Looking for ideas for setting up a game room in a small bedroom (or any other available space for that matter) for your family? Want to make sure everyone has fun while playing games together?
Turning a spare bedroom into a family game room is a great use for extra space. The setup will require enough space for the play equipment, furniture and display elements that will give character to the room.
A family playroom will help you bond with your kids and teach them valuable skills like teamwork, problem solving, and strategy. It also helps you get away from technology and enjoy each other’s company.
If you are thinking of building a family games room, then read this guide to find out how to set up a great family games room. Plus, I’ll share some tips on how to choose the perfect gaming system for your family.
By the way, before I get too far here, if you want to connect with other homeowners, DIYers, and builders and get more great ideas for your home to make your space the best, join my group free facebook private, Reshape Reality here.
How to turn an ordinary room into a video game room?
One of the biggest features of older homes is what I call a «formal living room». You’ll notice that most new homes built today no longer include these rooms because they haven’t gotten used to it much.
But if you’re lucky enough to have an older home with one of these older formal living rooms, then you have the perfect space to set up a game room for you and your family.
The first step is to figure out how you will set up the space.
What kinds of things do you want in this room in addition to your gaming gear?
- A couch?
- A big screen TV?
- A minibar?
- A pool table?
- A table football?
Since the purpose of this room, whether it’s an old formal dining room or another space in your home, is to create a play space, let’s get rid of anything that won’t be used for games in this space.
When you say family room, it’s kind of like a living room, but with an entertainment center.
However, a family video game camera will look slightly different. In addition to an entertainment center with the typical movie theater setup, you can set up video game consoles, multiple PC gaming setups, and also arcade games.
What should I put in my family game room?
You can put any game-related equipment in a family game room. If you have a lot of space and budget, you can even put more games like pool tables, a foosball table, card games, ping pong tables and more. It doesn’t have to be dedicated for video games, but it can also be a typical setup for a «man cave» game room, but of course with a greater emphasis on video games.
If you’re not sure where to start, here’s what you’d typically find in a game room setup:
A large gaming desk
If your family game room is dedicated to playing your favorite games with your family, you should choose a larger desk or multiple desks to fit more computers. But if your favorite games are mostly played on game consoles, you can put some console shelves and simply mount the TV to save space.
The perfect gaming chair with extra seating
If the room is spacious enough, you can put more than one gaming chair. But other alternatives, such as a sofa or beanbag chairs.
Amenities like a mini-fridge
Gamers put a lot of time into gaming, and one of the best ways to maximize that time is to include other appliances they might need, such as a mini-fridge for snacks and drinks. You may also want to put in a fan or portable air conditioner to keep the room cool with all the electronics.
How to decorate my family’s game room?
Decorating a family game room can be exciting but frustrating, especially if you don’t know where to start.
The first thing you should think about before decorating your gaming room is what your ideal games are. Are you into arcade machines, consoles, PC games, retro games like Super Mario, etc.?
You can theme your family game room design to be whatever you want it to be.
Star Wars themed arcades are all the rage and you can go as far as your imagination and budget allows!
Now that you have thought of a theme, the next thing you should do is arrange the space. Usually the screen would be in the center of the room and the seating arrangement would be directly in front of the screen.
And depending on the space you have left, you can decide on your decorations, ambient lighting and other displays.
Ambient LED lighting in any gaming room is essential. If your room does not have natural light to illuminate dark spaces, you can use different LED lights such as light strips, modular lighting boards, neon signs and more. Adding these will create a game room feel that separates it from other rooms in your home.
Game room design ideas
Take a look at these interesting game room designs that might work for you. They are very creative, functional and fun game room ideas for the whole family.
Create an old school retro arcade game
This example has them all. It has multiple game screens for every old console, arcade machines, retro games on the shelves and enough space for the whole family. If you don’t have that much free room, it wouldn’t be a problem. You just have to use what you have.
Create a museum of retro games
This game room setup has enough space to play retro video games and uses the walls to display lots of retro games. If you are a video game collector, you can show it off by creating a mini video game museum like the example.
Think of a theme
If you don’t like retro game consoles, you can choose any theme you want. Here are some examples of themed family game rooms from other users:
This arcade has a Sony Playstation theme and even has a cool display piece with Playstation buttons.
It pays tribute to one of the best film and video game franchises.
This game room looks very fresh but keeping it simple with the colorful theme.
How big should a game room be?
A game room should be at least 8 square meters or larger to fit everything you need. If you have a large family, you will need more space so that you can spend time with them.
To learn more about how big your game room should be, click here.
Can I turn a basement into a game room?
Yes! A basement could be turned into a great family game room. You can take your design and theme as far as your available space and budget allows and create something truly amazing!
Final thoughts
Playing video games together as a family is a great way to bond and spend quality time together.
It’s all about finding the space where you can set things up to be most efficient for what you want to do.
You can even take the planning a step further by getting the whole family involved in designing the playroom setup so everyone feels like they’re a part of the process!
Next steps
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