Turn your home into entertainment central with the help of these decorating ideas. A game room gives your home a dedicated area for fun, whether you use it for game nights with family and friends or you just want a place for the kids to entertain their friends without destroying the whole house. These game room ideas will help you create the perfect space to unwind with family and friends and let your hair down.
Make a Plan
Before you can put your game room ideas into action, you need a plan. Figure out your budget first. Adding accessories such as pool tables, ping-pong tables, air hockey tables, foosball tables and poker tables can really add up. Once you have your budget figured out, decide what type of activities you would like to use the room for. Take accurate measurements of the room's size so you know exactly how much space you have to work with. You can then decide what type of furnishings and decor you would like to add. If you have a tight budget, you may want to look for used furnishings like pool tables or poker tables to stretch your money further.
Game Room Decorating Ideas
Once you have a good plan in place that includes a workable budget, you can start thinking about how you want to put your game room together. Take a look at the following decorating tips and keep in mind that you can combine these ideas or add to them to create exactly what you want.
Poker Room
A Las Vegas style casino room is perfect for card lovers. Poker tables are a must, of course - go for the larger, eight sided type to provide plenty of room for your Vegas high rollers. You can also get a roulette wheel, a blackjack table and even some slot machines to finish the look.
For a smaller budget, you could buy a less expensive or used poker table and if you are handy with tools, you could build your own table from one of the free plans you can find online. Add a hanging pendant lamp over the table, some poker inspired artwork on the walls and you're ready to start slinging cards.
Pool Hall
Create a game room inspired by your favorite local neighborhood bar or pool hall. You can give the room a current theme or go retro with a 1950s pool hall look. You can find retro style pool tables for sale on sites like eBay and you can complete the look with stainless steel accessories, neon lighting and retro posters. Make sure the room is set up with a music system ready to blast favorite tunes from the era, or if your budget will allow it, a jukebox would be the perfect finishing touch. Go for a room that James Dean would be happy to knock some balls around in.
A home bar would be the perfect accessory for this type of room. Add a few pub style tables and chairs where people can enjoy drinks and snacks while waiting to play. If your budget and space allows, you could also add accessories such as:
- Dart board
- Air hockey table
- Ping-pong table (you can find tables that attach to the top of pool tables)
- Foosball table
- Pinball Machine
Fusion Arcade
If you or your kids are more of the "gamer" type, you can create a fun, electronic gaming room with a blend of old and new technology. Start with vintage arcade games from the 1980s such as Pac-Man, Mrs. Pac-Man, Centipede, Asteroids or whatever else you can find from places like:
Next, add a Hi definition, big screen TV and your favorite home video game system such as Xbox 360, Nintendo or a Wii system. Add a surround sound system for the best sound quality and get ready for hours of fun playing all types of games. Make sure you have plenty of comfortable seating such as bean bag chairs and perhaps a sectional sofa. If you plan on playing music, singing or dance games or some of the interactive sports games for Wii, make sure you have an area designated for some physical activity. This room could also be used as a home theater when you want to enjoy a good movie.
Board Game Room
A board game room would be one of the easiest types of game rooms to put together. You would need to find one or two good, sturdy tables to play on and make sure you have plenty of seating. The real investment for this type of room would be in the games themselves. There are dozens of classic board games and the more games you have in your library, the better. You would need some type of storage unit like a bookcase or cabinet to store the games. You could also add a folding card table for doing jigsaw puzzles.
You could pick a theme from one of your favorite board games such as Life, Monopoly, or Clue and decorate your board game room with this theme. This type of game room would be a great incentive for creating a family game night or a weekly game night with friends. You can also combine the board game room idea with the poker room idea and have one area for adults and another area for the kids.
The Finishing Touches
Whatever style of game room you choose, you may want to add some other game elements. Have fun with this home entertainment center and add some great amenities like:
- Billiards - Pool tables now come in a myriad of styles, from traditional to modern, in a range of colors and finishes.
- Game tables - The best design is a round or octagon table that seats four or more players at a time. Comfortable chairs with rolling casters will make poker sessions even more fun. An additional game table that seats two people is perfect for playing chess, checkers, backgammon, or board games.
- Pinball - Pinball machines are back and a new or retro machine can make a great focal point for your game space. Also, consider international versions like Pachinko.
- Other classic games - This can include any of your favorites such as foosball, air hockey, darts, ping pong, or shuffleboard.
- Arcade games - Options here include pinball machines, classic video arcade games like Centipede and PacMan, and new gaming consoles.
- TVs - As a retreat for relaxing, a game room will naturally be an ideal spot for watching sports and movies.
- Bar area - Create a home game room that draws a crowd by including a serviceable bar which can also be a focal point. You can go all out with draught beer and a margarita machine, or keep it simple with a stocked minifridge. Don't forget a fizzy drink station for the kids.
- Kitchen - If you will be spending a lot of time in your game room, a functional kitchen zone may be a wise investment. A small kitchen should include a sink, toaster oven, microwave, hot plate, refrigerator, and food prep area.
- Vending machines - These cool devices can dispense beer, soda, coffee, or candy. Also, check out the nifty snack machines for making popcorn, pretzels, hot nuts, snow cones, and cotton candy.
- Vintage signs, movie posters, neon lights, or illuminated signs.
- Jukeboxes, karaoke machines, CD changers, or musical instruments.
Here are a few other suggestions for items you might want to include in your game room:
- Mini fridge
- Microwave
- Watercooler
- Stereo system or jukebox
- Novelty lighting
- Ceiling fans
Resources for Creating a Home Game Room
- BMI Gaming - At the self-proclaimed world's largest gaming superstore, you can buy full size arcade machines, air hockey machines, pinball machines and more.
- Pool Tables.com- A great selection of pool tables with a free accessory kit included with each table, plus free nationwide shipping.
- The Pinball Company- A great supplier of pinball machines, arcade games, foosball tables, jukeboxes, dart boards, table tennis and more. Nationwide delivery and set up and lifetime technical support.
- Home Recreation Games- Go retro with awesome, vintage reproduction Coke machines, popcorn and gumball machines, neon wall clocks and signs, jukeboxes, dart boards and arcade games.
- Home Game Depot- Find pub tables, tin signs, pub signs, neon clocks, game room lighting, dart boards, licensed sport products and more.
- Touch of Class - Upscale game room furniture such as poker tables, pub tables, home bars, wine racks and gameroom decor.
- Game Rooms to Go- Featuring games from Thompson's sporting goods and game room furniture, lighting, wall decor and retro accents.
Get Creative
Create a game room that is fun and interesting with different lighting options and wall decor that fits the type of room you have. You don't necessarily have to match the decorating style used throughout the rest of your home because a game room can have its own unique theme or style. It's also a great place to display collectible items such as sports memorabilia, movie memorabilia or vintage advertising.
