Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Man Space

A long time ago, before Lauren and I bought our first house, she told me I would eventually get to have my own man-space. Some men get to have the garage or the basement as a workshop or a gym as their space in their house but that is not me. I always wanted to have an office.

My man space would be a dimly lit room with dark furniture and bookshelves. The desk would have multiple rings stained into the grain of the wood from too many cups of coffee which would only be visible if I turned on the green shaded bankers desk light. I would sit in a leather, highback executive swivel chair with wheels. Unless I was reading, then I would sit in the corner, under a tall floor lamp, in a old, musty wing back chair. I would have a decanter of scotch on a small serving table. Who am I kidding I would have an empty decanter. It would be decorated the way I would want it. And if I could, my man-space would have a secret entrance, like a rolling book shelf or a fake wall.

In our new house there is not really a room I can use for an office so Lauren agreed I will eventually get a corner of the living room. It is not the same as having my own space but it will have to do. Over the years I have gathered items I would put in my man-space. I have saved these items like I had a hope chest. One of the items I found is reprodcution of Rembrandt's "The Man in the Golden Helmet". A few weeks ago I decided to hang it on the living room wall.

Now, Lauren is rethinking whether I can have the corner in the living room.

I cannot understand why she does not like it.

Do you have man-space in your house? What's it like?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since I moved into my house 7 years ago, I've always had my manzone. It helps keep me sane.

My house has an in-law suite (with separate entrance) that consists of two rooms divided by accordion doors, plus its own bathroom with shower.

I have my computer set up in the dark plum front room, aka the cave. There is also a TV and couch in the cave.

The blue room has a cabinet and my gym equipment and a decent amount of storage for firearms stuff, camera equipment, and work clothes.

Then the real luxury, my own bathroom. It's been redone and looks great. But it's a small bathroom with a throne, vanity, and standup shower.

Plus I have a garage for my car and gunsmith workshop.

Wholly shit, now I realize how insanely spoiled I am.

SciFi Dad said...

My man space is the five minutes I get to myself in the bathroom in the mornings, while everyone else is still sleeping.

And the picture? Dude... why not just a framed lithograph of Captain America or Spider-man?

Patience said...

Manspace should not exist inside the house unless there is a room that no one else knows exists. The manspace can be in the garage or there can be a workshop.

And that picture?? No.

Unknown said...

The guy in the painting looks cranky.

Hubby just finished off his "man cave" downstairs in the basement. Right now, it's a near-empty room with a La-Z-Boy, a couple of remotes and a really cool television.

He lets me unfold a lounging lawn chair and sit next to him sometimes.

Cat said...

TGIM is DYING for a Man Space, but our current living situation allows nothing for him but quality alone time in the bathroom.

Wait. That totally is NOT the way it sounds...

Anonymous said...

We went into debt for my hubby's man space. Granted it is a working office (self-employed) and that work doesn't leave him much time for his remote control cars which have an entire corner of his office. But he got his bathroom exactly the way he wanted it and I am still dealing with running from the kids' bathroom for a shower and then to the master to get fully dressed. SO what if he actually has to work and bring in the bacon in that man space it still counts.

Oh, I don't find anything wrong with the picture, but that could because I am not staring at it everyday.

Anonymous said...

One word:

FUGLY

Anonymous said...

my hubby has always dreamed of his own 'man cave' too.. Somehow he talked me into letting him hang framed college football prints of his favorite team in our living room.. FOUR of them!! I have regreted the descion to allow this ever since.. It looks like a bachelors dorm room in there now. Guess all we need now is a pooltable in the dinig room.
HAha

Anonymous said...

JP has a nice space in our basement with a big golf net. It's complete with seating (lawn chairs), a rug (demoted from the kitchen), and pine tree scenery (two fully-assembled Christmas trees sans ornaments).

He could hang that picture down there if he wanted, but not in the living room! Lauren is a saint.

Loth said...

My husband has one of the bedrooms in our house to himself. It's a recording studio, complete with full drum kit. I am a good wife.

Anonymous said...

you better get yrself some man space now if you are that attached to that painting. I knew a couple that divorced because the guy wanted to hang up his "Dogs Playing Poker" portrait and there was no dungeon, i mean, office space for him to keep it out of the living room. They eventually split, he threw a party and ceremoniously hung it over their old marital bed.
having no man space only spells trouble.

eclectic said...

Hmmmm... since I am the WORST home decorator ever to live, and I really don't care much how it looks so long as it's clean, I guess our whole house is man, woman and kids-space, rather than a proper home.

Seriously, my roadbike is currently in front of the fireplace in the living room, waiting for the "bike tree" to arrive. It will then live on the "tree", but it will still be in the house. Because we live here. Our space is here to support our lives, not to look pretty, and my life involves an insanely expensive roadbike that lives in the house. *shrugs*

Michael said...

You just described my dream office...

Anonymous said...

I always thought of Poop and Boogies as your "man space" but when I read it sometimes I feel that it is your "woman Space".

Anonymous said...

Oh, and for some reason, "man in the golden helmet" made me laugh in a Beavis and Butthead sort of way.

Anonymous said...

or in a James Bond kind of way

Anonymous said...

My man had a space in the spare room with his bookcase and computer until I started to do creative things like scrapbooking. It took me almost a year to gradually elbow him out and I had to allow him to have a laptop to finally push him and his family history out onto the landing.

Now he is allowed to use the dining table to do his Msc work (but must tidy up afterwards) and I have given him one of the cupboards in the dresser to keep his files in but he has to go out in the car if he wants to be alone.

Sometimes I wonder if he makes the garage so untidy so that he can spend a whole weekend in there clearing it out every now and again.. hmmm maybe that's a man thing too?

and yes, I would confiscate that awful painting too. Gigglepotamus is spot on it's FUGLY.

Anonymous said...

My husband has his own man room. He has your desired leather swivel desk chair. He has his model airplanes suspended with nylon wires. He has a book case filled with National Geographic's going way back, a huge collection of O'Reilly BOF's (boring old fart books). The best part is the door I can close and hide it all.

The Rembrant is awful unless you own the original. Give Lauren a break.

Anonymous said...

Apparently I'm the only one who feels inclined to answer your question with a lewd response. I'll refrain.

That picture is some serious ugly.

The Maid said...

I know it is art and all, but fugly indeed. Sorry, William.

As far as a man-space goes, my hubby has a music room. He is a drummer....so it is a full on drum set, congas, bookshelf with stereo to drum to, big speakers, manly chair, manly colors kind of room.

Of course I had to oversee the art selected and pick out the paint colors and the fabric for the "man-chair" but REALLY it is his room. (Hee Hee)

The Maid

April said...

When we built this house two years ago we paid a pretty penny for a theater room. So my husband has an awesome man space. He hangs all his sports memorabilia in there and has a little refrigerator for all his snobby beer. We painted it the new AZ Diamondback's red. I call it his cave. But it's a pretty kick ass cave. And there's somthing really funny about watching a grown man wearing a headset and playing x-box 360 on theater screen against a group of thirteen year old punks in Des Moines. Or somewhere. I don't get video games. But it's only fair, he has his cave and I get the rest of the house.

But I would say no to the Rembrandt in the family room. I said no to the Randy Johnson jersey, the Budweiser Welcome Race Fans banner, and the giant playboy cover of Gina Lee Nolin. But all that crap is hanging happily in the cave. Not that I am comparing Rembrandt to playboy, I am just saying it probably doesn't go with Lauren's theme. :)

Anonymous said...

Rob's space is the basement, where there are lots of computers. Also lots of spiders, which keep me from ever going down there.

Claire said...

I'd take that painting in exchange for just a part of my husband's 1,000 sq ft of manspace. Yep, he built himself a massive garage, obliterating our backyard. I am not allowed any storage space in said garage. It contains a full office, bathroom and loft (for additional storage of HIS stuff).

Now, you're jealous. I'm sorry. However, you could at least have a little sympathy for me, 'k?

Bogart said...

My buddy Steve has his "MAN ROOM". It mostly has baseball stuff and a foosball table in it. It used to be better, but now it has the wife's computer, the kids computer, his wife's photography books, the kids doll house. It has changed from the Man Room to just another room in the house, except he has some autographed baseballs. Oh the humanity.

Chris Cactus said...

I have a music room - guitars, amps CDs. But I've done almost nothing to it since we moved into the new house last August. I really need to get on that.

JP said...

Sharkey did fully describe my basement space. I have a golf net down there with a hitting mat and about 40-50 balls. I practice my chipping and can swing an 8 iron full on without hitting the HVAC ductwork. That my friend is MAN SPACE!!