Managing Your Recreation Time

Posted on: 26 June 2019

Transforming your basement or garage into a game room could be an excellent idea so your family has a place to play together and you have a place for entertaining friends. Choosing the right game room furniture is important too because you don't want pieces that get in the way and hog the room, but you want comfort for the type of activities you plan to do. Here are some ideas for choosing game room furniture.

Think About How Much Open Floor Space You Want

A pool table is always a popular choice for a game room, but consider how much space you'll have to devote to it. You may prefer having a wide open space for the kids to play video games that require running in place, jumping, and moving around. If you want open space, consider using fluffy rugs so kids can play board games on the floor and think about lightweight bean bags with stretchy fabric that can be used for sitting or lounging. The lightweight bags can be picked up with a single hand and tossed in the corner to clear the space, yet they can stretch out long enough to act as a mat for sleeping or watching TV.

Measure the Space for Theater Seating

Watching TV will probably be the main activity in your game room. You might binge-watch movies, watch sports games, or use the seating for playing video games. A recliner sofa with cup holders and storage might be ideal, or you may prefer individual recliners so you can adjust their position in the room. The most important thing is to measure your space and measure the game room furniture that you're considering so you know for certain what will fit.

Choose a Game Table

While kids may like playing games on the floor, you'll want a game table to play cards and board games with your adult friends. You can buy a poker table or you can buy a convertible table that can be used for dining and converted into a game table to play chess, poker, or other games. You may even want a folding table for the kids so it can be stowed away along with folding chairs when it's not in use. However, you may want a quality wood table for adults that can even be used as an extra dining table during the holidays so you get a lot of use out of your game room furniture.

Decide if You Want Places to Sleep

When your kids have sleepovers, they can sleep on bean bags or on the floor in sleeping bags in the game room. If you want to use the game room as a spare guest room, then you may want to buy furniture that converts into a bed. You might want a futon that opens into a full bed or a loveseat or easy chair that opens into a full or twin bed. These won't take up any extra room if you use them for watching TV and lounging too, and you'll have extra beds for when company spends the night.

In addition, you'll want to consider what type of games you want to play and decide if you want permanent tables for them. If you enjoy pool, ping pong, foosball, or some other game, map out where you can put them in your game room so when you buy your furniture, everything will have a place and your space won't be so crowded that you don't have room to play.