A man's cave is his castle -Nashville, Tennessee -Friday, 01/19/07 -Tennessean.com

 

Friday, 01/19/07

A man's cave is his castle

Males hang out, bond in converted garages and game rooms

By MITCHELL KLINE

Staff Writer

FRANKLIN — The garage door was up. The grill outside was smoking. The Man Cave in Franklin's Chestnut Bend subdivision was officially open. It's become a gathering point for men in the neighborhood to toss back a few beers, watch football and swap stories over a game of pool. "If you pull in the neighborhood and ask anyone where the Man Cave is … if they don't know, they've probably heard of it," said Tim Repass, proud owner of the garage that has been transformed into an homage to sports. The name Man Cave came from a Wall Street Journal article Repass read about more and more retailers selling items to go in men's rooms. He said the garage door opening and the room's location under the rest of the house gave it a cave-like feel. "Maybe every guy needs a space he can call his own, or do his thing," said James Edwards, an architect in Belle Meade who has a cowboy-themed room above his garage.

Middle Tennessee real estate agent Denise Delozier said these manly domains are becoming more of a factor in home sales. She said homebuyers don't always ask for a man cave, but it's definitely a perk. "You can definitely see the man's eyes light up when he sees there's a man room

Friends flock to Tim Repass' Man Cave in Franklin when the chili pepper lights are on and the garage door is open, he says.  

In Franklin, Repass said he'd been in his house six months when his wife, Andrea, gave him "decorating authority" and told him he could do anything to the garage that he wanted.

"Within reason," he said. "I wanted to do a sports theme. It couldn't be anything cheesecake. No Maxim magazine."

The house is near the subdivision's swimming pool and is a short walk from Franklin High School's football stadium. As Repass began meeting men in the neighborhood, they began stopping by.

"It became an easy place to hang out," Repass said. "A lot of men would come and hang out at night, especially after the kids went to bed."

Repass, branch manager of a mortgage company, compiled an e-mail list to announce gatherings at the Man Cave. As more men found the place, the list became a way for neighbors to share ideas and information. The list has grown to more than 100 people.

Men started bringing pictures to help Repass decorate the Man Cave. Then, in typical one- better fashion, man cavers started donating autographed memorabilia. Rocco Panaia took this a step further by getting baseball player Gregg Olson, the 1989 American League Rookie of the Year, to sign a picture, "To the Man Cave."

Repass came up with a membership ranking system based on the quality of donations. He turned to mafia movies for inspiration.

"If you were on the e-mail list, you were a 'wise guy'," Repass said. "This is someone who would fetch a 'made man' a beer. If you donated a picture, you were a 'made man'. If the donation was autographed or deemed of higher quality, you were a 'captain'. But if you brought something autographed 'To the Man Cave', you obtain the coveted 'godfather' status."

The group, now collectively called Man Cave, used strength in numbers to get a discount on lawn irrigation systems. There were 28 members who bought irrigation systems from the same company, saving as much as 30% off the normal cost, according to Repass.

"This prompted me to leverage the love of the Man Cave to join forces to do good," Repass said.

Cavers do good deeds In the spring of 2006, the Repass man cavers collected DVDs for troops in Iraq. That summer, through a golf tournament, the Man Cave helped raise $710 for the Williamson County Special Olympics.

The cavers collected more DVDs, books, phone cards and silly string to send to the 324th Military Police Battalion stationed in Baghdad, Iraq.

The Man Cave isn't restricted to men, Repass said. "Women and children are welcome, even encouraged to come," he said. "They just don't have decorating authority."

Teri Anderson said her family had been planning its vacations around Man Cave events because she doesn't want her husband, Stewart, to miss out on the fun.

"I think it's a great place for the guys to relax and fellowship," she said. "It's like having a little club in the safe, wholesome confines of our neighborhood. I'd rather have him here than at a bar because I know all the people here and they are doing good things."

Anderson said she was glad Repass includes wives on the e-mail list, "so we know there's nothing to worry about." The cavers remind Andrea Repass of "fraternity boys" when they get together. She frequently hangs out with the fellas in the Man Cave but says she also likes it when her husband is in the cave and she has the rest of the house to herself. Idea influences others. Jon Miniot and Dan Reeves, who live in Franklin's Forrest Crossing subdivision, have plans to start a man cave in their neighborhood. "We didn't know anything about the Man Cave until we went to the golf tournament," Miniot said. "The coolest thing is how they've started this social club but give back to the community."

Reeves already has a name picked out, but the men are still working on a location. "We're going to call it the Man Hole," Reeves said. Elsewhere in the Midstate, independently of the Franklin cave, men have developed their own hideaways and hangouts. Some are social places like Repass'. Others are more private, such as Greg VanDette's in Columbia. VanDette said he and his wife looked exclusively for homes with an extra room that he could turn into his own office/recording studio/entertainment room. VanDette's room is away from his master bedroom.

"So I can turn things up pretty loud and not bother the wife," VanDette said. "She goes to bed pretty early. I can stay up a little later and get my personal time where I'm not a husband, father or employee.

"I don't have to worry about answering any questions. I can crank the guitar up and be a rock star and not worry about anything else. I feel like when I shut the door, I'm isolated from all the frustrations of being a dad and husband," he said.