At the old house, I never really got to enjoy the basement after it was renovated. That was a bit disappointing, but the new house came with a great finished basement. The space had a built-in to the side of the room for media components, and some wiring for surround sound. While wire was run, it was just hanging out of the wall in a bundle at the back of the built-in (sorry, no before pics) and cables were not run to the wall where the TV would hang. Please note my foam Michigan Wolverine foam head at the bottom of the cabinet.
Soon after moving in work began to finish the space. I cut a gaggle of holes into the drywall and ran 2 HDMI cables, 1 set of RCA cables, and an optical cable from the built-in to the TV. I picked up a new tv and a slim TV mount because I didn't want my TV sticking out too much, and some wall plates for all the speaker wires. I got all the cables from monoprice and after reading reviews I decided to the speakers there too. I got some front speakers, center speakers, rear mount speakers for the ceiling and a small sub. I really liked the look of everything built in and not needing a media cabinet in front of the TV.
Since we loved our previously purchased Crate & Barrel Axis sectional we decided to also go with C&B for downstairs. We went with the Vaughan. While not as comfortable as the Axis, it was a much smaller sectional that fit in the 12'x 12' space and still allowed room for a chair. We threw some beer themed pictures up on the wall to complete the man cave aesthetic and now the space is complete.
On the back wall are closets that run the width of the house, and the sump pump in the right-most closet. The chairs are on this side to make sure we can still access the space. We also got a white ceramic deer head as a Christmas white elephant gift, so we decided to hang it above the TV. Gotta keep it classy.