Can a Man Cave be Too Dark?

When a client tells me that he wants their bonus room to transform into a “Man Cave” that tells me to choose something dark, cozy and well, manly. The man of the house was very happy about having a dark, “cave like” color, so he thought.

In the case of this room, there were a few issues. To start with, it's a very small space. Even though there are two windows very little natural light comes through. The ceiling is fairly low and there is only one overhead light in the room. OK, picture is painted - no pun intended.

What's going to be in this room? A television, stereo system but not surround, a foosball table, couches and sporting memorabilia on the walls - lots of it.

So knowing Mr. L****** wanted a “cave like” color. I first thought that a color like Quiver Tan by Sherwin Williams would be great. But here's a perfect example of why you need to choose a color while in the room instead of at the box store under all those ridiculous lights.

Quiver Tan by Sherwin Williams

After looking at the color I thought would be perfect - in my mind at least - in the lighting of the man cave, I realized that this color would be way too dark. The lighting and northern expose made for a really dark space.

There are other factors to consider when choosing a color for a man cave. Lighting is the obvious but what's really important is the usage of the room. Knowing that Mr. L***** plans are putting posters, flags and sports memorabilia on the walls, the walls would have to be lighter so the items that he'll be spotlighting can be seen clearly. What if his posters were black or dark blue or mostly red? They would look downright gross with Quiver Tan on the walls. See how it looks?

  

When you are going to hang numerous sports paraphernalia on the wall, consider using a lighter, more neutral color to compliment the items you will be hanging. All man caves don't HAVE to have a dark wall color. Even with a much lighter color choice, the room will still have it's cave like appeal because of the limited lighting and northern expose. Here is the color I chose which compliments his black, blue and red novelties.

  

Relaxed Khaki by Sherwin Williams

The Relaxed Khaki is just a lighter shade of the Quiver Tan so you have the same feel of the color but it will make a better backdrop anything he puts on the wall. See how much nicer the posters look with a lighter background? Although this could be a personal preference, I feel the posters in this case should be the focal point instead of the paint color.

OK - I know this is a ridiculous photo but it's a good example of what I'm trying to say. Here you have some type of man cave, as silly as it is, filled with football helmets of all colors, crazy chairs and some type of towel tapestry with 1,000 colors in it. Look at the color of the wall - fairly neutral isn't it? If this room couldn't get any worse, how do you think this room would look with a dark wall color? The thought is pretty scary. Enough said.

So you see, a man cave doesn't have to be dark - just manly and a neutral color choice can be very manly.