It’s 12 years and about 3 months since we put in the offer on our house. There were many features that we liked, including the garden, the proximity to the train station, the infant and junior schools just around the corner, and many more. When we were looking around it, we earmarked one particular room for my Man Cave. Similar to the Man Cave in our previous house, it would have many functions – it would house my computer, and all my musical kit, and would double as a spare bedroom when we had guests. However, this one also had the benefit that it did not share a wall with a neighbour, making it even better suited to musical uses.

However we soon realised that it was not really efficient use of space. Given that Karen worked a lot from home, it was crazy to have this room going unused all day while she had need for a desk. So we changed the plan a bit, and instead of buying a sofa bed for the Man Cave, we got a shelving unit and a filing cabinet and kept the desk that the previous owner left behind (and bought an Ikea Jerker for my computer).

As the years have passed, our needs have gradually evolved. In that first year Karen had a desktop computer, and so used the desk on a near-daily basis. In the 7th year we replaced it with a fairly bulky laptop, which made her a bit more mobile. Finally, this year, she traded up to a much more svelte laptop, and it reached the stage where she never actually sat down at the desk, preferring to use other rooms in the house for work.

We have therefore performed some furniture replacement and relocation to accommodate this new style of working, with the consequence that the room has now been restored to its early designation of Man Cave. Granted, it’s still in a bit of a transitional phase at the moment, but we’ll get to where we need to be. It’s quite exciting. I might even buy some more guitar wall hangers.