Have you heard of man space? We all have personal space (and need it) and when someone violates the unspoken rule of ‘not invading someone’s personal space’ we tend to feel strong emotions about it. We expect people to adhere to these unwritten rules because they go along with our perception of protection and safety in our environment, right?
While you and your spouse may not need to follow unspoken rules to feel protected or safe you still expect one another to respect your personal space. Women tend to be the interior decorators in the home and like to have everything just so (matching and coordinating EVERYTHING and worrying about how it all looks), causing some men to long for Man Space.
What is Man Space and why is it necessary, you ask? It’s a place where your man doesn’t need to worry about anyone else’s needs, but his own. He can mix and match old college furniture, his favorite childhood bean bag and have a huge TV with ugly speakers and not have to worry about what you think about it. He can play video games, watch the movies HE wants to watch, not clean-up after himself immediately upon finishing a snack or scratch his butt (if he wants to) without worrying about offending anyone!
Some of the most common places to create Man Space are a garage, a basement, or even a shed in the backyard. Believe it or not some couples are actually basing their home-buying decision on whether or not there’s enough room to create Man Space. They are even making some eye-popping changes to create the ideal man cave such as; sports themed rooms, putting in a bar and pool table as well as in-home theatre and surround-sound systems! So, you’re thinking “how does having Man Space for my husband help me,” right?!
Here are a couple reasons why allocating space specifically for your man is a great idea—for BOTH of you.
Keeps him at home not at the bar: You don’t really want him lounging around at the local bar all the time, do you? He can enjoy himself just as much with a beer in-hand in his new man cave!
Guys night at your house, rather than at that single friend’s house you’re not so sure you trust: Think about it…if your man has his own room where his buddies can come over and enjoy watching sports while downing a few brews they won’t be bugging your husband to go out on the town so often.
No arguments over what to watch on TV or him making a mess of the room you JUST cleaned: Lets face it, you like to watch Oprah, or Lifetime (what my husband refers to as “the man hater channel”) or What Not to Wear and he wants to watch Sports Center, Law & Order and the big game. You see how creating a space just for him will allow for each of you to enjoy some ME time indulging in your favorite guilty pleasures?!
He needs to catch up on work emails and you just want to exercise and listen to music: Cyndi Lauper was onto something with “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” If your husband has a room where he can handle his business and you can blare music and dance around the house without bothering him, isn’t it worth it?!
When you started reading this post you might have been thinking, “Why do men need a room solely for them?” What are you thinking now? We’d love for you to share your thoughts and stories on Man Space, and why it’s necessary for the both of you, so leave a comment below!