apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Yeah, that's pretty much the Ultimate!

I think I just had an orgasm.

the lonely island comes to mind when looking at this.

I think I just had two.

Really great job Scott!

@chester shoeshine - i dismiss the whole man cave thing as well b/c its utterly gender biased and therefore offensive. its as if the man has to retreat to a sacred space and a woman doesn't have those needs and can rest easy in the other "shared" spaces of the home...

my husband and i are house hunting and we're hoping for a place with a detached garage (not hard to find in LA) so that it can house all of his instruments and can be used to give lessons and for us to jam out every now and again...when we mentioned this someone said "so you're looking for a man cave?" and we were both like "hell no" we're looking for a separate space for him to do his work and i will have a space to do mine...it just so happens that his work is a lot noisier than mine....ugh, man cave!

@meelahj

Then your not looking for a 'Man Cave' your looking for a shared space or chill out room. A man cave is a place where a man goes to do his thing. Every man should have one, its usually the garden shed in the UK. I have a converted garage, my wife wants something similar, Girl Cave? Though her requirements are slightly different.

I am openly crying. That's amazing.

Too over the top, sorry, gross.

I'm most decidedly female and I want that as my retreat.

Can't believe I put your instead of you're, anyways, forwarded the article to my wife asking why I couldn't have a room like this, her reply:

"Wow ... me too ... well, the bit with the cinema ... :o)"

It's very over-the-top. If I had the resources and space, I would love to have a media room/office space. I hate the clutter of DVDs/CDs and much prefer some type of digital media storage like a RAID-1 server with CDs converted to FLAC and DVDs to mp4 format.

I would love to know the brand and types of equipment running in the background.

I don't understand why the HT has such a small screen (what a wasted opportunity) but I am glad to finally see unplugged praise a HT for its function rather than its looks (which all too often cancel out function).

I agree...the tv is too small. Other than that, I suppose this is close to some guys' idea of paradise. I would prefer a library with large windows looking out on trees. Would a door to a seraglio be too much too ask? OK, that's out...*sigh*

It is amazing as a space, but I also find the whole man cave thing to be just a load of crap.
I'm a woman, and I would love a room filled with movies, music, electronics, a computer and the like. So I guess in my house that means we would have to have 2 identical man/ woman caves in which to watch movies, listen to music and so on and we could each do so alone.
If want to chill out and do my thing I usually walk into another room. Ta dah.

Well, he breaks the other stereotype, as described in Defending the Caveman (which you should see, if you haven't already). So organized, to say the least. (Does he consult? Fee?) Glad he has the time to look at/listen to all that media. If it's his passion, it's really amazing--well done.

But hold that thought about women needing their space, too. Especially introverts. Knitting and crafting doesn't define the need (well, for me, maybe). We could all use a little time and space to think, ponder, reflect. The shrine of technology might not be all that healthy if unopposed by some real, nature human downtime. This looks like a space that is attached to a real home, though.

We all need our Walden Pond.

Looks like a Girl Cave to me with all that media & technology! I LOVE it!!!

I think Virginia Woolf gets the credit for the original idea, for women and men.

@meelahj
Now my mother always had the plush tearoom or parlor where us boys did not dare go, as well as, the sewing room. These 2 rooms were filled with lace curtains, Victorian looking antiques, and heirlooms that a) no one was allowed to touch or sit on and b) would look so out of place with the rest of the house. This was where my mother would conk out on the Chaise lounge for hours with her romance novels and did her quilting. We had to knock and wait if we needed her. I am not trying to say this is what every woman would want out of a woman cave, but this is exactly what she wanted at the time.

My dad had the garage. All outside no air conditioning in Texas. Men have always had the garage and everyone uses it. I even remember stories of my grandfather briefly living in the garage when he and my grandmother would bicker.

It wasn't until much later when there was an addition on the back of the house, it became my dad's early man cave. Which was basically a safe oversized storage closet for his huge collection of rifles, shotguns, and John Wayne memorabilia. The dogs were also allowed to come in there during a tornado warning.

Hello all... Scott A. Pope here. It was interesting to read everyone's opinions above, I appreciate them all (positive and negative). I have made some upgrades since these pics were taken. I have a new 106" screen and new 1080p projector. Also added a new PS3 and a new sound processor and ran HDMI to the projector. The media room has new paint with some color sceme changes and some other minor stuff.

Anyway, thanks for the publicity! If anyone has any questions just fire away and I will happily respond.

For the record... the official name for the two rooms is: The Pope Audio/Video Extravaganza. Seemed fun.

Scott

Oh, just noticed something else... I have added three Drobo units to house my digital music/movie/music video collection. The main iMac system utilizes two Drobos at 4TB each, one for media and the other for Time Machine (full system redundant back-up). The third Drobo is linked to my MacBook Pro station, also for back-up duties. I currently have in excess of 30,000 digital tracks (all available over the theater system via wireless technology). No idea how many movies and music videos... a lot though.

Scott

Dang, I see something else missing! My MacBook Pro station now has a dedicated Peachtree Audio Decco hybrid tube amp at 50 watts per channel driving a pair of Monitor Audio RS-1's. The sound is amazing from the MBP!!!!!!!!!! The same 30k songs are on that system also, I sync once a week.

Updated photos here... http://gallery.mac.com/sirpopealot#100652

Again, I appreciate all of the input.

Scott

Sexy electronic hotness. And I'm a woman.

(The "mancave" thing irks me though... it sounds like they have odd, primitive needs)