Sunday, January 25, 2009

Man Cave Metamorphosis Monday

Hubby's pride and joy

This was the computer/office area before. Holy cow, we need help!

Yes, all of that went into this cute little computer secretary from Ikea!


Yes, all of these books were on the floor before.

Before bookcases and cd storage. What you can't see are the STACKS of books on the floor, there was literally no way to walk in here anymore.


Recording area before, a veritable spaghetti bowl of cords!

Recording area after, everything has a place!

Before, there was no place for the keyboard and more guitars were on the floor


Every man cave needs a big comfy nap chair, right? Excuse the cowhide, part of a new guitar project!

Before installing the slatwall, guitars were hung around the perimeter of the room, so alot of them had to be in racks on the floor. The room is only 10 x 12 so . . .

Guitar display after installing slat wall


I'm exhausted after reliving our kitchen renovation, so this week I'm going to share a quick weekend makeover. It's certainly not a pretty room, unless you are a guitar nut, in which case it's probably the Taj Mahal haha. But at least now it's somewhat functional and I'm no longer afraid to attempt to walk in! This is our spare bedroom, which has become our combination office, music room, guitar collection storage room and whatever else we think we can shove in here! As you can see from the before pictures, it was getting a bit tight in here. It became almost impossible to find anything, much less use the desk and computer. We started by cleaning out the room ( that was fun, NOT) and starting fresh. DH found some slat wall on Craiglist and decided that this would be the most efficient way to display his guitar collection. We then removed the computer desk and replaced it with a small, secretary type unit from Ikea. This freed up space to move the stereo and recording equipment. Install a couple of bookcases and cd storage units and voila, a useable room once again! Now if we can just avoid bringing anything else in! Thanks again to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ for hosting this fun event. Don't you just love before and after posts? Hop on over to her place for a list of this weeks participants.

39 comments:

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Kathy...this room looks great! It is such a great feeling when you do something like this...well, that is after it's done! :-) The in between part isn't always a lot of fun. LOL Bet DH is crazy about his new Man Cave...not to mention the envy of his buds! So creative to find what you needed on Craig's list! Very impressive MM post! Susan

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer said...

You are a VERY brave woman to tackle the man cave! And you did a great job. Hard to do a room with someone standing over your shoulder (which most men do in THEIR space!)

santamaker said...

I can certainly relate to the work it takes to organize a room. I'm in the middle of that as we speak. But sure is satisfying.
Your guitar collection is amazing... are you sure Elvis doesn't live in your house?!

Anonymous said...

Kathy, you've done a great job! OOH, the Man Cave is great!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia :)

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Oh my Kathy! Amazing! I have never seen so many guitars outside of a music store!! lol I remember when you were talking about the Man Cave re-do on Micasa, but I had no idea the extent of it! Great job!...Debbie

Lisa (aka) French said...

Love the look what a great place for hubby;) French

xinex said...

Wow! Kathy, I imagine the hard work you went through but what an accomplishment! It looks so organized and functional now. Great job. You probably can breath easier in there now. And what a collection!...Christine

Blondie's Journal said...

Kathy, you really made lemonade from lemons with this room! It belongs in a magazine! Isn't it nice to have inspiration from MM to get these projects going?? As of yet I have not participated (Ha Ha)

xoxo
Jane

Melissa Miller said...

~WOW~ Awesome job Kathy! :)

Kathysue said...

Hi Kat,now that is a transformation and the slatted wall is a wonderful idea for the guitars.What a difference.you really had to plan and figure this out carefully before diving in and you must have because it looks great.I love the guitar display.great Idea,Kathysue

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

Kathy,
That is an amazing guitar collection. Hubby should seranade you with a lovely song after that hard work! Way to go! Thanks for visiting my blog..Linda

Belle (from Life of a...) said...

WOW! That was some project and SOME guitar collection. WOW

Dawn Marie said...

I am so glad my husband dosnt collect anything other than bills! lol

I would be mad if he needed more space!!!! This place is to small for all I want, let alone him. Thank god he lets me be selfish..

You did a great job.

Wendy said...

What a great man cave! And wow, I don't think I have ever seen so many guitars in one place. Doesn't it feel great to have everything organized and in its place. Great job.

Wendy

Michelle, All Home and Love said...

It feels so good when things are organized, doesn't it? It looks great, the guitar storage is both practical and pretty.
~Michelle

~CC Catherine said...

Kathy, LOVE the Man Cave M.Monday Theme! Any musician would be proud to have this room! Great job...loved what was done with the slats to be able to put more guitars on one wall...SUPER creative! ~CC

ellen b. said...

Look at all those guitars!! What a great way to store them. I love them on the wall like that as art!
Well done :0)

Unknown said...

That was quite a project, I love the creative guitar storage.

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Oh my goodness. When you talked about what all you guys were doing it was hard to imagine the total extent of it. This turned out so great and he really does have a lot of guitars. I'm sure he is really enjoy his man-cave. What a great job. Hugs, Marty

Anonymous said...

Oh Kathy,I know EXACTLY what you mean.My dh has his own man cave.We went to IKEA and bought some book shelves to finish of course.But being the throw together kinda guy he is.He put them up unpainted.Okay----------------it's HIS room.huh?
We,our sil worked on it.HE COLLECTS Nascar,Tonka metal trucks of ALL kinds and NOW metal cars.
The room looked great--------at first,everything organized,in order of which collection etc.
Well you know what I am going to say don't you?
He drug in this,that and then some more.Now,everything he doesn't feel like taking to his outside workshop or to the shed goes in there.
Like you,I won't even step foot in there.It's scary....Ann

Cami @ Creating Myself said...

What a cool room...bet your hubby LOVES it!

Blondie's Journal said...

Kathy,
I know I already commented on this post (which was great!) and want to thank you for visiting my last post, but please go back to the comments section-I left a note. Thanks!

xoxo
Jane

Mrs. Gray's Class said...

Wow - what an incredible space to be creative and make some wonderful music!

Linda Q said...

Great redo, way to make alot out of a small space.
Linda

Unknown said...

I do love before and after posts! You did a great job of organizing this space!

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Wow! My husband would love to go in and see all of those guitars hangin' around! I'm sure this was a real job, but so worth it. It looks great! laurie

Dixie said...

Now that is one grat man-cave... my hubby would have power tools hanging all around... tee-hee... but man cave none the less...

blessings... Dixie

Andy Bell, CCIM said...

Kathy, did your husband research the effect of hanging the guitars on their necks? I like your idea for the room. I have heard different opinions on hanging guitars in the fashion used. thx Andy

nikkicrumpet said...

Well the room looks great...and you came up with some pretty clever ways to display and organized...but boy howdy that is a WHOLE HERD-O-GUITARS!

Kat said...

Ab, thanks for your comments. Hanging guitars from the neck makes little to no difference when they are electric, particularly solid body. There is some debate on hanging acoustics by the neck, but really the humidity in the room is more important than anything with acoustic guitars. I used to work for a violin maker, and we would even hang Strads and Guarneris by the neck while being worked on, wouldn't recommend it for long term though lol! Kathy

Bo said...

Totally amazing man cave redo...It all looks so well organized now...
not an easy feat in a smallish room.
;-) Bo

DesignTies said...

Kathy, I'm amazed!
And I'm overwhelmed just thinking about all the work you and your hubby had to do to get this space organized... fantastic job!
Victoria

Steph said...

Wow. That is a room you can both be proud of. You all put a lot of work into it. The guitar wall is so neat.

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

Wow Kathy.. this looks great. I'm so impressed.. every guy needs his own space doesn't he? lol. thanks for the visit to see the tablescape and your kind words. You are always so kind.. have a super day..hugs ~lynne~

Blondie's Journal said...

Hi Kathy!
Red alert: you've been tagged. Please go to my last post. If you've done this one, you can decline!

Have a great week!!

xoxo
Jane

Terrie's Lil' Piece of Serenity said...

Kathy, This is a great man's cave. What guy wouldn't want his own space. I bet he's proud of you for doing such a great job!
~Terrie~

Unknown said...

First off I am with you on the snow thing, I used to love it, in my younger days, now, not so much. I dont mind looking at it as long as I can stay inside in my jammies, like i did today!
You guys did a great job organizing the man cave, I know that is alot of work, but so worth it in the end! Thanks for stoppig by, Sue

Anne Marie said...

I myself play guitar so those photos are great! and simply awe inspiring for me...

lvroftiques said...

Girl that is SOME mancave!! Wow what a collection of guitars! I think they're worth more than my house! You hubby must be a player supreme...guitar player that is *winks* I KNOW my hubby would be green with envy! Vanna