seemingly small annoyances which, according to researchers at the University of California Irvine, can each take up to 24 minutes to get back on track.
Related: Create the ultimate home office
4. Reduce Stress
Wonder why office workers seem so tense? They sit down for hours on end trying to keep up with the never-ending stream of emails. They drive home with all the day's’ drama bottled up. Most of them have no outlet for that stress.
Like boxers punching a bag, we can hammer away to create something for our man cave.
We are able to enter a place which instantly changes our mood. Stress to solitude in a blink of an eye (with the help of a glass of beer and a back massager on auto).