While having a beer and yarn with one of his mates, property developer Steve Buljan stumbled on an idea that he hopes could revive the spirit of the backyard shed in Perth.
"We were just looking around the room and saying wouldn't it be great to have a mezzanine and more space to do things in," Mr Buljan said.
"So I started looking into man caves and found out about developments over in Melbourne and the east coast where they're taking things a step further, and creating tailored spaces for people."
The man cave is a modern concept that's come into focus in recent years as the number of backyard sheds decline in Australia; something often linked to rising rates of depression in men.
It was this sentiment that produced the Australian Men's Shed Association, one of Australia's largest male based community development organisations.
Ex-prime minister Julia Gillard's partner and Australian Men's Shed Association patron Tim Mathieson said in 2010 that his backyard shed offered him refuge when he wanted to "escape" the house.
"My shed is a temple. It's great for my mental health," he said.
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett also admitted his shed was very important to him.
Shrinking house and backyard sizes have lopped the shed off new developments often built cheek to jowel, a stark contrast to the old way of the quarter acre block where people had more space to pursue their hobbies.
WAtoday recently visited the man cave of Radio 6PR senior account manager Brett Bonetti who keeps a vast collection of pop culture memorabilia in a special room at his home.
"As you can see around the man cave, I'm into certain things, but I'm fussy as to what I collect and they have to stand out," Mr Bonnetti said as he gave us a tour.
"There is Star Wars and lightsabers... I love the villains of Star Wars - Darth Maul and Darth Vader.
Space comes at a premium these days, and modern day homes don't always have room for people to pursue their hobbies in a dedicated area.
So Mr Buljan and his partners at property investment group Metro Invest decided to come up with something that offers everyone the chance to make more room for their lives.
"The concept is called Mi Caves, and it's all about creating space as a commodity that people value. So we're creating what we call innovation hubs, spaces that people can have as a separate area for what they want to do."
The concept art for the hub shows what looks like storage units - but the similarities end when you open them up.
"People can kit them out as a work space, to house their classic car, to run a business, create a place to spend some time with their mates, whatever they want to do," Mr Buljan said.
"This is not simply creating storage space. This is creating space for people to actually do things in, whether it's pursue a hobby, have a place they can go to relax or even launch a business, be an entrepreneur, and link up with other people in the community, all having their own space to do what they want."
Mr Buljan said his company is looking to build its first Mi Caves development in Landsdale, north of Perth in the City of Wanneroo.
"Whether you're downsizing but would still like some space or just looking to invest in something that you'll enjoy, we reckon there's a good amount of demand for this, and we're seeing plenty of interest just in the concept.
"People need space, it's as simple as that, and this offers something unique, and you never know where it could lead, what kind of communities or scenes it could create."
