Lifelong football fan Lorenzo Jimenez dreamed of his ultimate man cave before he finally had the space to build it three years ago. After he and his wife bought their Denver home, it was his wife that pushed him to add a DIY man cave in their basement.

“I always had a vision of how I wanted my own man cave to be,”; he said. “It’s a place where I can sit down and watch my team play and enjoy the game. For those three-and-a-half hours, I’m free to just enjoy and cheer for my team either by myself or with my family.”;

Thanks to help from an affordable contractor, he built insulated walls, added lighting and filled the comfortable room with bright orange and blue furnishings that would make any Denver Broncos fan envious.

If you have the space for the ultimate man cave and need some tried-and-true tips from real men with extravagant rooms, keep reading to see what you’ll need to make a cheer-worthy DIY man cave no matter what your hobby.

Choose a Theme for Your DIY Man Cave

Jimenez knew from the start that he was going to pay tribute to his favorite NFL team with his new man cave. Once his orange walls were up and blue carpet was laid, he took his time planning out the football-themed décor to get it just right.

“If you have a space that’s ready to go, take your time decorating and be patient,”; he said. “When I started doing mine, it took a month and half. Don’t rush into it, or you’ll mess up.”;

But don’t feel like you need one theme or one team for your space. When Michael Silverstein moved into his rental home in Orange, Calif., he found himself with a two-car garage that he decided to dedicate to some of his favorite things in life: movies, comics and sports.

“If I like it, it goes into man cave,”; he said. “But if you have a theme, stick to it and make it 'Feng shui.’ Everything should flow as you look around the man cave. I have my Marvel stuff on one wall, Star Wars on another wall, and sports on the third wall.”;

Invest in Man Cave Furnishings You’ll Want to Show Off

After he added his childhood collection to his man cave, Jimenez then easily spent thousands of dollars on autographed memorabilia and life-size versions of his favorite Broncos players.

“I’ve been collecting since I was 16 years old, so I already had a lot of stuff,”; he said. “I framed my Super Bowl 50 signed Von Miller jersey. Not a lot of people think about doing things like that.”;

Jimenez’s man cave is family-friendly, so he invested in comfortable furniture to watch the games, side-by-side with his son in matching jerseys.

“He can sit and watch a little bit with me, but he’ll end up watching his cartoons, eventually, in his room,”; he said.

He said his collection of furnishings is what brings the room to life.

“Even though I’m not (at the game), I feel like I am.”;

Silverstein’s man cave is filled with secondhand furniture, so it can get dirty without worry in his garage. Instead, he spent that saved money on show-worthy memorabilia, like his Chicago Blackhawks autographed line-up photo.

“If you plan to get loud and rowdy in your man cave, it’s best not to have expensive furniture,”; he said. “But you should invest money on decorations. I hang everything I want to show off. It’s like my trophy room.”;

Add Entertaining Amenities into the Man Cave

Of course the most important amenity in Jimenez’s man cave is the TV with cable access to catch Broncos games every season. He installed a 60-inch flat screen that he also enjoys during the off-season.

“We watch movies from time-to-time, or I’ll watch regular TV when my wife is watching the TV upstairs,”; he said.

He also installed a Broncos-branded bar to keep refreshments and junk food flowing for friends.

To entertain his guests, Silverstein has a pool table, dart board, keg, stereo system and multiple video game consoles attached to a TV in his man cave.

“When you go into the man cave, you don’t want to look around for five minutes and then get bored and go back to the house,”; he said. “You want to hang out there and enjoy it.”;

But he warns other man cave builders: Don’t add TOO much stuff if you don’t have the space.

“Make sure you have enough room for the amount of people you want to host,”; he said. “If I only had a one-car garage, I wouldn’t have a man cave at all.”;

And both guys agree, remember to enjoy making your DIY man cave.

“Have fun with it!”; said Jimenez.

Photos courtesy of Lorenzo Jimenez..