Man cave showcases hunting gear and memorabilia
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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

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Photo By The Couture Closet

Kathleen Jacobson, The Couture Closet, designed a special room for a hunting enthusiast to display his gear. The project won honorable mention in the Specialty category in the 2023 Top Shelf Design Awards. Winners were announced on April 13 at a reception sponsored by CCF Industries during the Closets Conference & Expo, held in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Here’s how Jacobson describes the project:

Project Title: Texas Hunter's Man Cave

Project Details: Our Texas client, a hunting enthusiast, asked us to design a special room where he could display all his prize possessions and be a spot to gather with fellow hunters. In Texas, it's all about the deer season. We approached the project much like a closet. We took inventory of his collection, how he wanted it displayed, what went in drawers, etc. He wanted to store heavy ammunition and hunting gear in drawers and store his gun cases behind doors. He also wanted an area in his man cave to showcase personal memorabilia, a scotch collection and to house a TV, wine cooler, and under-counter refrigerated drawers. After visiting gun shops throughout North Texas and viewing hundreds of images online, we drew inspiration to start the design process. 

Projection Construction: Our cabinet team used African mahogany for this large gun room. We divided the 28-foot-long wall into seven boxes. The lower cabinets are 36 inches high and 24 inches deep for banks of drawers and two boxes with doors and adjustable shelves inside. We used heavy-duty glides that could support 800 pounds in several drawers. The upper cabinet is 14 inches deep to the 8-foot, 9-inch ceiling with crown molding. We designed a bespoke 4-inch face frame between our large boxes to give it a luxury look. The center box is designed slightly wider to add interest and hold long rifles mounted horizontally. 

To hold rifles mounted vertically, the cabinet shop provided notched supports top and bottom of several boxes. The homeowner also intends to display his collectible handguns in two of the boxes. Eco Domo supplied leather panels in denim blue for the back of the boxes. The client decided he wanted doors to keep dust away, so we added glass insert doors to all the boxes except the center section. All the boxes were lit vertically using Hafele Loox 5 LED and 45-degree channels. 

The room was wide enough to accommodate an island 80 inches long, 40 inches deep, and 36 inches high. One side of the island has two banks of drawers, eight total. We added custom-fitted leather tray inserts in blue leather for his collection of writing pens, knives, and other items. The other side of the island was cut out to mount additional shotguns upright in gun racks. Both ends of the island have a custom rack that pops up as needed to hold guns. We built 2-inch thick adjustable shelves for his entertainment section and a TV area in the middle. The lower cabinet includes doors with adjustable shelves inside, a wine cooler, and under-counter refrigerated drawers. The adjacent wall was finished out with mahogany panels, and rough-cut beams were added to the ceiling to feel like a hunting lodge.

Materials Used: *All bespoke woodwork made of African Mahogany *Inset style, raised panel doors *Eco Domo leather panels – Color – Denim *Eco Domo leather drawer inserts *Baltic birch used inside the drawers *Grass under-mount soft-closing full extension glides *Special heavy-duty glides for drawers that hold ammunition *Blum full overlay soft-close hinges *Hafele Loox 5 LED tape lighting and WAC 45-degree channels *Schaub brass hardware pulls *Glass inset into doors *Rough cut mahogany ceiling beams

Equipment Used: CAD Drawings were used for the conceptual design work for our clients. J & J Construction & Cabinetry field-measured and laser-leveled all walls & floors to begin fabrication. 
 

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About the author
Michaelle Bradford | Editor

Michaelle Bradford, CCI Media, is Editor of Closets & Organized Storage magazine and Woodworking Network editor. She has more than 20 years of experience covering the woodworking and design industry, including visits to custom cabinet shops, closet firms and design studios throughout North America. As Editor of Closets & Organized Storage magazine under the Woodworking Network brand, Michaelle’s responsibilities include writing, editing, and coordinating editorial content as well as managing annual design competitions like the Top Shelf Design Awards. She is also a contributor to FDMC and other Woodworking Network online and print media owned by CCI Media.