For most people, the words man cave bring to mind hot rods, bikini-babe posters, and beer—maybe even a beer fridge. You might find a beat-up La-Z-Boy in there somewhere, too.

But for the upcoming B.C. Home and Garden Show, Dexter Dolores has been tasked with reinventing the masculine hideout—in this case, in a cement-floored garage. “Maybe there’s a nice bike, a nice bourbon to sip on, and curated pieces of art,” Dolores proposes. But how can it still look masculine?

“A man cave doesn’t have to be all leather, metal, and wood,” the young Vancouver interior designer stresses, speaking by phone from his design office. “You can make it something special. It can be an extension of the home that can look nice but still function as a garage. You can still have that macho madness but have it look cool and contemporary.”

Dolores is decking out his sleek Urban Garage, part of the home show’s Manscapes feature this year, with a lounge area. “But instead of a huge, honkin’ dark leather couch you’d find at a big-box store, I’ve opted for a camel one, and instead of being overstuffed, it’s going to be a little more streamlined and refined.” There’s even going to be a throw rug, one of the antique-distressed-look, Asian styles sourced from East India Carpets (1606 West 2nd Avenue). And did we mention the mobile bar? “Any man cave that’s worth its stuff has a bar, but this one will have bourbon and whisky,” Dolores promises. Think tumblers, decanters, and a tray set up on a cool industrial cart with big wheels, the crystal of the glass playing off the heaviness of the trolley.

But let’s not forget: this is, on a practical level, still a garage. “At first I was thinking, ‘How do you make it feel different and not like a garage?’ ” Dolores says, “and then I thought you kind of have to embrace it and make the most of it but also show that you can have all the typical things you’re used to seeing there—but always with a new twist.”

Enter the storage for all the tools: it’s a cool metal cabinet from North Vancouver’s Garage Guru that rolls around on wheels. But the best part? There’s a TV hidden in it that lifts up from the top. “You can have your whole work area and then a TV pops up, or you can play a video game.”

Likewise, Dolores plans to make the space’s bike storage look more like a design installation than a functional garage necessity. The wall-mounted Steadyrack, also from Garage Guru, folds out sideways and pivots once a bicycle is lifted up into it. “Then when they’re all up, they almost look like a flipbook of bikes. You get the aesthetics of the bike and the form and the coolness,” Dolores says. “If you’re a bike enthusiast, why hide it? It also goes back to utilizing the things you do have that are functional items.”

But it’s in the finishing touches that Dolores really makes his dude hangout feel different from your everyday garage. Look for ceramics, chunky sculptures, and pieces of art. One key feature, sourced from Country Furniture (3097 Granville Street), looks like an antique finial taken off an old building.

To find the right, strong pieces, he has a suggestion: “I want to inspire people to look outside the typical design store. I love going into a garden centre and looking for the heavy-duty stone sculptures—some of the pieces that have a cool form, or maybe it’s a green-glazed round ball.…They give structure, and they don’t cost a lot.”

Dolores’s feature at the Manscapes exhibit is about more than cool design, however: he says it’s also about making the most of the square footage we have in space-cramped Vancouver. Just don’t be surprised if it gives you the urge to put up your feet and stay awhile.

The B.C. Home and Garden Show is at B.C. Place till Sunday (February 22).