Best Man Cave Paint Colors

Man caves used to be just bare garages, unfinished basements, or any old room in the house that didn’t serve a specific purpose. Over the years, though, building a man cave became a big trend and it’s now considered a quintessential part of most homes.

One of the biggest and hardest decisions that man cave owners face when personalizing their space is picking out a color to paint their walls with. You could take the easy way out and stick with the white walls that your man cave originally came with, but where’s the fun in that?

Why Painting Your Man Cave Is Important

Choosing a color to paint your man cave with may seem trivial, but there are plenty of reasons why you should put a lot of thought into it. Your man cave should be a reflection of your personality and your style and the color of your walls plays a big part in helping you achieve that. Painting your man cave the right color can also affect the overall vibe and the general mood and ambiance in your man cave.

Most guys prefer dark colors like black, blue, and gray for their man cave. These colors can make the room look manly, modern, and stylish, especially when paired with the right furniture and decor. However, they can also make the room look small and feel stuffy when there isn’t enough light coming in.

Light colors, on the other hand, are great if you want to give your man cave a clean, simple, and spacious minimalist look. They also work wonderfully well as a backdrop for hung artwork and other statement pieces that you might want to showcase in your man cave. In a low-light environment, though, even the brightest light colors can look dingy and dull so beware of that.

Aside from having a big impact on the way your man cave looks, the colors on your walls can also affect the way you feel. For example, bright and vibrant colors make you feel energized while muted cool tones can bring an overwhelming sense of calm. This is especially important to consider along with the activities you plan on using your man cave for.

Let’s say your man cave doubles as your home theater. Black or dark walls would be ideal since it would give you that cinema feel. Wife wanted a boring neutral color for the bedroom? Go crazy with your favorite color in your man cave! For die-hard sports fans and those who love having their pals over for sports watch parties, painting your man cave your favorite team’s color(s) is the perfect way to show your team spirit. If you think of your man cave as a sanctuary for relaxation and recreation, opt for cool tones that are easy on the eyes.

Best Man Cave Paint Colors

So, what’s the best color for your man cave? That depends on the theme, the look, and the feel you want to achieve for your space. However, we do have some suggestions that could help you narrow down your choices.

1. Chalkboard Paint (Black)

Using chalkboard paint allows you to get creative with unlimited designs in your man cave. You can also use your chalkboard-painted wall to keep score during games or organize your thoughts while you’re working in your man cave. Since it’s black, it will also be beneficial for man caves that double as home theaters since black cuts down the light and keeps it from bouncing on the walls. It also helps frame the screen well, giving you the best viewing experience.

To keep the room from looking gloomy, make sure you have good lighting in your man cave. You can also use bright accents to liven up the room and add more personality to it. Black and red, for example, gives off a classic rock and roll vibe. With the right decor, black and red can also be used to create a Casino Royale themed room. Adding metallic accents like gold or silver to a room that’s been painted black can help you pull off a sophisticated man cave look. Love to game? Your RGB-lighted rig adds the perfect pop of color against black walls.

2. Microblend Interior Paint and Primer – Gray/Mid-Winter

This cool-toned gray is the perfect color to paint your man cave walls if you’re aiming for something classy and sophisticated. It’s dark so it lends a manly look to your space, but it’s not too dark to make the room feel dismal. If you’re looking for a neutral color that still has a masculine feel, this is the perfect color for you.

Combine it with other shades of gray for a stylish monochromatic man cave theme that feels intentional and interesting. With wood and metal accents and furnishing, gray would also be a great color if you’re aiming for that raw, industrial feel in your man cave. It bears some semblance to concrete, but with a more polished, finished look.

3. Prestige Interior Paint and Primer in One – Satin

Man caves have a bad rap for being a place where guys go to be loud and crazy but there are definitely guys who build their man caves as a quiet retreat from a noisy house (looking at you, dads with multiple kids). If it’s peace and serenity that you seek, a warm gray color can help with that. Warm gray walls are very relaxing. It’s perfect if you often spend time in your man cave working or reading.

The good thing about having warm gray walls is that you can use any accent color that you want with it and it’ll still look great. Keep your man cave looking classy by adding neutrals or add a pop of color with your bright hue of choice.

4. Rust-Oleum Simply Home Interior Wall – Smoked Navy

Navy is one of the easiest colors to work with. It’s neutral enough to work with just about any other color, but not too neutral that it looks boring when used on its own. If you’re looking for a dark color to paint your walls but think black and gray are too cliche for a man cave, navy would make a great alternative. It’s also perfect if you want color in your man cave, but don’t want anything too vivid or too vibrant.

Give your man cave a homey, cozy feel by adding bare wooden accents and furnishing it with brown leather pieces. If you love sailing, a navy and white theme can help you achieve nautical vibes in your man cave, too. Navy is also a popular color for sports teams like the Washington Wizards (navy, red, and white), Cleveland Cavaliers (navy, red, white, and yellow/gold), and the Indiana Pacers (navy and yellow) for basketball, the Seattle Seahawks (navy, lime, and gray), St. Louis Rams (navy and gold), and the New England Patriots (navy and red) for football.

5. Glidden Exterior Paint + Primer: Green/Oakmoss

Guys love green but the wrong shade of green in your man cave can look tacky. This muted green is a good shade for those who want to bring the outdoors in. When used in a room that receives a lot of natural light or one that has really good lighting, this green can instantly take you to a nice and breezy walk in the forest. It’s cool and muted so it’s great if you want your man cave to have a relaxing ambiance.

Finding other colors that work with green can be tricky. White and black are safe choices but brown could work, too, especially if you’re going for that vintage cabin look. Ready for an eccentric look for your man cave? Pair up this green shade with something bright and light like yellow or orange for an unexpectedly fun look.

6. Majic Paints – Diamond Hard Acrylic Enamel High Gloss Paint

Brown is another dark color that you can use to paint your man cave walls and this rich shade of brown is perfect for adding warmth to any space/room. If you like the look of wood but only have concrete walls in your man cave, you can paint them brown to create some semblance. It’s a great color to use if you’re aiming to add some of that cozy, rustic charm to your space or if you want to get the feel of being in a homey cabin in the woods.

As far as color combinations go, brown works best with other warm and earthy neutrals. Looking for something that’s not neutral to help you add a bit of color to your man cave? Mustard yellow or a nice burnt orange like amber would be a good choice.

7. KILZ TRIBUTE Interior Eggshell Paint and Primer

Red’s quite a bright color to paint all over your man cave walls but if you’re game and you’re not the type to shy away from a bold look then this would be a great color for you. Love red but not sure whether you can pull off a red room? Use this color to create an accent wall instead and keep the rest of your walls neutral.

This particular shade of red is muted so it’s calming. You can pair it up with other muted tones like gray and periwinkle to keep the room relaxed or you can brighten it up and make the room look more exciting by pairing it with bold colors like yellow or teal instead. Neutrals would work well with this shade of red, too. Combine this with neutrals black or white if you want to give your man cave a simple, classic look.

8. Prestige Interior Paint and Primer In One, Atlantis, Semi-Gloss

The basement is one of the easiest and most convenient spaces in your home that you can turn into a man cave. Since it’s not something that everyone sees, you have the liberty to do whatever you want with it, including painting it in whatever color you like. Since basements are usually dark, painting the walls a bright and vivid color like this deep aqua blue can help bring life into the room.

Like red, this shade of blue can be used to create an accent wall as well. It’s a very striking and powerful color that’s sure to perk you up as soon as you step into the room. Make it even more sprightly by adding bright yellow accents or keep it subdued with jewel-toned greens or light neutrals along with light wooden furniture.

Best Game Room Paint Colors

Man caves that double as game rooms should have a fun, sprightly look and feel to them and using bright colors on your walls can help you achieve that. Feel free to use a different color on each wall or to use multiple colors on your walls to create a pattern or a theme. Your basic rainbow colors would be great, but you also run the risk of making your man cave look like a preschool if you’re not careful with your color combos or if you use too many colors at a time.

Avoid saturating your man cave with too many bright hues. Instead, think Pac-Man: black background with bright pops of color here and there can make your man cave look playful but still manly.

Best Garage Paint Colors

Turning your garage into a man cave is convenient and cheap, especially if you don’t have a spare room in the house or if you want your man cave to be separate from the rest of your house so you don’t have to worry about disturbing other people. This set-up is especially ideal for dads with young kids who get woken up easily.

What’s great about using your garage as your man cave is that you’re free to do whatever you want with it. Ladies don’t usually bother with the garage anyway and only focus on decorating the interior of the home. So, what colors would be great for man caves in garages? Bold colors like firehouse red and tangerine orange would be nice. You can also keep the raw, industrial vibe by sticking with a darker color palette with lots of blacks, browns, and grays.

Basement Paint Colors

If your man cave is located in the basement, adding lots of light should be a priority. Having a good amount of light can keep your man cave from looking gloomy. That, and good light-colored paint on your walls is sure to give your man cave a bright, light, and airy ambiance despite the lack of windows and natural light.

The thing about setting up your man cave in the basement, though, is that you might run into some common issues like leaks, mold, and cracked walls. Do a thorough search in your basement and see if there are any issues. Some paints will help you address and solve these problems so use those.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a color to paint your man cave shouldn’t be taken too lightly. Remember that you’ll have to stick with this color and look at it every time you go into your man cave so give it a lot of thought. While dark colors are very popular, don’t feel obliged to stick to them if you want something light, bright, or unconventional instead.