How do you build an apartment man cave? The difference between the average man cave and an apartment man cave is the size. Apartments are small in comparison to most living spaces. Having a space-conscious design is the most important part of your apartment man cave.
An apartment man cave is not going to be built the same as any other man cave. There are specific adjustments that need to be made when working with an apartment. The first issue with an apartment man cave is the space. Most apartments do not offer a ton of space to work with. For that reason, it will be important to pick furniture that does not take up a lot of room, while seating a group comfortably.
The second issue, is that a man cave in an apartment is also going to be your living room in all likelihood. That means you should not go all out with the memorabilia. If this room is right in the middle of your apartment, having 20 pieces of memorabilia might be a bit much. However, that does not mean you need to have a basic living room with one picture of an athlete on the wall. The key will be to find a good balance.
The last factor I will pay attention to is affordability. Most people living in an apartment are trying to be cost effective. A lot of you may live in the city and be forced into an apartment. That said, I will be focusing on affordable furniture as I try to do with any article I write with recommendations included.
Before I get into the furniture recommendations, I already have an extensive article on man cave furniture. This was general advice not specifically for apartment man caves, but a lot of the information is still applicable. Some of the furniture on this list was covered in more detail on that extensive article.
Table of Contents
Start by Adding a Couch
If you are looking to build a man cave, the couch is where you will be spending most of your time. Man caves are primarily used as a place to watch games. That means you will need a comfortable couch to enjoy your experience. There are two areas I always say to spend the majority of your budget on, the seating arrangement is one of them. Two of the four options from my extensive man cave furniture article made this list. These two best fit apartment man caves.
Global Furniture Reclining Sofa, Grey/Black (4.1 Stars)
The Global Furniture Reclining Sofa is perfect for an apartment man cave. The sleek leather look fits a man cave perfectly and is not too over the top in the middle of the apartment. Some man caves feature team specific, very colorful couches and blankets. That is a little over the top considering this is also your main room in the apartment.
The leather looks great, but it is also an ideal material for a couch. This couch will be easy to clean when your friend spills his drink everywhere. This couch is much cheaper than it’s actual value. If you can afford the couch, you will be getting a steal. This product’s quality is much higher than the next option I will be showcasing.
| Criteria | Comments |
| Price | The current price for this couch is $689.00 plus FREE shipping. This couch will also be extremely close to a $1,000 couch in terms of quality at quite a discounted price and free shipping. This couch aesthetically is the best option for a man cave. |
| Size | This couch is just over seven feet long (87 inches) and just over three feet wide (40 inches). This is a perfectly sized couch for a typical man cave. This couch will seat three to four adults comfortably on game day. The average apartment should be able to fit this couch into the living room without a hitch. |
| Comfort | This couch has 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon for comfort. That number should be a littler higher in my opinion. This couch has deeply padded seat cushions and arm rests with the best back cushioning on the market. Throw in the fact that the entire couch reclines and you have an extremely comfortable couch. This is a five-star couch as far as comfort goes in my eyes. |
| Reviews | This product got 4.1 stars on Amazon, but did much better on individual ratings. It has a 5.0 on support, 4.5 on ease to assemble, 4.5 for sturdiness, and again, 4.3 for comfort. I would recommend this couch to anyone who wants to get a deal on a quality addition to their man cave or living space. This couch is the best fit for a man cave in my opinion. |
Yaheetech Futon Sofa Bed Convertible with Armrest (3.9 Stars)
I had this couch in my college suite. That room was essentially a walk-in closet so our couch needed to be quite space efficient. This couch can be converted to a futon by simply pushing it forward to unlock the hinges. We had people over often and this was a great place to put them. The couch itself fit our room perfectly, and we were quite happy with our purchase.
That said, this futon is dirt cheap for a reason. The durability and comfort of this couch does not compare to the Global Furniture Reclining Sofa. The Yaheetech futon is less than half the price, but you typically get what you pay for. For college kids, I absolutely recommend this futon. It is not the most comfortable or durable futon, but it is super convenient and barely takes up any room. If you are struggling to find space or cash, this couch is the best option on the market.
| Criteria | Comments |
| Price | The current price for this couch is $249.99. The average price of a couch in the United States is $1,000. Now, this is not going to compare to a $1,000 couch, but it is a solid couch for game day. I am very happy with my purchase of this couch and my roommates were as well. |
| Size | The couch is only 65.7 inches long and 31.7 inches wide. This is a perfectly sized couch for an apartment or college housing. It is super compact and easy to move around, while still seating two or three people on game day. If you want to see the futon dimensions, go to the Amazon link for all the info. |
| Comfort | This couch only has 3.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon for comfort. I actually agree with this rating. Like I said earlier, this couch is not as good as a $1,000 couch. I can sit on this couch for hours watching football, but it does not compare to the couch in the house I grew up in. Overall, I think 3.5 stars is an accurate rating. It is certainly not an uncomfortable couch, but it also is not a Tempur-Pedic mattress. What it lacks in comfort, it makes up for in affordability and added features, such as the ability to futon. |
| Reviews | This product got 3.9 stars on Amazon. I think a lot of people rated this product in comparison to top-level couches. You simply cannot pay 1/4 of the standard price for an item and expect it to compete with the best products on the market. I would recommend this couch to anyone who wants to get a cheap, quality addition to their man cave or living space. |
Buy an Affordable Television
I mentioned earlier that there were two areas of a man cave worth investing in. The couch was the first one, the television is the second. The point of a man cave is to have a quality viewing experience on game day. The television is obviously a massive part of the equation. Few things will make you happier than getting a really nice television at a low price. Roku has been putting out affordable TV’s for a while and they have been getting better each year.
50-inch 4K Smart LED Roku TV, 2019 (4.5 Stars)
The 50-inch 4K Smart LED Roku TV is one the best values on the market. I chose to use the 50-inch TV as an example, but the link provided will take you to all five sizes on Amazon. I have a Roku television right now, and I am really happy with my purchase. In fact, the Roku was so affordable that my college roommate and I were able to each get one and put them together. We would throw on a game on one TV, and NFL Sunday Ticket on the other. Despite having a $250 couch and practically no room, we were able to have some great game days.
This TV is easy to set up and is compatible with many devices and platforms. You can quickly set up a gaming system like an Xbox or PlayStation. It is also easy to connect to the Wi-Fi and set up your favorite streaming service like the ones in the picture below. You can set up a home screen so when you turn the TV on you can put the most used options in order. In college, we had the cable, then Xbox, then Netflix.
| Criteria | Comments |
| Price | The current price for this television is $269.99. There are five different sizes so you may want to check those out if you do not like that price. However, paying that price for a 50 inch television is an absolute steal. With 4K quality, this should be a super easy decision. This TV is by far the best value in this article. |
| Size | The TV is 44 inches wide, (screens are measured from the top left to bottom right) and 25.7 inches long. The stand is 8 inches wide. You can put this TV just about anywhere, without needing a big stand. |
| Reviews | This product got 4.5 stars on Amazon. There were over 10,000 reviews for this product and it is rated extremely high. The 2019 model holds up over time and will still be valuable for years. This product is Amazon’s Choice for 4K TV’s, a VERY competitive field. |
Add a Quality Coffee Table
I only included one coffee table because you really do not need to do much research on this item. I was adamant about finding the right couch and TV, this is much less important. Regardless, I like this coffee table with the two couches I mentioned above.
VASAGLE Industrial Coffee Table with Storage Shelf for Living Room (4.7 Stars)
This coffee table has an extremely high rating. There are not a ton of factors worth mentioning for a coffee table. This product is highly rated by Amazon and the consumers. What else could you care about for a coffee table? It fits just about any room and is affordable. If you are still looking for a cheaper table, I threw in another option on:
| Criteria | Comments |
| Price | The current price for this coffee table is $82.79. That is a fair price for an item that will stay in your home most likely for over a decade. |
| Size | This table is 41.8 inches long, 23.7 inches wide and 17.7 inches high with plenty of room for your remote and some game day appetizers. |
| Reviews | This product got 4.7 stars on Amazon. This is the highest rating on this list up to this point. The table did really well in the four individual categories you can find on Amazon as well, sitting between 4.6-4.8 stars. |
Put Up Some Wall Decorations
Now that you have some ideas on the best furniture and TV’s available, you need to move on to the final step. Once the furniture is in place and the TV is set, you will need to build the atmosphere. Without the decorations or memorabilia, you simply have a living room. This section will transform your room from a living room to the apartment man cave you are aiming for.
Now this was not an article made for a sports man cave, but sports memorabilia make for some of the best man cave decorations. That said, there are plenty of ways to make the man cave look nice without a single sports-related decoration in your home. If you want more on man cave wall decor, I wrote an entire article on this topic as well. Here are some of my favorite choices for man cave wall decorations.
Framed Jerseys
Almost all of my man cave articles include framed jerseys. There are many reasons why framed jerseys are a phenomenal choice for any sports man cave. Jerseys are large in size, so you will only need a few to cover the wall. Adding identical frames will make the process so much easier. All you have to do is space the jerseys out evenly. Smaller decor requires at least a base level of interior design skills. Framed jerseys are extremely easy to put up and look great on the wall.
Framed Pictures and Posters
I like framed pictures and posters for the same reasons I listed above. Both examples here are rectangular, making the set up really easy. Also, pictures and posters can be sports related, but apply to any theme. You could be a fan of Randy Moss or Shawn Mendes — this works for both.
Take a Look at Additional Items
The idea behind the apartment man cave is to be space conscious. You definitely do not want to go overboard with additional items. There is one item, however, that makes sense to add to an apartment man cave.
This product is a mini fridge that stores up to 120 cans. In college we had two mini fridges instead of a real one. If you are in a similar sized room as we were, this hOmelabs product might be the answer for your apartment.
This product is expensive as far as mini fridges go, but certainly worth the cost. If you are on a tight budget, this fridge would be a silly investment. This is arguably the coolest item on the list though. If you have roommates, splitting the cost would be a great way to get an awesome mini fridge for a very affordable price.
hOmelabs 120 Can Mini Fridge (4.5 Stars)
One of the best beer fridges out there right now is the hOmelabs 120 Can Mini Fridge with a glass door, available on Amazon. This beer fridge can store up to 120 cans of your favorite beer and looks awesome with the glass door. You can also be sure that the drinks will stay cold because the fridge can reach a temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit. This is one of the more expensive beer fridges, but well worth the investment. The hOmelabs fridge is a #1 Best Seller on Amazon.
7 Must Haves For a Man Cave
Written by Sam Rebinskas in Man Caves
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