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After months of bestowing their brides with attention and adulation, the calendar gods throw the boys a bone by squeezing Father’s Day into the month of June. Throughout the rest of the calendar year, there are several dates designated for men to fawn over their female counterparts—Sweetest Day, Valentine’s Day, your wedding anniversary (if you’re luckily married), your first date/phone call/text message/movie/argument/reconciliation/road trip anniversary if you are dating.
Just get married—it’s easier. The whole divorce thing can get messy, but SPLURGE! is here to help. Think of us as a marriage counselor that you picked up off the rack outside the grocery store. We’re way better than some other things you could have picked up. Our Father’s Day gift to you and yours is some helpful—and free—advice about how you can preserve your marriage or other domestic relationship that involves cohabitation and shared property.
Ask a million married or long-partnered pairs what makes their relationship successful, and you’ll likely get the same response, more or less: communication. That’s a whole load of hogwash. The real key is avoidance, because after your relationship loses that new-car smell, the stale French fries lodged under the driver’s seat threaten to foul the air at every turn.
We have the ideal solution: the man cave. Ladies, stay with me here. This is for your own good in the long run. Give over the spare room, garage, basement (if you have one), shed or doghouse to your dude and reap the rewards. Hear me out, Juliets of the world. When Romeo gets all mopey or wants to watch some plotless schlockfest trainwreck of a car-crash movie, you can dispatch him to his den of debauchery. You don’t need to deal with all that mess. And speaking of mess, you can safely chuck any soiled socks-shoes-unmentionables into his lair without fear of retribution.
Don’t believe me? Google it—everybody on the Internet says guys need a special sanctuary within their property lines, so it must be true. Still not convinced? We sought out the poster pair for man-cave-enhanced blissful domesticity. If you spent any time within earshot of Alva, Oklahoma, over the past few decades, there’s a good chance you heard Todd Miller on the radio. As the voice of Northwestern Oklahoma State University athletics, Miller made a household name of himself in Ranger country. After 20-plus years in the area, Miller and his wife, Mary Margaret, built a house and moved to Oklahoma City just over two years ago.
“We didn’t set out to build a house at first,” Miller says. One of the sticking points for the Millers was having a space to display their collection of sports and other memorabilia. “We both collect way too much stuff,” he laughs. When you walk in the front door of the Miller manse, you are greeted by two friendly dogs and a perfectly lovely home. The tastefully decorated dining room gives way to an open and inviting kitchen and great room. A waterfront patio and pool await outside.
But this house has a dirty little secret—the main floor is surrounded. By guy stuff. The Millers are big baseball fans (Todd roots for the Royals; Mary Margaret leans toward the Rangers). A basement shrine of diamond delights from their favorite teams dominates the den. We are just getting started. As we ascended the staircase to the second floor, light pours forth from the heavens and the angels sing. Holy smokes—this place is sweet!
Royals, Rangers, Thunder, Sooners, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel, Queen, Journey, The Police, Kevin Durant, Nolan Ryan—the Millers’ collection is breathtaking. Off the main room is a home theater with five televisions. “It’s a home theater,” says Miller, “but it’s really for watching sports,” which is one of the couple’s shared passions. The Millers wanted a home where they could display their wares and enjoy time with friends. Steve Allen of Allenton Homes designed the home. “Steve sketched it out and it was perfect for us,” Miller says.
Miller has some helpful advice about designing your own man cave. “It should reflect your loves, hobbies and interests,” he suggests. “We have a little bit of everything.” Mary Margaret has a healthy collection of Hard Rock Café-issued dolls in a display case, for example. “Those can devalue your man cave a little,” Todd laughs.
In the case of the Millers’ home, the man cave is actually the penthouse. “Mary Margaret basically gave me the whole second floor. If we ever divorce, I’ll live upstairs,” Todd quips. SPLURGE! is here to tell you that will never happen. The man cave is the perfect place to preserve your prized possessions and put your relationship on solid ground. You heard it here first. Happy Father’s Day!
Written by Sean Becker | Photography by Emily Brashier
