Rooms that are specifically designed for entertainment are great additions to any home. These are the areas where your friends and loved ones can catch up together, share meals, laugh out loud and, of course, play games. Perhaps you have always dreamed of having a snazzy games room at home yet lack the interior space to make your wishes a reality. Well, one unlikely place, namely your home’s garage, has the potential to make a great games room with a bit of creativity and elbow grease. This concept is one that is becoming increasingly popular, especially for homeowners whose interior spaces are a bit too small for this type of renovation. In this article we take readers step by step through the entire process from start to finish. Don’t wait – jumpstart your garage to games room transformation today!
The least likely place for a home games room may just be the most fitting
Step 1: Clean/ Declutter the Space
Generally speaking, garages are not the most organized of spaces. This is the place where abundant amounts of dust and dirt are prevalent, and old boxes filled with random items line the floor. Perhaps there are tools hanging from the walls and various other items from inside and outside your home sprawled across the room. Therefore, it is easy to see why the most important first step in this process is cleaning out the garage and decluttering its contents. Start by removing things that will be of no use to the games room, then wipe down the counters and sweep or vacuum the floors. Additionally, when deciding what to do with garage clutter, you may find it useful to have both a ‘donate’ and ‘sell’ pile. Although it may feel overwhelming at first, cleaning a garage can be a fun and satisfying process if done in chunks.
Step 2: Consider Your Purpose
After you have a blank slate and can see the garage clearly without clutter, now comes the time to consider what type of games room you want to create. This is because factors like electricity, furniture, accessories, and more will be dependent on what gaming experiences you are most interested in fostering. For example, a traditional games room is normally equipped with a good-sized billiards table and a few dart boards which, in themselves, don’t take up as much space. However, if you and your friends primarily play Texas Hold’em rather than pool, a poker table and a deck of plastic playing cards like those manufactured by COPAG which shuffle, bend, and slide easily are ideal. If your intention behind creating this entertainment space is to play games like poker and pool and not use wires to hook up games on consoles like PlayStation or Xbox, then you may not have to worry about electrical renovations as much, and vice versa. Knowing your purpose will also help you maximize space as some furniture and gaming products will naturally be larger than others.
Considering space is important since some games rooms may require bigger furniture like billiards tables or poker tables
Step 3: Let the Renovations Begin
Once you have deep cleaned and pondered your gaming room goals, now is the time to set off on the biggest adventure of them all – the actual renovation process! This is where you will decide on everything from flooring to wall color, lightning, and more. Will your games room have a specific theme or colour scheme? Will it be bright and vibrant or dark and moody? Maybe you’ll even include some unique lamps and plant decor. Keep in mind that you may need to enlist experts to help with ripping up old flooring if you don’t have experience with large renovations.
Step 4: Invest in Quality Storage Materials
Utilizing storage space effectively is one of the best ways to make any room in a house look bigger than it actually is. This is why you should make it a point to invest in shelving and containers that will help your space stay nice and tidy. After all, gaming materials can get lost easily, especially smaller things like card decks and game board pieces. This is also super helpful when entertaining, as you won’t waste time trying to find lost items when your guests are waiting to get started.
Step 5: Finish with Style
Your games room should be a reflection of your personality so don’t forget to include the accessories and decorations that you value specifically. Perhaps this means lining the walls with pictures or jerseys from your favourite sports teams or movie announcements from old films you love. Whatever your preferences, let your garage-games room scream ‘YOU’.