The creative man cave requires a space of its own, preferably as far away from other responsibilities as possible. The challenge is finding available space, and that can be difficult especially in urban environments.

The first option is a spare room– an empty bedroom, an office or even a walk-in closet that isn’t in use. If you can close the door and have enough room to relax, you can make this space work. Another frequent option is a basement, but this might require investing a bit more in construction materials.

Then there’s an empty spot in the garage. If you have a two or three car garage but only one or two vehicles, that extra space can be used to house your creative man cave. Like your basement, this requires that you furnish a space with wood, dry wall, electrical and otherwise.

The final and possibly most exciting option is to actually build out a space in your back yard. An existing shed can be cleaned out, restored and built into a nice creative cave, or a new building can be constructed to suit your needs.

Let’s assume that a spare room is not available, but you’ve determined that you can build a space in a corner of the basement, an empty garage space or a section of your back yard. Building a presentable space is not entirely difficult, and could be something to tackle on your own if you’re a handy individual.

Simple wooden frames, dry wall and paint could be all you need before calling an electrician to handle the technical stuff. Doors are a standard size, and videos online can guide you through the easy steps of construction. If you’re not comfortable with building out a few walls and tossing up some ceiling tiles, you can hire a local contractor to do the work for you.

It shouldn’t be a hard sell to your better half, as doing so can improve the value of your home and it should clear your creative clutter from the rest of the house.

If you decide that you want to move your man cave outside of the house, the back yard presents an exciting option. There’s a whole movement (and a book) of Shedworking for those who have built offices and living rooms out of the sheds in their back yard.

You can also build one to your own spec, buy a kit from a local hardware store or order a prefab unit to be delivered and installed for you. The cheapest option is to restore an existing shed, then to build one of your own and last, to buy a pricey but attractive prefab.

Chris Quinn | Elite.