So you might have a green thumb when it comes to gardening (or when you take on the persona of Hulk from Avengers: Age of Ultron) but do you also have a green home? Here are ways to make your man cave more eco-friendly. Using the tips we share here, you can reduce energy consumption, save costs on your next power bill, and more. Saving moolah is always in style. Don’t worry, you don’t have to go as far as sleeping with the worms.
1. Seating Just Got Friendlier
An eco-friendly sofa is a must-have for this type of lair. Unfortunately, a lot of furniture is made with materials that contribute to global warming. When you go the green route, you embrace furniture made with non-toxic glues and natural fabrics, such as cotton, linen, or hemp.
Check out this retro Montego Latte Pennyback Sofa from Overstock. We imagine it on the Mad Men set. It’s eco-friendly, made of recycled steel springs, sustainably harvested hardwood and has soy-based cushioning.
Plus, this sofa fits well into a small den with its armless style that keeps it from looking oversized.
2. Let Your Light Shine Green
Energy-efficient lighting is perfect for your lair. Your light source doesn’t have to drain your power bill. You can lower your carbon footprint too.
Don’t feel guilty every time you turn on a light switch anymore when you get Bulbrite Halogen 53W A19 bulbs (2 pack) in clear or soft white. They are energy savers and fully dimmable.
These babies are equal to a 75W incandescent bulb yet are only 53W. Each bulb lasts about 1,000 hours. Cha-ching, savings! Need more reasons to get these bulbs? Check out the Lighting Facts to the left.
3. Reclaim The Table & Your Inner DIY Guy
How to Make a Reclaimed Wood Table
- You will need 3 pieces of reclaimed wood. A good size for each piece is 3″x10″x5′. The lumber shop might cut down a single big piece into these measurements if you
begask them nicely. - Other supplies you require: wood glue, tenons or biscuits, table legs, hammer, circular saw. mortise, rubber mallet, drill, and sander.
- The wood will likely come to you dirty, so clean it first. Remove nails and other random metal on the wood. Use a sander to remove sh*t from the wood’s exterior.
- Cut wood corners to 90-degree angles.
- Use a Domino to cut mortises and then glue them into place with tenons. About 25 mortises should suffice.
- See this awesome guide for the remaining steps to create your table.
4. Win-Win Walls
Have you heard of wood wool? That’s what the tiles shown here are made of; the wood fibers are mixed with cement and water. BOOM, you’ve got sustainable wall art!
The hexagon-shaped tiles come in a range of colors and you can put them into any pattern you want on the wall. Bonus: These tiles enhance the lair’s acoustics. Yup. Uh huh. That’s because they have sound-absorbing properties. Functional AND eco-friendly. Hey, that’s win-win in our books.
Want to go with cork instead? We don’t blame you. Heck, we did a whole post on cork. Put up modern, textured cork wallpaper instead. It’s organic and manly; what more do you want? We like how it adds impact to the room, without being overbearing at all (unlike the mother-in-law).
5. More Eco-Friendly Decor Tips
Add even more environmental goodness to your lair by picking up furniture from local flea markets. Also, put some beer cap coasters on your table so your drinks won’t leave marks on the surface you worked so hard to put together.
Add plants that will help purify the air (dang, you’re rank some days). Leading air-filtering plants include the Boston Fern and Chinese Evergreen.
Reduce your footprint with the eco-friendly man cave. Between your reclaimed wood table, environmental sofa, organic wallpaper, and energy-efficient lights, you’re good to go! Yes, you one eco-responsible dude, and here nobody thought you’d make much of your life. Take that, dad! Now you have money to spare for movies, trips to Hooters, and earplugs for when you tell the ol’ lady where you’ve been…
