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Across the hall from the sitting room will be our game room. Traditionally, one of these two rooms would be used as a formal dining room, but that’s not really our thing. The kitchen has a nice eat-in area, and we mostly eat in living room when not entertaining. So we decided to repurpose the space to be more usable for us. Here is the inspiration, mood board, and wish list for our new game room.
When it comes to the game room, I recruited my husband to help out a bit with the general feeling and color scheme. He’s not super into this stuff, so he lets me take the lead. But in this case, I figured this was a room he’d be likely to spend a lot of time in, and I wanted it to feel like his. His goals were for the space to not be too dark, and of course to include a bar!
Game Room Inspiration & Mood Board
This mood board took me the longest of all the rooms I’ve designed so far. When it came to the master bedroom and guest room, it felt like the color scheme just fell into place. With this room, I kept getting stuck on that dark dive bar vibe, and it wasn’t working.
I finally just started pulling and saving images that were working with the feeling we wanted to achieve. I picture it as a space filled with friends playing board games, sharing snacks, and grabbing a beer. I’d also like it be a casual room where we can lounge to wind down after a dinner party.
I went with the shades of honey brown, because it reminded me of that bar feeling, while still bringing in a lightness. To add a pop of a contrasting color, I think the navy blue and cool green will add to that mood. I also included some images of our home state, New York, and will try to bring that homage into the decor.
Game Room Wish List
- Mid Century Navy Blue Loveseat by Christopher Knight Home
- Lift Top Coffee Table by Yaheetech
- Wooden Bar Cart by Linon
- Woven Area Rug by Art Carpet
- Navy Floor Cushion by Algud
- Marbled Ceramic Planters by SUN-E
- Bamboo Cheese Board Set by Bambusi
- Rochester, NY Skyline by Ashley Framed Prints
- Gold Sheer Curtains by HLC.ME
- Felt-Lined Dice Tray by Wiz Dice
- Agate Geode Coasters by Manon’s Home
- Letchworth State Park Poster by Lantern Press
A game rooms needs a couple important things to be successful: plenty of comfortable seating and a table with lots of storage for board games. I started with those major pieces, and decided to build the details around them. Because we’ll be using the room as somewhat of a bar too, I would like to pull in a wooden bar cart to stock with our favorite whiskeys and rums.
On a smaller scale, a fun colored rug and some floor cushions will make entertaining larger crowds easier with additional seating. On the window, I’m thinking a few plants and some sheer curtains to bring the outside in.
The wall art will help set the mood, with some imagery of upstate New York, including Rochester and my favorite state park, Letchworth. On the table, a wooden cheese board will be perfect for serving appetizers, and the coasters for drinks will keep everything neat. A felt lined dice tray will be the perfect final detail to the room.
The lift top coffee table is in my game room wish list too! I love all the space that it has. Also, I love all the tips that you shared, it gave me a lot of inspiration!
That table seems like it would be perfect for a game room, with all that extra storage! I’m glad you liked all the tips. 🙂
I love these game room ideas! I especially LOVE those agate coasters — they are so pretty! And that state park poster is so pretty, too.
Thank you! I really want to use agate somewhere in my house, and these are too pretty to pass up. I’m hoping I can find other pieces by the same artist that designed that poster as well!
We want to do something similar to this with the finished side of our basement – it really needs some paint but I’ve been so indecisive… I actually love what you’ve done here and will definitely be using it for inspiration!
Oh this would be perfect for a basement, I love that! Keep me updated, I’d love to see how your own game room turns out compared to mine.
I’m loving the mid-century modern vibe that this couch brings into the room. I’m a big fan of vintage state park posters, too. This will be such an inviting space to relax and entertain!
Thank you! Yes, I am loving that couch for sure! And I’m digging to see if I can find more posters in the same art style.
Oh, I like the vibe of those space, but that lift top coffee table and wooden bar cart are such great finds. I’ve been looking for similar items. Thanks for the inspo!
I looked through like 30 pages of bar carts, turns out I’m pretty picky! I’m loving the idea of the table for extra game storage as well.
I love game rooms! We don’t have one with our current townhouse setup, but one day I’m hoping we can have one! We will definitely have space for board games!
Yes it’s so fun! Even if you don’t have a dedicated space, you can totally add elements to make your living room more board game friendly, especially that lift top coffee table.
Can I have it all please?? Maybe I will let my fiancé build a games room if I can do the decor!
Great post, thank you x
Absolutely! That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.