Home arcade design tips

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

These home arcade design tips will get you and your family into the game

So you’ve decided that you want to give your rec room a brand new look but you aren’t entirely sure what direction you should go? Whether you are putting together a man cave or a place that the whole family can hang out when they are looking to have some fun, there are a couple of different ways you can begin in order to get the best rec room possible.

While a home arcade seemed to have gone by the wayside in recent years, retro is back — and that means that putting in an arcade room in order to have the most fun and look the best doing it.

When you have committed to going the arcade room route, the first thing you should keep in mind is that hopefully this will be a room you want to spend a great deal of time in. Most likely you are going to be laying out a pretty penny in order to redo the room the way you want. That money isn’t going to be well spent if you end up not liking the final result. You should take stock of the ways that an arcade room can be done and decide on a style before you begin stocking the space.

Game room themes

There are a couple of different arcade themes you can go with when putting together the room.

The first is that of an actual arcade, meaning you are using vintage arcade games like Pinball and Asteroids in order to fill the space. Putting together a room like this means that you can step back into your childhood and play any of your favorite games whenever you want. You can also find decorations for the walls and carpet that either match the games you have put in the room or that will make the room look more like an official arcade. Throw in something like a soda machine or soda fountain and you can really go hog wild making the arcade room seem authentic.

While video games are always a great way to go, especially if you are looking to go old school, there are other games you can put in the room and then decorate around them.

Whac-a-Mole and similar games have been a hit for years at aracades. It’s a great way to improve hand-eye coordination and get some of your aggressions out at the same time. That’s why having one in your room can be quite a bit of run. Put a few other games like this, something like a foosball table or pool table, and suddenly you have a sports-themed arcade. You can then go with decorations that accompany the basketball theme or really any sport.
The Fat Head wall hangings can be a nice touch in a room like this. You will also need some sort of chair, or rug that represents your favorite team to really pull off the look.

Another decorating idea is to go full game room, only not the video game kind.

You can put any sort of gambling themed decorations such as a pool table along with a poker table. You can pull off the arcade part by either installing some video slots or some electronic dartboards. Throw in some lights that could be seen at casinos, and if you really want to go retro, you can study photos of casinos at their height in the 1960s for some true old school looks. This particular look is practically screaming for you to install a mini bar so that you can keep your guests nicely lubricated.
~
The final thing to keep in mind when looking for ideas is to make sure everyone who will be using the room is considered. You don’t want to have a full casino if small children are going to be spending a lot of time in the room.

Inclusion is the only way to make sure that the redesign will be a successful one.