Before you paint: Does the mancave man have collections of things he wants to display? Trophies? Photos? Baseball cards? Books? Action figures? The shelves may need to be reconfigured for those. Then paint them same color as the walls and space above bookshelves.

Consider some remote controlled warm strip lighting across the top of the bookshelves to brighten that end of the basement.

Two light colored man caves:

The shelving current looks like an add-on that wasn't thoroughly thought thru. Unless you have a collection to display I might recommend removing them.

^ agree, they seem a little anemic - if i wanted to highlight them with paint, I’d bulk them up with some trim - if there wasn’t interest in that then I’d leave them the wall color so they receeded

Does the man have a prefrence? If so, I might lean into that. If not, I'd leave the shelving the same color as the walls. I would add in a light rail to that PITA top rather than enclose it. Or just use it for more book space if you need it.

I'd remove the shelf over the window which makes the window looks like its squashed. Removing it would also allow more light into the room as more light would reach the ceiling.

We haven't seen the rest of the room. Maybe it's possible to mount the mancave TV in front of one side of the shelves. Use the other side for books, collections, etc.

Float sofa in the room to divide the space. Add sofa table behind for game nights, buffet, etc. Please show the other three sides of the space.

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Great suggestions everyone thanks so much! The room will have a pool table in it so furniture will be minimal because of space limitations. I think I will go with it the same color as room and remove header above window. We are going to frame in the bookshelves I think to hold husband's model cars collection and books. Anymore suggestions?

Does this help it?

Maybe get bargain wood paneling to cover the drywall underneath it and paint it the same blue. Cut some for around the window.

As la_la_girl suggested in an earlier comment, adding trim will make a HUGE difference in how the shelves look.

When people use IKEA bookshelves/closet units in their homes, they look completely different when they are made to look like built-ins. All the moulding and trim that's added is what takes them from a college piece of furniture to what looks like a custom built-in.

Here are Pax closet units installed - without any trim/moulding added:

Here is after she added trim to make the shelves look thicker + cover the seams of the units with a piece of vertical trim (and added drawer fronts + painted them):

Here are some Billy Bookcases from IKEA. She has already started adding some pieces to get ready to completely change the look of these by adding trim (to take them to the ceiling) + arches made out of plywood:

It now looks like a built-in that was custom made for the space. I would have added trim to the front of the shelves to "beef" them up a bit:

Here is an example of another project so you can see the pieces of trim/face frames that have been added to the bookshelves in order to make them look thicker = more expensive. She's filling all of the nail holes and caulking seams before painting them.

You can make your shelving look much nicer by adding trim/face frames.

It is important to know what is going to be displayed and how it shows against the background of the cabinet space. Backs can be painted light or dark to better show off his prized possessions.

I would probably build out the bottom wall to meet the edge of the cabinet (can be a real or faux wall) Wiring can be brought up through the space to the cabinets for lighting and other unsightly wires can be hidden.

I would put a small bench (possibly with storage inside) under the window and remove the piece going over the window.

Paint the shelving to coordinate with the bench seat.

I would do the opposite of the above and paint the wall while leaving the cabinets white (these examples are IKEA Besta cabinets).

Adding veneer trim would certainly make the cabinets look more elegant.

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Since you just painted white, I know, but what about the whole room a color including the bookshelves.

As this is a basement with only one window, I'd just paint the wall with the shelves a contrasting color and leave the other walls white.

Thanks all so much for all the great suggestions! I know my husband and I are going to trim out the boxes and hopefully paint it this weekend. We also have some lights to hang so I might not be able to finish it this weekend. I will put some after pics up when I am done and I think it will look awesome. Once again thanks so much for all of the advice and suggestions it is truly thought about and appreciated! :)

Okay another rendering for wdccruise proposal for the whole accent wall. It solves the upper shelf issue.

Bookcase we once had. White back and black elsewhere.

tracefloyd: "Okay another rendering for wdccruise proposal for the whole accent wall. It solves the upper shelf issue."

My suggestion was to paint the wall in a contrasting color to the shelves (like the IKEA photo) and leave the shelves white.

Here is a nice paint color from Valspar Serenity

Thanks for the like...using the Visualizer, here is Serenity with Valspar Swiss Coffee which is kinda like your Ben Moore's Swiss Coffee. Seems nice for a room with low light.

Given the pool table and how the space will be used, consider adding lighting to create a great feature wall.

To help balance the wall and provide a fun social area, consider the idea below.

I would be tempted to put a narrow countertop under the shelves, supported by a few nicely finished posts. People playing pool could use it to hold drinks or snacks, and the support posts could be placed where they wouldn't interfere with the electrical outlets on the wall below the shelves. I would keep the shelves the same color as the walls but definitely remove the board above the window.