Basements around the country are popularly being converted from dark, damp, storage spaces to fun and exciting, new game rooms! Wouldn't it be nice to have a room in your own home where you and your children can share in activities together like billiards, foosball and video games? It's likely that your basement is merely where you store your Christmas decorations or do your laundry, and if this is the case, you should consider an alternative that will be fun for the whole family.
Clearing Out Space
The first step to converting your basement into a game room is making space. Most likely you've been using your basement for something, whether it's where you do laundry or where you store rarely used things, and for this conversion to be successful, you're going to have to find some place to put all that stuff! Hopefully this won't be too much of a problem for you. It's likely that you'll be able to find some extra space in the attic, garage or hall closet. If not, it might be time for a yard sale! Yard sales permits are inexpensive, and you'll be able to use the money you make from selling your old stuff to make your game room that much better! If you're basement doubles as a laundry room, it may be less expensive to build a small pantry around your washer/dryer than to have new vents and electrical outlets put some place else. You might also be inclined to put up walls and finish the flooring in the basement to make your billiard and game room appear to be more a part of the actual house than a basement. If you are building a new home and looking to utilize basement space for a billiard and game room, you can work with your contractor to have this room finished as the house is finished - which is the least expensive method of doing so. Game rooms tend to drive up the resell price of the home, which makes them a wise investment.
Designing and Building a Game Room
Now that you've got your free space, you can start filling it up with new toys. A billiard table is a great start for any game room. In fact, you can center the entire room on the billiard table. As billiard tables are relatively popular, it's easy to find billiard lamps and wall hangings for your new pool room. A basement is one of the best places to have some friends over and watch the game. Big screen TVs are getting less expensive every day, and are always impressive to male visitors. If this is your plan, you will also need some furniture, and you might be able to find some memorabilia of your favorite sports team to hang on the wall. Whatever you end up deciding, your new basement/game room will surely become the hot spot in the neighborhood, and a great place for a Super Bowl party!