Basement design - storage room or gameroom niche? (1 Viewer)

[derek]

I've begun construction on finishing my home basement and have come across a dilemma. Currently I plan to have the HT room approx 14'x22' with a storage room adjacent. Also a small niche area for possible wetbar/media storage. I plan on hiding my equipment rack in the storage room. I've thought about eliminating the storage room and finishing the area for a small gameroom niche. It would be about 12'x8' and open to the HT room seating area. It's probably too small for a good sized pool table...but maybe a foosball table and some upright arcade games. This sorta goes against the 'dedicated' HT room angle I was shooting for. We have decent sized storage area near the hvac system and also a smaller one under the stairs. It seems like you always could use more storage space (I'm sure my wife would say so) but I"m really tempted to make use of the space for a gameroom niche.
Acoustically the 'dedicated' HT space would be better. Also with the room being close to the screen you lose a bit of the 'atmosphere' and it could be a distraction. I guess I could put a curtain up or something. If I open it up with the 'gameroom' I'll need to mount my right rear surround on/near(on a stand or something) that post where the equipment rack was located and find another space for the rack. Any advice/opinions appreciated!

 

[derek]

*bump* Any opinions?

 

[Evan M]

I think it'd be neat to make a walk in media storage closet.. nothing but shelves for DVDs/CDs/etc .. and your equipment, obviously.

Seems like a strange place to try and throw in game tables... especially if you've got a dedicated "play room" already... but, I'm no expert.

Or maybe a concession stand.. scratch the wet bar and do shelves all along that wall, and make a full fledged (sp?) concession stand.. refreshments, a drink machine, (like a SkyBox or something..) a popcorn machine, candy, glass display case, etc.

 

[Patrick.C]

Do the gameroom. I have an almost identical setup (an L-shaped area with the games in the smaller room to the left of the screen). I'm finishing contruction now, but I already have some games in the area and my 65" RPTV where it will be when finished. Its handy having the games within site of the screen since you can take quick breaks to play (like during commercial breaks in the Super Bowl).

 

[derek]

Evan I like you're idea for the concession stand. We're probably not running plumbing anyway to that area so it would be a dry bar. The play room is a 'kids' play room. Though I could plop in a pool table/foosball and maybe an arcade/pinball in there. The play room will have a TV (27") and wired for surround. And...I do need a place for media storage and the storage closet would work well though it seems most people like to 'show off' their collections. Keep the suggestions coming thx.

 

[Michael Whitney]

I was thinking a "Love Shack" type room with a comfy freeform bed, pillows, bead wall and such. But Unfortunately, looks like your married with kids now. So back to reality.

Seems to me like a gameroom styled area would be to noisy for a more typical theatre setup. The kids and adults cheering higher scores could be a large distraction for serious movie watching.

I think that the area in question would be more suited for a nice equipment rack to the left of the pole and possibly a smaller library and casual seating area. I could see the equipment rack by the pole facing into the theatre and the area ringing the outer walls with book and media shelves for storage. Typically most people in here said that they wanted more media storage anyway after they built there storage center. I also see a comfortable Club Chair and ottoman in the middle of that area for quiet reading times, headphones music listening, etc...

You could always run a floor to ceiling hospital style drape in front of this area to block off and make the theatre symmetrical for viewing movies and such, then pull it back for quieter pursuits.

 

[David Noll]

The kids are only kids for a short time, so that room will be yours soon enough. And even at an early age, they want to play grown-up games like foosball/pool and arcade/pinball games. Make the 'kids' playroom a multi-age/purpose room and use your unfinished storage space for the walk-in or concession ideas.

David

 

[derek]

Thanks for all the advice! I decided to keep my original design, but going to stud/drywall the 'storage room,' add solid core double doors for an entrance and expand the width of the room by about a foot. At first the room will hold equipment & media on one side and storage on the other. I figure later on if I make it into a game room (enough room in there for a foosball table and a few arcades) the open double doors would give a nice feeling of flow. I also like Michael's idea of a mini-library/reading/listening area. In any case I think this solution places future flexibility into the design which was the goal.