It's been a long time since my original man cave post, and we've acquired some new stuff and done some redecorating, so I figured I'd take some snaps and try posting some panoramic photos.
Although there are a few artifacts and jaggies if you look closely, I think the panoramas came out decent, and they give you a pretty good feel for the space.
>>CLICK HERE FOR MORE RECENT PHOTOS<<
It's been over a year since I built my man cave , and I've been getting anxious to put the finishing touches on it. After a year and a half of weekends spent cutting, drilling and nailing, I felt like I'd dropped the ball on the 5 yard line.
You see, the home theater is the centerpiece of any self respecting man cave, but cashflow issues meant that I had to settle for a dinky 27" flatscreen and an old Sony surround sound system... and it was a little underwhelming to say the least.
Now, at long last, I've picked that ball back up again... and here's the result:
My home theater is now fully realized, thanks in part to my 2009 income tax refund that I am taking an advance on (courtesy of my savings account).
My wife throws a big (9 girls this year!) mystery party / sleepover for my daughter's girlfriends every summer and yesterday was it. They had a great time solving the "Mystery Of The Missing Archaeologist" seeking all the props and clues my wife planted all over the house and yard.
After the mystery was solved they gave my game room quite a workout. Who knew twelve year old girls were so into pinball and foosball?
I think it'll be a few days before I can bring myself to call it a "Man Cave" again... Sheesh!
As soon as they've all gone home I'm going to lock myself in my office / subterranean lair and take a long nap.
My favorite band is Depeche Mode, and during their heyday they released an album called "Music For The Masses". The cover art, designed by Martyn Atkins, featured orange loudspeakers broadcasting the band's music from various locales:
The art for the accompanying singles "Strangelove" and "Never Let Me Down Again" also featured the speakers, but with the catalog numbers (BONG13 and BONG14) stenciled along the rim of the speaker:
I'm not really sure what the BONG thing means, some inside joke I'm sure, but they've been using it on all their singles since the very beginning. These iconic loudspeakers were also present in all the music videos for this album and hanging from atop the stage during the tour that summer.
Fast forward twenty years and now I'm a grown man converting my basement into a man cave and looking for some decorations to put in my game room.
Hey! Wouldn't it be cool to have one of those BONG PA speakers hanging up in here?
My uncle Jimbo just happens to be a fantastic artist, so once he agreed to help me I knew it was a done deal.
MAKING THE BONG:
First I found an old horn style loudpseaker on Ebay. It was a little dinged up, but that only made it look more authentic, like it had been on tour with the band or something.
At Jimbo's direction I sanded it smooth and primed it, then we spray-painted it orange. Jimbo's mad art skillz allowed him to created a stencil template in CorelDraw that was perfectly adjusted for the curvature of the horn.
Jimbo removed the stencil and touched up the lettering, then we applied a coat of satin clearcoat for protection.
Once the BONG was finished I designed a bracket to hang it in the corner up near the ceiling, and had a local hitch shop fabricate it for me. I mounted the bracket into the masonry with lag bolts, attached the speaker and viola, instant Depeche Mode shrine!
It's one of the coolest things I own. Thanks Jimbo!
The speaker is still functional and one of these days I'm going to rig up some sound effect or music clip to play from that thing when I press a little hidden button. Perhaps an air raid siren at high volume? A short clip from the BONG 13 single "Strangelove"? Maybe a really obscene fart sound? The possibilities are endless...
>>CLICK HERE FOR MORE RECENT PHOTOS<<
My home was built in 2000 and had a large unfinished basement with decent ceiling height. In late 2007, after years of putting it off, my wife and I finally decided to turn it into finished living space. We did most of the work ourselves with the assistance of my father-in-law Bob and his huge colection of power tools.
Now, after a year and a half of weekends and evenings, it's about 90% finished. The bathroom is incomplete and there's much more decorating to be done, but it's close enough to be enjoyed and finally looks good enough for me to share some pics with my blog buddies, so here goes.
THE GAME ROOM - This is the main room you enter when coming down the steps. There's a foosball table, an arcade game, some pinball machines, a slot machine, a dartboard and a variety of fun and funky decorations.
Recent Comments