There’s something about being out in nature that just makes guys feel better and more alive.
Whether it’s to go fishing out in the lake or to go hiking on your all-time favorite trail, there’s no denying that being outdoors gives you a unique feeling that’s pretty hard to capture elsewhere.
This must be the reason why most man cave owners are into rustic themes and designs.
How do you get rustic vibes in your man cave, you ask? The first step is to understand what this style is all about. Going rustic means going for a look that’s classically aged with a manly, rough, and rugged vibe.
#1: Get Yourself A Wooden Bar Counter
The bar counter is going to be the focal point of your man cave bar so it heavily influences the overall look and feel of the room.
If you’re the type who likes to build things from scratch, check out this step-by-step video tutorial on how to make your own wooden bar counter, complete with tips on how to burn wood and give it a nice, rustic look.
#2: Add leather bar stools for a touch of luxe
Just because you’re going rustic doesn’t mean you can’t have a bit of luxury in your man cave bar. Instead of getting a matching set of wooden bar stools, why not get something a bit more posh and comfortable like these leather swivel stool seats?
These are the perfect addition to your man cave to get that classy but humble “boujee” vibes.
#3: Create A Wooden Wall Panel
Looking for a way to make your man cave walls look less boring? Instead of hanging frames with random images, why not try installing a wood panel accent wall instead?
Hey, we guys like to do stuff for the ‘gram, too, you know. What’s great about creating a wooden panel accent wall is that you can keep it as it is or decorate it further with your favorite hunting memorabilia, some souvenirs from your most memorable trips, or whatever you like.
This would make an awesome weekend DIY project if you have a surplus of wooden pallets at your disposal to turn into planks. If you don’t, however, you can still get the look by buying ready-to-install planks like these instead.
Once you get your hands on the wood of your choice, you can either paint the room first or skip ahead to step 1 until 5.
- Locate the studs on your wall and make sure they’re evenly apart.
- Layout your materials until you’re satisfied with the way it looks.
- Install the planks using an adhesive like liquid nails.
- Make sure you start from the bottom and work your way to the top, cutting notches around electrical outlets if needed.
- Repeat the last two steps until you’ve covered your accent wall with wooden planks. You can choose to do the whole wall or just a panel, leaving the sides exposed, depending on the budget.
#4: Or go with an exposed brick wall
If your man cave is in the basement, there’s a good chance that you have an exposed brick wall that you’ve been meaning to deal with and get rid of. If you’re going for a rustic look for your man cave bar, don’t bother touching the brick wall. Just leave it be!
Aside from the fact that bricks are great for keeping the room cool in the summer and warm in the winter, an exposed brick wall also lends a very manly, rough, and rugged look to your space that just compliments that whole rustic theme.
What’s more is that brick walls are durable, low-maintenance, and highly customizable. You can paint it, put wallpaper over it, or just keep it as it is.
#5: Warm up the place with a nice pendant light
The right kind of light can help set the theme and the mood for your man cave so it’s important that you pick one (or two) wisely.
This set of pendant lights comes in twos and they’re the perfect kind of lighting to go over a wooden bar to really give the room that rustic look and feel.
These can be used as the main source of light in your rustic man cave bar area or you can simply have them installed as some sort of a statement piece that completes the room and ties everything in together.
Be careful not to choose anything too fancy for your pendant lights, lest you take away from the rustic vibe of the room.
Farm-house style pendant lights, whiskey bottle pendant lights, and simple metal pendant lights are all great choices.
#6: Get the full pub atmosphere in your man cave with neon signage lights
Going to the pub for a few drinks is nice and all, but nothing beats knocking back a few bottles of your favorite beer and downing shot after shot of your favorite liquor comfortably right in the comfort of your own man cave.
The only thing that’s missing in your man cave is that authentic pub look and feel which, thankfully, you can now recreate with the help of a few neon signages with your favorite drink’s logo like this. You can get one customized to say whatever you want, too.
#7: Use GI sheets as an accent
If you think a man cave with mostly just wood is too fancy for your liking and you’d really like to get some rough, tough, and rugged vibes in there, using GI sheets as an accent might just be what you need to do.
Let it rust a little bit and use it on your walls or your bar counter for an instant weathered look. You can also create a statement ceiling look in your man cave with GI sheets.
GI sheets are relatively cheap, so this is something that you can do at any budget. It’s quite easy to work with for styling and decoration, too, since it’s a light building material.
So whether you’re planning on DIYing it or having it installed by a pro is totally up to you. One downside that you’ll want to take note of before deciding to add GI sheet accents anywhere in your man cave bar is that it can be quite noisy when banged on or hit.
#8: Turn old barrels into seats
Are you the self-proclaimed King of Man Cave DIYs? Here’s a project that you might want to take on one of these days: barrel seats! Use actual old wine barrels if you have them.
Otherwise, you can do this DIY project on steel drums instead and turn them into either bar stools or love seats. You can even upholster them to make them feel more comfortable to sit on (because nobody wants their butts going numb from sitting on a hard surface for too long).
Barrel seats are great for both indoor and outdoor use, too!
Check out this video to see how an old wine barrel can be turned into a bar stool or this one to see how you can convert an old steel drum into extra seating for your rustic man cave bar.
Remember that you don’t have to do all of these changes to your man cave at once.
If you’re really on a tight budget, you can start with the least expensive ones first and work your way to completing the look later. Because rustic style focuses on what’s natural, casual, and manly, DIY projects are sure to fit into the aesthetics as well.