My remodel: A man place

My redesigned home office.

 Throughout this week, the Cyberhomes bloggers will turn our attention to some recent home improvement projects we've accomplished. Read on and let us know what you think!

There is no month more manly than October.

Major League Baseball rolls into the playoffs, the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association tip off and the National Football League and NCAA football are in full swing.

In the past, I only had to battle my wife for the only TV in our house. Now that my son is getting older, there’s yet another hand reaching for the remote.

It was enough to drive me out of the house. And that’s exactly where I went to carve out my own little kingdom in the suburban jungle I call home.

A man place is something that is seemingly going the way of the Neanderthal. Our grandfathers had their library or smoking room. Our fathers had the den. When it was my generation’s turn, it was suddenly the “family” room.

Hey, I like family as much as the next guy. They have their place. Just not in front of the TV when the big game is on.

With no place in the house to call my own, I turned to the garage. Specifically, a room we had off the garage. Other than a place to store some worn out furniture, the 11 x 12 room with concrete floors and walls covered in unfinished drywall had little purpose.

The main thing I had to work around were the two roommates — rescue cats that were not civilized enough to live in the house. The good news was they’re both male and we actually have a lot in common. They’re neutered and I’ve been married for 27 years.

Although I wanted a space to watch games, manage my stable of fantasy sports teams and occasionally do a little work from home -- I also wanted to be mindful of our house. Our home was built in 1894 and is a county historic landmark, so I didn’t want something that screamed modern or look like a sports bar.

First, we went with a black and white base scheme. we used inexpensive black and white 12 x12 linoleum-type tiles for the floor. At about $1.25 each, I was able to cover the floor for about $175, including the mastic to glue the tiles down. The colors and checkerboard pattern fit with a 1920s look and ties in with what we did in our home’s utility room.

It also allowed me to use inexpensive black furniture, which gives the room a masculine look, purchased at discount stores. It’s relatively easy to find this type of furniture with classic detailing.

I especially like the treatment we decided on for the walls. I wanted the walls to look like they were plaster but not smooth. With about $25 in wall joint compound and a trowel with rounded corners, we were able to produce what I think is a striking rough plaster look. The great thing about joint compound is that you can keep playing with it until you get a finish you like. And if you aren’t that happy with what you’ve done, it’s pretty simple — although extremely messy — to sand away and start over.

For the trim around the windows and doors, I didn’t want the usual trim because it’s either too modern or too feminine looking. Fortunately, I found the perfect solution in a reed-like pattern. It really fit a more period look as well as not being too elaborate.

For wall and door/window colors, we pulled in some of the exterior colors of the house. Outdoor colors have a tendency to be more masculine and the Arts & Crafts palette we used on the house worked well for a man cave.

I went with a lighter green that is the main body color of the house on the room’s walls, and we’ll use the darker exterior trim color to finish the interior side of the windows and doors, as well as the surrounding trim.

A couple of bowling trophies, baseballs signed by kids on the teams I’ve managed and a few mementos and the ol’ place will be looking fit for a king.—Rick Hazeltine