Being home with a toddler and no car for some time can take a toll. You get antsy after a while.

I mean, sure, I have my writing to work on, cleaning and laundry to tend to, not to mention the toddler who demands attention, but still, it’s not quite enough.

Recently, I decided that I would take on some projects around the house to fill the gaps. The sort of projects in my head tend towards the pricey, so I had to find a way to accomplish something without too much in the way of spending.

And so the man cave project was born.

We live in a three bedroom home, the Master, the little man’s room, and third room that has been an office of sorts.

It was a rather sad room. A desk, a small bookcase, and junk. You see, being the one room in the house that was used least, I took to tossing things in there that didn’t have a home. As a result, the room, even when neat, looked a bit disheveled. It was a repository for the no longer useful; a sad place to spend time.

Using a little paint, imagination, and cheap craigslist furniture, I decided to transform it into a proper man cave. A place where the hubs could lounge and enjoy his movies and video games, or work on our finances and troubleshoot technical issues.

The first step was to get rid of the junk that we weren’t using (fight the pack rat!). Did you know in most areas there are charitable organizations that will pick up items from your doorstep? Between that and a curb alert* or two on craigslist, I was able to clear out the undesirables in no time.

This includes what was in the closet. Sweaters, coats and some random old items that had to be sorted. Having a spare room closet has always been nice, but in reality, it was nice because it allowed us to hold on to junk we weren’t using.

Once the junk was clear, off came the closet shelves and doors.

Once the closet was emptied out, I painted the inside a very dark blue (“Sorcerer” to be exact). A cheap table was acquired from craigslist, and I painted the body of it the same color and slid it into the now empty and doorless closet.

The walls, once stark white and ocean blue to match some Mykonos inspired paintings on the wall were changed to an off white with a very green accent wall. Paint isn’t terribly expensive for a small room, so the paint made a huge difference on a tight budget.

Once we painted, two more craigslist finds were added to the room: a pristine black couch, and an $8 end table that was ready with a little sanding and tung oil.

Some unfinished wood, some screws, and leftover green paint served as new shelving for the sides of the now open closet.

What do these simple changes translate into?

For those of you wondering about the art on the wall, I found a French graphic artist who sold me digital high-res copies of some original Dr. Who inspired prints he created. They were only a few dollars each. I then had them printed and put them in dollar store frames. The walls need more, but for now, these will do just fine.

My favorite part of the project? A very small detail. Custom geeky coasters, of course.

Now, instead of a depressing junk room, we have a fully functional man cave. (He is pleased.)

What budget projects have you taken on recently?

*Craigslist curb alerts kinda give me the heebie-jeebies. There are several empty houses in our neighborhood, so I always use the curb of one of the empties so I’m not giving out my address.