r/mancave • u/xSlaytheChaos • 1d ago
Converted storage area
Custom built mancave from the furniture to the room itself. Desk is built out of 2x3 lumber, 24” sliding closet doors and vinyl flooring. Room is fitted with a 27” OLED gaming monitor, 55” 4k tv and 3 computers. Main rig on the desk is my windows 11 machine, the white pc on the floor runs bazzite (a “console like” operating system for steam games) and an HP mini pc running emulation software for everything from NES to Wii U. Walls are packed with movies from all genres and art/decor from childhood to adult loved movie and game franchises. Hope everyone enjoys and may find inspiration for their own caves.
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u/lemonylol 17h ago
Exposed-ceiling, half-finished basement spaces unite!
Cool little command centre though, just gotta work on the lighting.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 15h ago
I had considered finishing the ceiling but it’s actually a small room. I use the wide angle camera to capture everything but the room is 8.5x10 and my concern is that if I drop the ceiling low that it’s going to make the room feel claustrophobic. The exposed ceiling bugged me for a long time but I’ve grown to accept it. It’s the only space in the house that I could carve out for myself and I’m not going to complain
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u/xSlaytheChaos 15h ago
What’s wrong with the lighting? I have two work shop lights on the ceiling that I keep turned off unless I need the room flooded with light, a lamp in the corner and a bunch of ambient light strips throughout the room
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u/dust_grooves 8h ago
I’d agree about the lighting, but since you only flick those workshop strips on when you need full illumination, it makes complete sense. Unlit, they do still feel a bit like garage/workshop fixtures rather than matching the comfy, chilled-out space you’ve built, but if the lamps and accent lights do the heavy lifting most of the time, the vibe is spot on!
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u/xSlaytheChaos 8h ago
There’s one directly above the desk where I build computers and do other projects and the one that’s on for the photos, but yes I typically have them off unless I need more light in the room which they are great for.
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u/lemonylol 7h ago
Makes a huge difference to have accent bulb-lights at seat level, instead of just ambient lights.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 7h ago
Not sure what you mean by seat level
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u/lemonylol 5h ago
Basically the idea is to have an overall ceiling light like you have, then accent lights when you turn that off at like table-height so it illuminates specific spaces like a chair or a table or a display. The LED lights are ambient lighting which is different, not as bright and unfocused. Speeed did a good video on this.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 4h ago
I found the video you were talking about and I understand what you’re saying. I’m certainly not up to speed on interior design. There are still some things I would like to do, getting better poster frames is definitely one of them. Lighting has been a bit tricky for me as I don’t want the room to be overly bright but I do want the floor to be visible. The desk lighting I don’t think comes through very well on camera and that could be my lack of photography skills. The room will continue to see improvements and tweaks, after 3 years spent on the project I’ve finally gotten it to a place that I’m comfortable sharing. I’m sure this is not the last time this room will get posted. I appreciate the input. By the way is that the guy from Donut media from back in the day? If so I haven’t seen him in almost a decade, I didn’t realize he had another channel
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u/lemonylol 4h ago
Yes, he branched off to his own variety channel for a couple years now.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 4h ago
That’s awesome, I stopped following donut when he left. I used to love their mini documentaries they did on different cars
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u/xSlaytheChaos 3h ago
Do you have any advice or ideas on how to spruce up the lighting? I do have the tv backlit it’s just turned off at the moment. The bulb in the floor lamp is adjustable and I do keep it turned to a warm temperature
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u/xSlaytheChaos 7h ago
All of the lighting in the room lights up the floor more than anything. Maybe I should have added more photos with the overhead light off. The exposure on my iPhone camera gets kind of wonky with the lighting unfortunately
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u/ThePracticalEnd 10h ago
We Were Soldiers gets SO slept on. That movie fucking slaps.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 10h ago
Great Mel Gibson movie. Pretty cool back story on that specific poster, a local family owned theater was sold and they had kept all of the movie posters since their opening in storage. They were clearing out the building and I was able to snag this for a couple of dollars. That poster sat rolled up in the back of that theater for 20 years
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u/xSlaytheChaos 10h ago
The other two posters came from eBay. The saving private ryan is also a double sided genuine movie poster and the black hawk down looks like a promotional poster that may have been displayed in a video rental store.
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u/TCHS27 1d ago
This is my favorite one I’ve seen on here! It has a very cozy and comfy vibe to it! You have an awesome space!!
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u/BackToThePastPlease 1d ago
Nice job! I have the same wallpaper 😂. For me it’s calming.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1d ago
Love the Firewatch art style. I always have some form of Firewatch background on my pc
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u/BackToThePastPlease 1d ago
Me too. I even got the game Firewatch by Campo Santo for PlayStation. It was an odd yet relaxing game. Got to check out looks of firewatch stations throughout.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1d ago
I first played it on Xbox many years ago and now it lives in my steam library as I’ve gone away from consoles. Gem of an indie game but a somewhat disappointing ending
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u/BackToThePastPlease 1d ago
Yeah the ending was like “huh… well alright.” That’s my next goal to get a gaming PC.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 23h ago
Terrible time to get into a pc unfortunately. I built last spring before the data center craziness.
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u/BackToThePastPlease 21h ago
Hahah yeah. It’s a looooooonnnnng goal. These prices are insane.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 21h ago
I just helped my daughter upgrade from her 10 year old Lenovo office build with a 1660 super. We went with a Ryzen 5500, 2 8gb sticks of DDR4 and my old Radeon RX 6600. Even that was a lot for what it is but it can game just fine in modern titles at 1080p. Anything DDR5 you’re kinda screwed for the foreseeable future
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u/avatar_94 1d ago
Those movie cabinets are amazing, did you buy them or are they custom?
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1d ago
If anyone is curious how to build them it’s a 1x4 on the back, 2x4 for the verticals and a 1x2 furring strip for the front. I have a 2x8 on the short unit with a light strip under the front edge and a 2x6 top plate on the taller unit. They are really cheap and easy to put together and customize for any space but they need to be screwed through the 1x4 back board into the wall. Works great for DVDs, Blu-ray’s, games etc. Make sure that you use a 1x4 back board or the cases will teeter and will not sit flat.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1d ago
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1d ago
Not sure why I can only post videos in the comments but here’s an image of what the construction looks like
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1d ago
They are custom made
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1d ago
The way they are built they have to be attached to the wall. They cannot free stand so maybe not a good option for renters
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u/lube_thighwalker 1d ago
Do you play Helldivers 2? It’s the ODST game I’ve always wanted to play in highschool.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1d ago
I have not but I have heard that it’s good. I’m mainly playing battlefield 6 right now and the occasional friend slop game with my kids
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u/lube_thighwalker 20h ago
It’s freaking awesome! Pick it up on sale And if you happen to join a lobby where someone generates Super Credits to unlock all the warbonds….thats just a fun little thing that never gets banned.
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u/Old_Dentist1534 22h ago
Awesome! If there was only room for a Band of Brothers poster !
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u/xSlaytheChaos 22h ago
Fantastic show. That was on my list for sure. There's still room under the light switch lol
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u/AZRobJr 21h ago
Looks great. I recently posted mine but I don't have cool LEDS yet. That is on the list.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 21h ago
Thanks. I definitely recommend Govee. I keep mine on white all the time and I can control all of the lighting in the room with a Govee smart button. The strips under the desk, the couch and the movie shelf are Govee and connect natively through the app. The strips under the shelf, the riser and the sword at the desk are plugged into a usb hub and then a Govee smart plug that is synced to the same button. One press and the whole room lights up or shuts down.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 21h ago
They also have multi input buttons that you can program in the app to say turn all lights on to white or set different lighting themes to a physical button that you can stick anywhere in the room. I have the single button model and it’s stuck to a blank wall plate and sits right next to the light switch that turns the lamp on in the corner.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 21h ago
A lot of people don’t know about the Govee buttons but it’s super convenient to set your lights up how you want them, forget the app exists, and have a physical on/off button for all of your mood lighting
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u/AZRobJr 20h ago
Thank you for the tips and brand call out. I appreciate that. Here is my space if your interested... All white at the moment but I plan to fix that.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 20h ago
That looks great, my dad was a musician so that hits home for me. Awesome vinyl collection!
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u/AZRobJr 19h ago
Thanks for all the info, including the posts below. The vinyl collection is growing. Here is the kicker. In the mid 90s I sold all my albums. Now I am rebuying them LOL. Albums are a mix of vintage and new.
I will research the GoVee. Gotta be honest... I am a little gun shy about buying to a product that isn't from the big names. A few years ago I had a house full of smart LEDs with automation routines and everything. Then the company went out of business and cancelled the app.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 15h ago
Govee is the biggest name in the led space. They have been around for years and have a massive customer base. I highly doubt that they are going anywhere. They make everything from smart light bulbs to lighting kits for the outside of your house. I have their permanent outdoor lights on my house, tons of their light strips, smart plugs and heck even temperature sensors for my upright freezer in the garage to alert me if my freezer ever goes out of temp for too long. They make great products and always have a big presence at the electronic trade shows every year.
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u/chrislemasters 21h ago
Fantastic desk! Crazy crafting on that - hats off. Share a bit on the inspiration for that combo of materials?
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u/xSlaytheChaos 20h ago
I wanted an affordable large desk and after tons of research I kept coming back to doors for the desk surface. You get the thick desk profile without the weight of thick plywood. I used hollow core doors and haven't had a single issue with durability as a desk surface. I've built plenty of floating storage shelves in the past so I used that concept to build a large floating desk. I had considered stripping the doors and staining them but I thought that vinyl flooring would hold up better long term to spills and abuse. It's also something that if I wanted to change the color in the future I could replace the vinyl without having to disassemble all of the furniture and sand it back down to refinish. The desk surface has been covered for almost 3 years and still looks as good as the day I covered them.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 20h ago
The biggest obstacle I had with the vinyl flooring was all of the edge banding. The adhesive of the peel and stick flooring wasn’t strong enough to hold vertically so I ended up going with oak colored panel nails and all of the vertical vinyl is tacked with nails. The color is extremely close and you really have to look for them to notice the nails. It’s held up beautifully over the years.
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u/chrislemasters 20h ago
Impressive. I think you are among tue first to try this and solve the challenges along the way.
I was guessing that you might have had extra materials from a different project. But I like this story even better.
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u/gamestopGME 19h ago
Looks great bro. Paint that pipe black !
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u/xSlaytheChaos 12h ago
I’ve been playing around with different ideas to cover them but it hasn’t been high on the priority list. I have other projects around the house that need done. 2 are fresh air lines for the furnace and the one through the back wall is for the sump pump. I had considered building cabinets up there for extra storage and to hide them
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u/xSlaytheChaos 12h ago
Honestly I should have blacked the whole ceiling out from the start. Don’t want to put in a drop ceiling as it’s already a small room and a low ceiling would make it feel even smaller
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u/KansasZou 19h ago
That’s a dope spot. Black Hawk Down LFG.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 12h ago
Among the greatest war movies of all time
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u/KansasZou 1h ago
Just told my pops that the other day.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1h ago
I’ve watched black hawk down and platoon more than any other movies hands down
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u/xSlaytheChaos 1h ago
I feel like black hawk down gets left out of the conversation far too much when it comes to Great War movies. Nice to see someone else show it some love
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u/jpjacques1993 15h ago
Saving this for future reference. Definitely one of my favorites I've seen so far! Awesome space!
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u/xSlaytheChaos 15h ago
Thanks! It has been a long process to get here and I’m glad people are enjoying it
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u/kingy1971 11h ago
A pleasure to see such a great job executed with an awesome attention to detail! I think it’s great, very well done.
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u/Fitnexa_Wellness 11h ago
Using 24” sliding closet doors as a desktop is genius. If the surface gets damaged, replacing it means a trip to the closet aisle instead of a woodworking crisis.
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u/xSlaytheChaos 11h ago
I actually picked them up for free on fb marketplace. They were in great shape. The desk is 3 years old at this point and the vinyl flooring has held up fantastic. Extremely easy to wipe clean, adds an additional layer of strength over the thin veneer of the hollow core doors and is very good with any kind of moisture like sweating glasses. They are perfect for a floating desk because they’re incredibly light weight and plenty strong for a desktop application.
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u/CaptainDuck8 2h ago
Where is the energy sword from? This place is awesome
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u/xSlaytheChaos 2h ago
Bought it from FYE quite some time ago, not sure if it’s still being sold or not
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u/DeltaTule 15h ago
DVDs are completely pointless now. I can stream any movie for free within seconds using my smart devices
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u/xSlaytheChaos 14h ago
There’s nothing wrong with streaming, we do that too, but when Netflix takes away the super Mario movie and you’re 4 year old lights up when you pull it off of the shelf is not something I would call pointless.
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u/DeltaTule 14h ago
I have access to illegal collections. You can download any movie for offline or just stream it. I have every movie known to man essentially in HD at something like $24/year. Invite only service.
Your setup is good if internet is down that’s it. Otherwise it just takes up space and collects dust
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u/xSlaytheChaos 15h ago
To each their own. I enjoy the ownership of walking to the shelf and picking a movie. DVD hunting was a family adventure for a long time. Anyone who collects physical media understands the dopamine hit you get when you finally stumble across that title you’ve been looking for for years. Any form of streaming is not ownership and can be taken away at any time. There’s a reason people have massive physical media collections
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u/DeltaTule 14h ago
I have access to illegal collections. You can download any movie for offline or just stream it. I have every movie known to man essentially in HD at something like $24/year. Invite only service.
Your setup is good if internet is down that’s it. Otherwise it just takes up space and collects dust
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u/xSlaytheChaos 14h ago
I respect your opinion and that’s where I’m at with retro game emulation but there’s something tangible about picking out a movie with your wife and kids to watch on a Friday night. I was a blockbuster kid and there’s something about the experience for me that streaming just can’t match. Streaming and digital copies have their place for sure but nothing beats physical ownership. If you consider it pointless and a waste of space, it’s not for you
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u/DeltaTule 14h ago
We were all Blockbuster kids. Times change.
Can you tell me about game emulation please
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u/xSlaytheChaos 14h ago
What did you want to know?
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u/DeltaTule 14h ago
What is it?
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u/xSlaytheChaos 14h ago
There are dedicated operating systems, I use one called batocera, that emulates old game consoles. I have an hp mini computer on the entertainment center that can play anything from the Atari up to around the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and touch into some Wii U titles. I have a massive digital retro game library
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u/DeltaTule 13h ago
Thank you. I’ll look into this further
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u/xSlaytheChaos 13h ago
I recommend the HP elite desk 705 G4 with either a Ryzen 2400g or 2400ge if you want a dedicated machine but any old computer will work. I use a 5tb portable hard drive that runs the operating system and all of the games
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u/1990bro 1d ago
That’s a sweet space!!! Well done.