Looking for ways to craft a great space where you and the kids can relax and hide away from the real world for a few hours? Then put your own spin on the classic “man cave” and form a “Dad cave”, perfect for you to screen the big game with friends or hang out with your kids and create some great memories.
The modern dad works hard, and you deserve to kick your feet up every once in a while, whether that’s for some relaxing alone time or quality bonding time spent with your little ones. Whether you revamp your garage or a spare room in your home, incorporate these tips to create a safe and fun space for you and your family.
Sturdy Furniture
Rowdy kids are the equivalent of human wrecking balls, and you’ve likely seen the wear and tear that even the tiniest of humans can have on your living space. With this in mind, pick your furniture carefully.
Creating a dad cave perfect for you and the kids to hang out and relax means finding comfortable furniture that can take a beating or two from those rambunctious little guys (and possibly Dad, too). Preventing this damage means choosing the right medium, and all signs point towards leather.
With a classic masculine appeal and designer look, your kids can jump around as much as they want without your furniture turning into a sloppy mess within the first week. Check out the leather furniture sold here and get inspired to make your space look and feel great.
Consider Your Interests
It’s important to take your interests into account when crafting this space. A dad cave isn’t an extended playroom, it’s a space you can use both alone and with the kids. If you live your life with an emphasis on being active, you’ll want a space with workout equipment and room to be, well, active.
For the technology buff, it might mean an entertainment space with all the technology perfect for video game nights with the little ones or poker evenings with the guys. Designing your dad cave is all about creating a space in which you feel comfortable and can partake in your passions, and making sure you maintain a space that’s simultaneously safe and suited to your children.
Some Inspiring Art for Dad
Photo credit: Pinterest
Don’t leave your walls blank and lacking any sense of personality. If your kids are old enough to have started art projects in their class, buy some classic wooden frames or shadowboxes and turn their art into your décor inspiration.
Surrounding yourself with the gems your kids come up with is sure to inspire feelings of happiness and relaxation within your dad cave, and definitely give them a sense of pride when they see how much you appreciate their artwork.
If you don’t have any art to work with yet, plan a night with your children to pull out crayons, paints, and paper and tell your kids to create whatever they like, with the promise in place that you’ll hang up their creations in the new dad cave. Watching their eyes light up and sparking up their creativity is going to be well worth the effort and outfit your wall space in no time.
Books Galore
Are you a bibliophile? Do you spend your evenings pouring over your favourite books or reading to your little ones? Make sure you add the perfect bookshelf to your dad cave to reflect your literature passions and encourage a love of reading in your children.
Whether you build your own or buy a bookshelf from a company like The Container Store, make sure you outfit your shelves with your favourite books and decorative pieces (non-fragile) that will bring a bit more personality to your cave.
Gone are the days of the man cave, and in its place is the dad cave, the perfect place for busy dads to relax with their kids at the end of a long day of rest after a busy week of dad duties. Incorporate your children into your design and form a room in your house dedicated to the best role you’ll ever have in this lifetime—your child’s Dad.
