Guys' Rooms

"This place has been what I've wanted all my life--a place where I could hide away; where I could work with my hands, not my head; where I could play with the cars that I love extremely."

Al Pincus's ultimate room began as a dilapidated barn, approximately 30,000 square feet in size. He transformed part of the space into a well-appointed garage where he works on and restores his classic car collection (he currently has 16 different models and is on the lookout for a '57 Studebaker Golden Hawk).

Instead of slapping up sheetrock inside the entire 6,500-square-foot garage, Pincus strived to keep some original elements of the barn, including its mortar foundation and pegged header beams. The dirt floor was replaced with a new concrete one, of course, and a heating and air conditioning system was installed for year-round comfort.

Besides plenty of floor space for the cars, the garage also includes a workshop that features polishing equipment, cutting equipment and an endless number of car manuals. Also, tucked in a corner, is a World War II "museum" that holds an impressive collection of artifacts from Pincus's naval career.

Al's Insider Advice:

• When restoring an old barn or building, try not to change or alter the foundation. You could run into big problems, says Pincus. He should know: he's a semi-retired zoning lawyer.
• If the building is solid and in good shape, keep as much of it intact as possible. Strategic sandblasting, Pincus found, can reveal great stonework that adds to the aesthetics of the place.
• Here's a recycling idea: Pincus created a new slanted roof for the old barn and guided leaders and gutters off the roof into a nearby pond. When it rains, the pond fills with fresh water.

Boys of Summer Basement
Designed by Curt Schilling

"Guys like to see stuff. That's what it is--it's about stuff!...I've never sold a piece. I never will sell a piece. This stuff will go to my son and my families."

Curt Schilling is one of the classic boys of summer. From his many years as the ace pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies to his current duty as the star right-hander for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Schilling personifies baseball.

The recreation room in his Pennsylvania home is no different. There he has pictures; autographed bats, shoes, caps and jerseys; World Series game balls--and each item has a story behind it.

Schilling has achieved a great deal in his career, including holding the National League single season record for strikeouts with 319, but creating his own personal tribute to baseball has been one of his most satisfying accomplishments.

Basement Brew Pub
Designed by Vince Masciandaro

"It's like going to the corner bar, but in your own house....The guys, they all like coming down here. It's a fun place."

Civil engineer Vince Masciandaro is just an average guy...with an above-average desire to create his own personal brew pub. A home-brewer and beer aficionado, Masciandaro transformed an unfinished basement into a private pub that includes a 4' x 8' pool table, a built-in fish tank, a dartboard and an inviting sitting area. Regular drywall painted white keeps the windowless area bright, and a small refrigerator and hot and cold running water make the bar area fully functional. A custom-made cold box houses kegs of home brew at just the right serving temperature.

Built on nights and weekends over a period of six months, the brew pub is now a favorite hangout for friends and family who just want to relax and have some fun .

Vince's Insider Advice:

• Enlist the help of family and friends when designing and building your guy's room .
• Don't try to build the bar from scratch; use a set of plans to avoid making mistakes .
• If you are not experienced in finishing drywall, call in the professionals to do the spackling and sanding.

Home Recording Studio
Designed by Marc Gallo

"There've been many times I've been out here full-blown weekends, really all by myself. There's no windows in this place, so you lose all total sense of time and what's night and day."

Marc Gallo loves his music. He loves it so much, he had a detached garage converted to a private recording studio. The musician, composer and amateur carpenter built the entire room himself with some help from an acoustical engineer, who incorporated the ideal characteristics for a well-balanced audio room. Special detached, splayed walls ensure that sound is contained in the garage space, and angled ductwork from the heating and cooling system outside keeps fan noise to a minimum inside the studio .

From planning to completion, this guy's room took two years to build and cost more than expected too. "I believed that I was going to be able to do this facility for between fifteen and twenty thousand dollars," says Gallo, "and it ended up costing well over sixty grand."

Marc's Insider Advice:

• Do the proper planning, or you may have a nightmare on your hands later.
• Enlist professional help; it's always good to hear alternative points of view.

Vault Room
Designed by Larry Wright

"Everything in here is very special to me, and I just like the way the basement turned out as a whole. This is now my favorite room."

Larry Wright is a guy's guy. He skydives, he rock-climbs, and he loves to collect Civil War and sports memorabilia. When it came time to design his guy's room, he knew what he wanted: a turn-of-the-century American cafe look. A lowered border on the walls creates interest, while an angled brick fireplace prevents the room from being too boxy. Behind the oak bar is a large antique mirror similar to ones found in bars in the late 1890s; purchased locally, the mirror is a real find for this guy's room.

Larry's Insider Advice:

• Display collectibles in inexpensive frames found at flea markets and antique shows . He refinishes his frames with gold leaf, then antiques them for a unique look.

Workshop/Train Stop
Designed by Jim Coane

"The nice thing about the workshop and the trains is that it's really the opposite of what I do for a living. I can be all by myself, not talking to anybody....It's almost meditative. I can just be very alone with my thoughts."

All aboard! This guy's room, located in the basement of a Victorian-style home, is an interesting twist on your standard workshop. Not only does it serve as a woodworking shop, complete with a table saw, band saw and hand tools, but it's also the room where Jim Coane restores and maintains his impressive train collection. Exposed pipes and concrete walls combined with tongue-and-groove pine planking give the room the rough, rural feel that Coane wanted.

Rock 'n' Roll Basement
Designed by Bret Hamilton

"I don't think it's worth having this much stuff if you can't enjoy it. And if it's in boxes or it's in storage, then it's not worth having. Luckily I have this room to enjoy it all in."

Most people use their basements to store things they either don't need or have forgotten about. Disc jockey Bret Hamilton's basement is not your typical storage room. Take a walk downstairs and you'll suddenly find yourself surrounded by every big-name rock and roll star on the planet, from Kiss to the Red Hot Chili Peppers , Elton John and Bush.

But that's just the beginning. He's also a huge baseball fan , and that passion has led him to turn part of his basement into his own field of dreams. Black curtains and black walls are specially designed to highlight his collections, which include an autographed bat that was used by Cal Ripken during his impressive run of breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played record.

Bret's Insider Advice:

• Growing a collection of sports memorabilia is often a matter of being in the right place at the right time. And if you want autographs, you have to be willing to patiently wait for your fan to appear and comply.
• If you're into rock 'n' roll memorabilia, check around auction Web sites such as e-bay. They're good places to find stuff.
• Don't buy autographed items from people you don't know. For one thing, the signature may not be legitimate. And besides, getting the autograph is half the fun.
• Most of all, says Hamilton about collecting, "have fun with it!" Buy what you enjoy, not what you think will be worth millions someday.