Tread Softly. You Tread on my Dreams.

Months in the planning and a weekend in the making. 7,500 hand placed one penny coins create a monumental kitchen floor; the flagship of all Mancave renovations to date. In celebration of the Royal Wedding, boosting the UK economy by holding currency out of circulation, and a tribute to W.B. Yeats

"But I, being poor, have only my dreams; 

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

The Multi Storey Mantle - For High Life Living

As fireplaces become increasingly less common in modern design, shelves and window sills have stepped in to replace the traditional mantelpiece. When one mantelpiece just isn't enough, a second sub-mantle creates extra display space and makes a natural distinction between anything on the 'top shelf'.

Pictured alongside Jeff the Dog, a Concept GT sketch from Bentley exterior designer Dom Najafi.

Armchair Golf - Par 5.1 from Sony

In keeping with my belief that AV technology should be heard and not seen, these ultra compact format 5.1 surround sound speakers from Sony measure in at just 4cm tall; the same size as a [square] golf ball.

And like golf balls in the rough, they can practically disappear from sight, allowing the magnificence of a well designed championship course mancave to take centre stage, and the roar of a crowd of hundreds to fill the atmosphere. Hiding the clubhouse sized amplifier [not pictured] is however another matter.

Allaire's [Pan Am] Cool Blades

I last mentioned Matti Walker's acrylic fan as a great example of a well designed alternative to Dyson's Air Multiplier (it's also now on sale for £50 at the Conran Shop). For those with a preference for something a little more traditional this summer, this 8" Allaire brushed nickel model does the job nicely.

It's cool and functional steel blades wouldn't look out of place with a Pan Am logo and wing flaps - which is just as well because this $99 beauty flew over to London from the Restoration Hardware store in Miami.

The Life Enhancing MoMa Pill

A cheap thrill at a couple of dollars, I picked up this pill box at the MoMa in New York. I like it's simple, iconic representation and thematic links to some of Damien Hirst's work.

Designer multi vitamins now have a suitably designer, go-anywhere tote, reminding you to stay pepped up daily. A great example of better living through every day design.

Caverne Pour Homme - by Demeter NY

Design is a discipline that is fundamentally multi sensory. It's not just about what we see. Texture, taste, audio and aroma are scientific factors that contribute to our perception of the environment we inhabit.

The scent of Mancave then, needs to be masculine, single origin and instantly recognisable. Demeter Fragrance Library NY bottles real world scents such as grass, pipe tobacco and 'thunderstorm' that are intensely complex and inexplicably addictive. Cologne for the home with a suitably premium price tag.

The FRIDGE: Gallery of Contempoary Art

One of the world's most influential gallery franchises, FRIDGE: has millions of international locations.

Exhibiting an eclectic and accessible range of frequently changing contemporary artwork, FRIDGE:Mancave is currently exhibiting the pictured work from Wallpaper* in collaboration with Tokyo Trawler's locally sourced magnetic sushi sculptures. Fridge's highly anticipated next opening promises to feature eggs, milk and cheese from British heavyweight J Sainsbury.

Mancave Turns 3 - Gains 2,000 Years

Today, marks three years to the day that contracts were exchanged and the Mancave officially came in to being. There have been many a purchase and renovation project along the way, but my favourite isn't a shiny new toy, but rather something a little less contemporary...

The pictured artifact is a pottery warrior head from the Chinese Han Dynasty. That makes it around 2,000 years old. It's remarkable to think of any object having such provenance, especially when it's not behind glass  in a museum. Sir David Tang would certainly approve. I think alongside plants and live animals, artifacts like these lend a very powerful 'anti-design' balance to overly constructed interiors.

Forever grateful to the friend and colleague who very generously gifted it to me.

Master of Ceremonies - A Toast to Toast

How man has advanced. From toasting toast on open flame, to toasting toast in a streamline steel temple of all that is good and holy with bacon and ketchup on a Saturday morning.

A toast then if you will, to the time when every fist toaster owner upgrades their toast to Dualit. Like the 'topping out' ceremony marking the intermediate completion of a building's structure, a kitchen's first Dualit toaster marks a coming of age. Unlike a topping out ceremony however, purchasing a Dualit is unlikely to appease the tree-dwelling spirits of displaced ancestors (unless they like bacon sandwiches).

Storm Shutters - For Storms [& Showers]

I don't know when or how the trend for interior shutters landed in the UK. Fantastically functional if you live on a Caribbean plantation, but perhaps stretching it when installed on trendy terraces in Clapham.

The sun is never strong enough in Britain and our windows tend to have glass in them; rendering interior plantation/storm shutters a bit of a pretence. Unless of course you invert the principle entirely. What if the storm was on the inside or you needed to shade the outside? Fully waterproof shutters have a natural (and functional) home in the shower. Made to order in 12 weeks by the California Company.

From the Desk of DesignTrawler.com

It makes sense that the work environment of DesignTrawler.com (or any entrepreneurial caveman) should be flawlessly designed, relentlessly practical and powerful enough to send shuttles in to orbit.

Enter desk of DesignTrawler.com - Smoked glass with 25 plywood veneers; based on Carlo Mollino's £7,050 Cavour writing desk. Coupled with a desktop-grade HP HD workhorse and panoramic Xerox+Matrox displays for some 300% more screen real-estate. This trawler's now ready for takeoff...

Ikea Flexes its Muscles - Be Afraid

The news that Ikea may be on the edge of a fundamental shift in it's design ethos started to circulate in the design press last week. It's pictured 1,000sq ft kitchen took Gold in the Toronto Interior Design Show and there's a reason designers are concerned.

Ikea is the quirky cousin of interior outfitting; they have a 'nice' design ethos and a produce affordable kit for students and newlyweds. But when the tolerated relative turns up with New York style machine cabinets, heavy duty accessories and wall mounted antlers; they're muscling in on Mancave territory.

Networked Digital Heating: Bluetooth. Green.

As cave-like as a traditional log fire may be, burning trees isn't the most convenient way of heating a room. The Mancave uses a wirelessly networked 'wet electric' system of energy efficient radiators. Linked via Bluetooth, each device can be pre-programmed to maintain a set room-temperature to within 0.1 degree for any given minute of the week.

Resembling a conventional steel design, the radiators are self contained and filled with a thermo-dynamic gel that retains heat in a more efficient way than clunky storage heaters. By only using the energy required and taking advantage of new wet electric tariffs, the system saves money and trees.

There's a Cow in my Hand Luggage!

Everyone knows the best steaks come from Argentina - or at least that's what restaurant chain Gaucho tells us. So when it came to finding a cowhide for the American black walnut flooring, I hopped on a plane to Buenos Aires to find the best.

I stumbled across a small warehouse in the wholesale leather district run by a old man called Carlos and his teenage son who did the translating. Carlos was up a ladder throwing down various hides and we found this beauty. Named in honour of the old man and flown back to the Mancave in my hand luggage.

Modernist steel coffee table frame found in Edinburgh. Restored in London with bespoke smoked glass.

Crashing the Secret World of Interiors

Every year at the NEC designers, retailers and architects gather to rub shoulders with over 600 manufacturers and suppliers from around the world. This year, DesignTrawler crashed the party.

Some amazing finds at Interiors 2011, but the biggest was discovering the trade prices for seriously high-end kit before seriously high-end retailers add on seriously high-end margins. Nonetheless some fantastic suppliers, some of whom, like Culinary Concepts (pictured), also retail direct to the public.