Basement Game Room Furniture Plan
Despite having written a few dozen articles on the progress of our basement game room, I realized I’ve never actually shared the furniture plan with all of you! So here it is, in all its built-on-graph-paper glory. The drawing is (mostly) to scale; each block is 1 foot square. You can click the image to enlarge it.
I’m also working on a mood board to share with all of you, including some pics of the furnishings and tables. See below the picture for a walkthrough.
Basement Game Room Drawing
Game Room Details
Our basement is 42′ x 26′, with the furnace and water heater in the middle of the room. There is no plumbing roughed in, and we’ve decided not to include a bathroom in our plan, meaning the furnance & heater are the only obstacles in the room. Both will be tucked away in a closet with access doors on the back and right sides.
The centerpiece of the room is a solid wood, traditional 8 foot pool table (note that the drawing shows a 9-foot table, but we’re leaning towards the smaller version). While we haven’t settled on a design or finish, this Huntington model from Olhausen is high on our list. Olhausen allows you to customize every aspect of the table, and we’re leaning towards a mid-dark stained maple. Surrounding the table are bar height tables and chairs that accent the table’s design and finish.
To the rear of the room is a home theatre area, with a 62-inch Plasma or DLP TV that is either mounted on the wall or sitting on a stand that complements the pool table’s design. To the left of the home theatre area and the pool table, on the middle of the left wall is a 3-seat bar. The bar will be thin enough to allow easy passing between the areas, but large enough to serve a few drinks and house locked cabinets underneath.
The right side of the basement is devoted to a reading / sitting area for Kim, complete with end tables that double as bookshelves and lamp stands. Just north is a 6-seat poker table that we’ll likely use for spades, hearts, or board games a lot more than poker.
The back of the room is a 22 foot-wide closet that is accessed by 4 french doors.
Finally, if finances permit, we’ll add a traditional-style jukebox on the left of the room, and a pinball machine underneath the back of the stairs.
Flooring and Other Materials
We’ve fully committed to electric radiant heated floors and are almost finished with the installation. We’re still exploring flooring options, and are currently enamored with this 24×24 honed slate tile that will be accented with solid-color area rugs.
The walls will be drywall, possible accented with sconce lighting and certainly wall hangings and other decor. There’s only one window in the room, so window treatments aren’t a big concern.
What do you think? …. so we know we say that all the time… but seriously.. what do you think?
Comments & Conversation on this Article...
8 Responses to Basement Game Room Furniture Plan
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March 5th, 2009 10:14 am
Hey Fred,
I think the plan looks great. It’s a great way to utilize the space and you’ll probably have great parties there (I’m guessing the plan is to have parties!)
The storage closet will be very useful. Will you put shelving in there?
My only suggestions\thoughts would be that I would want more seating around that TV (especially with your growing family!) and I don’t know how much Kim will use that sitting room (considering she’s always on the move) also because there aren’t a lot of windows, it might be nicer to sit and read upstairs.
Just some thoughts… Can’t wait to see the finished product!
March 5th, 2009 10:57 am
The plan looks awesome. You have so many functional spaces there, that I can see that it will be very challenging to light. Just looking at it has my brain spinning with recessed, sconce, and electrical zone decisions.
One question… Where do you put all the crap that you don’t want others to see? I need a spot in my basement to use for storage, and I don’t think cabinets would contain it all.
March 5th, 2009 11:00 am
Not sure if I mentioned this already…. what about a bar on wheels? Roll it out when in use and roll it against the wall when not. I’m sure you could find something with hidden wheel so it wouldn’t even look movable. Just a random thought.
March 5th, 2009 11:42 am
Wow! I am really impressed that you drew it all out to scale.
March 5th, 2009 12:40 pm
Sweet design Fred! Be sure to leave plenty of room to frame around plumbing fixtures, valves, etc so you can put doors in for access. You might also want to check on the requirements for your furnace to make sure there is sufficient combustion air or use vents in the walls to allow for enough.
March 7th, 2009 6:41 am
I think that the plan looks great. You are avoiding a lot of expensive extras like the plumbing, while maintaining a fantastic space.
I especially like that the plan is going to be so open and large. I’ve been listening to The Handyguys Podcast (a great podcast) and they do a series on Basements. One of the major mistakes that people often make is to break up the area into too many small spaces, instead of large, open and flexible spaces. What you’ve done here is great because you have the different spaces, but the design is still open.
Here is a link to the Handyguys Podcast Basement Finishing Series. Episode #49 is the one that talks about basement mistakes. They do a great show over there.
March 7th, 2009 8:29 pm
Thanks everyone for the thoughts — maybe some of you subscribed for follow-ups via e-mail, so I thought I’d better answer the questions:
Beth — Definitely agree with you on the television seating. We’ve been exploring different seating options. My personal favorite for watching movies would be a LazyBoy leather recliner, but with the space only 3 would fit. We’ve also looked at a couch that has a loveseat middle, with two additional recliners that come off the sides like ‘wings’ at about 22 degrees… it provides seating for 4 big adults, but you could cram 6 if you had to. As for Kim’s space, that’s definitely up to her … I think the goal is to make the space feel like a coffee shop where she and friends can hang out too.
Corey – I’ve finished the receptacles and am now planning the lights. I had originally decided on a basic 4-zone recessed lighting approach with a 5th zone at the top and bottom of the stairs. With the addition of sconce lighting as an idea, it’s gotten more complex… Interested in coming over and helping me figure it out?
As far as storage, we’ve got about 60 sq. ft. inside the closets which will house mostly rubbermaids. We also have a deeper-than-average garage that allows for two sets of 4′x8′ shelves. We’re eventually going to put a shed out in the back yard to house most of our lawn equipment.
Todd – all good thoughts, and something that I’ve been trying to be careful of. Our furnace is electric and the code allows for essentially “zero clearance.” The doors that are on the side of the pinball machine are vented-style and should allow for sufficient airflow. Much of the plumbing clean-out access will be in the closet. We still haven’t decided exactly how we’ll finish the interior of the closet but are looking at cedar tongue-and-groove.
Bill – We absolutely wanted to keep the space open but have a lot of seating / interesting things to look at. By using the furniture to divide the room, it leaves it open for future innovation. I’ll check out the Handyguys podcast you linked… I saw them when they first opened up.
Ethan – Bar on wheels is a great idea, and one I’m leaning towards for the space.
March 8th, 2009 1:54 pm
What do I say,,,,,,,I say I’m down right jealous~! Great job enjoy~!