Like many readers of ManSpace, we at the Institute of Backyard Studies (IBYS) are big tool collectors. Most Sunday mornings you’ll find us out at garage sales, swap meets or the trash’n’treasure, casting expert eyes over piles of rubbish and junk in a search of that elusive little beauty. A Stanley plough plane from 1923 perhaps... or maybe a Wilkinson folding drawknife is just sitting ...

A magnificent motorbike and memorabilia collection in a renovated ice cream factory is a visual treat of the highest order. It also acts as a chronicle of one man’s life, writes Jonathan Green. One of the best motorbike collections in Australia is located in an old ice cream factory in Cairns. With over 40 bikes of significance and a mountain of memorabilia and history, some have even said ...

In the launch edition for ManSpace we asked readers to send in personal stories about their space. Darren Gallagher has answered the call and gives us a first person account of The Flying Sailor Bar & Brewery; his garage retreat inspired by beer, blues music and cool cars: Never a truer word has been spoken since young Tobias talked it up in the 18th century. There is something fantastic ...

As a kid, Barry Armstead was a huge fan of Star Trek and Dr Who. He watched documentaries on space and dreamed of becoming an air force pilot so he could fly close to the outer rim. Instead, Barry joined the army, and on returning from active service in East Timor he decided to build an observatory. This was his very own Tardis – in the front yard of his house – that could transport him ...

The quite extraordinary garage of Ralph Plarre could be described as many things. It is certainly somewhere to store the cars. All 10 of them. And there is space – and facilities – to work on them. But it also feels a little like a showroom. With the flexible space of an art gallery. But with great practicality. And with a personal touch that gives it warmth and promotes a genuine social ...

Most men enjoy their garages. Many see it as a ‘Fortress of Solitude’ where a guy can store his tools and equipment – not to mention his prized possessions (mainly his cars!). And while most of us do use the garage to house our cars, the garage of today is also being used for a number of other purposes including an office, a retreat, entertainment area, workshop or a home gym. No matter ...

There’s nothing particularly new about the concept of a ‘man’s space’. Men throughout the world have been creating their own personalised rooms and areas for centuries. Mark Twain had a billiards room, Theodore Roosevelt had a trophy room – even Winston Churchill had a painting studio. It was not sinister or exclusive, just a dedicated space for an individual – as he wanted it – ...