Design a man cave — the definitive starter kit
Everybody wants a man cave; almost nobody can name what goes in one. Here's the answer: a screen wall, two recliners that actually recline, cold beer that doesn't require a trip upstairs, and one glowing machine full of music. Six catalog pieces in a 14×14 zone — place them on the plan, check the clearances, and the cave is designed before a single thing moves.
The man cave is the most wanted and least planned room in the house. Everyone can picture the feeling — screen, recliner, cold beer, good music — but ask what actually goes in one and the answers get vague. This is the definitive starter kit: six pieces, each with a job, each with real dimensions, laid out in a 14×14 zone.
Search the exact names in the Furnish panel and place them on the plan first. Recliners need room to recline, a kegerator needs a path that doesn't cross the screen, and a jukebox earns its keep at an angle — all of which is much cheaper to discover on a floor plan than on moving day.
What you'll need
- •Entertainment Center (84″ × 20″, 72″ tall) — the screen wall
- •Oversized Recliner × 2 (42″ × 44″ each) — the seats of honor
- •Kegerator (24″ × 26″, counter height) — draft beer at home
- •Jukebox (32″ wide, 56″ tall) — the glow in the corner
- •Bar Cart (30″ × 18″, rolling) — the backup bar
- •Area Rug 8x10 (96″ × 120″) — grounds the seating
- •A 14×14 ft zone — basement, bonus room, or the corner of a garage you're claiming
Step by step
- 1
The screen wall, centered
Search Entertainment Center and set it along the top edge of the zone, centered — 84 inches of screen wall, 72 inches tall, with storage for every console and remote behind doors. Everything else in the cave takes its bearings from this piece: the seats face it, the traffic avoids it.
- 2
Two recliners at 46 inches
Search Oversized Recliner and place two side by side, both facing the screen, with their front edges about 46 inches off the screen wall's front. That's the number that makes the room work: each chair needs 44 inches of clearance in front to recline fully, and 46 gives it with an inch to spare. With your head back in the leaned seat, your eyes land about seven feet from the screen — right where an 84-inch wall of screen wants them.
The cave on the plan — screen wall at top, both recliners at 46″, everything that pours or plays on the right rail. - 3
The kegerator gets its own lane
Search Kegerator and park it to the right of the screen wall, along the top edge — 24 inches wide, 34 inches tall, a counter-height cold tap. The placement rule matters more than the placement: the strip down the right side of the zone is about 39 inches wide, a full walking lane, so every refill travels the right rail and nobody ever crosses the screen mid-play.
- 4
The jukebox angles in, the bar cart parks beside it
Search Jukebox and set it against the right edge, angled into the room so its face points at the seats. At 56 inches tall, its lit-up front glows exactly at seated eye height — an angled jukebox is furniture and mood lighting in one. Then search Bar Cart and park it in the corner beside the jukebox: 30 by 18 inches on wheels, the bottle-and-glass backup to the kegerator, and it rolls to a recliner armrest when the occasion calls.
- 5
The rug grounds it, 3D proves it
Slide the Area Rug 8x10 under both recliners, long side running toward the screen — 96 by 120 inches that turn two chairs into a zone and take the echo out of a concrete floor. Then switch to 3D and take the seat test: lean back in each recliner and check the sight line to the screen, walk the right-rail lane from kegerator to jukebox to cart, and confirm the reclined footrests clear the screen wall. If it works in 3D, it works on game night.
The cave in 3D — both seats see the screen, the jukebox glows at eye height, the right rail pours.
Tips
Not a keg household? Swap in a mini fridge
The kegerator's footprint is the same two-foot square a mini fridge needs. If draft beer isn't your thing, put a mini fridge in the same spot with the same right-rail lane — the layout doesn't change, only what's cold inside.
Treat the sound before you blame the speakers
A 14×14 box with hard floors and bare walls makes every explosion sound like it's in a parking garage. The rug is the first fix; heavy curtains, a fabric sofa upgrade later, or foam panels on the wall behind the seats do the rest. Soft surfaces are the cheapest audio upgrade there is.
A dartboard finishes the far wall
Hang a dartboard on the wall opposite the kegerator side, with its bull 5 feet 8 inches off the floor and 93 inches of clear throw line in front — the left strip of this layout holds it. Keep the throw lane out of the walking lane, and never between the recliners and the screen.
Common mistakes
Backing the recliners against a wall
A recliner placed like a normal chair can't do the one thing it was hired for. These two need their 44 inches of front clearance to open — which is why they float at 46 inches from the screen wall instead of hugging the back of the zone. Leave recline room behind the headrest too if your model tilts back.
Routing the beer run across the screen
Put the kegerator on the far side of the room and every refill walks a person through the sight line at the worst possible moment. The whole point of the right-rail lane is that drinks, music, and traffic all live on one side while the screen stays sacred.
Flattening the jukebox against the wall
Face-on to the room's center, a jukebox against the edge is just a cabinet nobody looks at. Angle it toward the seats and its glowing face becomes the room's second light source — at 56 inches tall, exactly at the eye height of someone in a recliner.
Frequently asked questions
What goes in a man cave?
Six pieces cover the classic cave: an entertainment center for the screen wall, two oversized recliners facing it, a kegerator for draft beer, a jukebox for music and glow, a rolling bar cart, and an 8x10 rug under the seats. Search each name in the Furnish panel and place them before anything gets moved in real life.
How big does a man cave need to be?
This layout fits in 14 by 14 feet. The math that drives it: 84 inches of screen wall, 46 inches from the wall's front to the recliner fronts so both chairs can fully recline, roughly 90 inches for two recliners side by side, and a 39-inch lane down the right side for the kegerator and jukebox. Smaller works if you drop to one recliner; the recline clearance is the number you can't shrink.
How far should recliners be from the screen?
In this plan the recliner fronts sit about 46 inches from the screen wall's front, which puts a reclined viewer's eyes roughly seven feet from the screen — comfortable for a 65 to 75 inch display. The 46 inches also provides the 44 inches of front clearance each oversized recliner needs to open fully, so one measurement solves both problems.
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