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Snoop Dogg, Adam Carrola, Jimmie Johnson: Man Caves of the Rich and Famous

FoxNews.com — 2012-08-31T15:10:00 00:00

By Adam Verwymeren

Man caves -- the last bastion of peace for the modern man. A refuge from a domestic empire of throw pillows, stemware and floral arrangements. After a long, hard day's work, there's nothing better than crawling down into the cave to flip on the game and throw back a few cold ones.

Of course, man caves aren't just for regular joes. Rich and famous men also love having a little grotto devoted to manly pursuits. Here are some of the man caves of the rich and famous, and some lessons you can learn to transform your own cave.

Snoop Dogg

Rapper, family man, and man cave lover, Snoop Dogg (who has, of course, just changed his name to the more manly, "Snoop Lion") has one seriously pimped out room to call his own. Looking to escape the stress of modern celebrity, the Long Beach, Calif., native had the DIY Network build him a custom cave where he could play video games and watch sports in peace (video above). For a comfortable place to kick back, there's a sheared-off trunk of a vintage Cadillac, which has been repurposed as a couch, giving the room a bit of retro-cool flair.

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Windowless and ringed with security cameras, Snoop's man cave is built to keep celebrity seekers, and uninvited family members, from busting in on his off-time. The cave even has a direct line to Denny's to satisfy any late night snack cravings without ever having to step outside.

Takeaway for your own man cave: For lovers of classic cars, a couch fashioned from the classic fins of a vintage Caddy is a nice touch. For your own man cave, try heading over to the local junk yard or scouring the Internet for some classic auto parts -- a grill, headlights, or bench seats -- to adorn your walls and furnish the place.

Adam Carolla

Funnyman Adam Carolla (pictured at left) co-hosted "The Man Show" for six years, so you'd better believe that he knows a thing or two about man caves. While his epic mansion sports an eight-car garage to house his collection of classic race cars, Carolla's basement man cave (pictured above) is a much more subdued affair. With a bar, a jukebox, bench seating and a pool table, the room looks more like a quaint local pub than an over-the-top celebrity man cave. And, of course, that's a big part of the appeal of the man cave. Sure you want to impress your friends, but mostly you want them to be comfortable when they come over to knock a few back.

Takeaway for your own man cave: Playing cards and coasters adorn the ceiling of Carolla's cave. If you're looking for a nice, affordable way to decorate the space while declaring your allegiance to your favorite brews, all you need is a bit of glue and a stack of coasters from your local bar.

Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR driver and fantastic son Jimmie Johnson (pictured at right) built a man cave for his dad as a Father's Day gift. Decked out in racing memorabilia, a custom pool table clad in stainless steel takes center stage in the room. And while it also features a granite-topped bar and 3D television, the cave maintains its credibility as a functioning garage. A hydraulic lift allows the elder Johnson, a motorcycle enthusiast, to tuck away his Victory bike when it's not in use.

Takeaway for your own man cave: The pit stop-inspired cabinets are just repurposed tool chests, the perfect way for race fans to keep things organized in their own man caves. And the cave's black and white checkered floor recalls a racing flag, a nice way to make you feel like you're at the track when you're kicking back at home.

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
See celebrity real estate.

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How to Make a Small Home Feel Bigger

FoxNews.com — 2012-08-21T12:30:00 00:00

By Adam Verwymeren

Big city life comes with certain advantages, but the big money required for a spacious home isn't one of them. If you're a cramped city dweller who always seems to be running out of room, here are some innovative solutions to make your place seem more spacious.

Hunting for Extra Storage Space

You probably have more storage room than you think. Wasted space abounds in even the most cramped homes, and the key is to start using this space better. One clever company came up with the idea of transforming a staircase into a set of drawers, allowing something functional in the home to do double duty as a storage space.

By using vacuum compression bags, you can significantly shrink fluffy items like extra pillows, towels and clothes, and then stash them below a bed or sofa, taking advantage of low-lying space that often goes unused.

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Once you've exhausted all your storage space down below, it's time to look up. With a few plastic crates and a simple frame system, you can create a DIY overhead storage space, a perfect solution for the perpetually cluttered garage.

A Modern Murphy Bed

Murphy beds went out of style around the same time as doing the Charleston, which is too bad, because a fold-up bed that tucks away into the wall is a great way save some room. Modern Murphy bed makers are trying to bring back these old fashioned space savers with stylish new designs. While it might be too much of a hassle for some people to fold up their bed every morning, a Murphy bed is a great way to use your home office or living room as a guest room.

Cutting Kitchen Clutter

By using more of your vertical space you can make your kitchen seem more spacious. A hanging pot-and-pan rack allows you to move bulky cookware out of your cupboards, while keeping it conveniently at the ready for when you need it. Similarly, a magnetic knife strip can free up a little bit of drawer space by putting your walls to work for you.

Movable kitchen islands and folding tables are also great ways to expand counter space when needed, and then can be stowed away neatly when you're finished.

While Entertaining

Maybe you have enough space for yourself, but when guests show up things start to feel cramped. With a set of nested end tables, like CB2's Lucent tables, your party guests will always have a place to rest their drinks. When the party is over, the tables stack together after the guests all go home.

If you're always running out of space during dinner parties, consider a convertible coffee table. When it's time to eat, these transforming tables shed their low-slung profile, popping up to become a full-size dinner table.

The Not-So-Great Outdoors

If you've always longed for a verdant growing garden, but are stuck with a small patch of concrete, worry not; there are ways to get greenery growing in just about any space.

The Woolly Pocket is an innovative gardening solution that allows you to hang a garden off a fence or even the side of a wall. The Pocket's synthetic fiber felt wicks water down to the roots, and is waterproof enough that you can hang one indoors if you want.

Another option is a set of stacking planters. These multi-tiered flower boxes allow you to build a towering garden. Each layer is offset, allowing plants to poke through while giving the roots plants of space to grow down below.

This story was originally published on FoxNews.com.

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More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
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How Your Smartphone Can Find Your Dream Home

FoxNews.com — 2012-08-03T11:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News,How To

By Adam Verwymeren

Buying a house, particularly if it is your first, can be a daunting task. Between finding the perfect place, securing financing and moving in, it can seem like there are a ton of steps standing between you and your dream home.

But, fortunately, technology has made the process of finding a home a whole lot easier. Your smartphone is probably your single best tool as you hunt for a new place to live, and a few apps can make all the difference between finding a new house and coming up empty. Here are some of the top apps for homebuyers.

What's On the Market

Before you hit the streets in the great hunt for your dream home, quickly scan what's out there first on your phone. Apps from Realtor.com, Trulia, and Zillow are invaluable resources, compiling thousands of listings and putting all the homes in your town at your fingertips. While digital house listings are nothing new, being able to keep track of them on your phone will ensure that you don't miss a potential bargain as you bounce from open house to open house all weekend long.

Check Out the Neighborhood

If your house hunt has led you to unfamiliar parts of town, fear not. CrimeMapping's app will allow you to quickly scope out the neighborhood with the most recent crime stats, so you don't have to wonder whether that dream home is located in a nightmare neighborhood. For an even more thorough lowdown on your chosen neighborhood, get the EveryBlock app, which, in addition to crime stats, also gives you local news, restaurant reviews, events and a ton of other great data about what's going on around you on a block-by-block basis.

Get Your Finances in Order

Mortgage calculators are a dime a dozen. And while these apps can give you a quick quote on how much a home will cost you in the long run, they do little to put that figure into perspective. Buying a home is the single largest purchase you'll ever make, radically reordering your finances. To make sure you're not getting in over your head, check out Mint's financial app (Android/iOS). It's a full suite of financial tools, helping you manage your mortgage, along with student loans, credit card payments, investments and incidentals. The app's genius is its simplicity. Enter a bit of banking information and the app starts tracking all your purchases and expenses, giving you a big picture idea of where you money is going.

Before You Move In

Love the home that you just looked at but are unsure if all of your furniture will fit? The Home 3D app can help you visualize every room in a house, allowing you to move in your virtual furniture before you've even made an offer. While the app is a great way to figure out how to design and decorate a room, you can also use it to visualize major renovation projects should you set your sights on a fixer-upper.

Get to Know Your Neighbors

Once you've moved in, it's time to get settled and meet the neighbors. But getting involved in a community can be a bit daunting when you are new and don't know anyone. NextDoor.com looks to solve this problem by creating social networks based on your location. Before you know it, you'll know all your neighbors by name and they'll be inviting you over for a welcoming barbecue.

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More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
Find homes for rent in your area.

Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate, or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook and Pinterest.

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