5 Awesome Gaming Room Ideas

It's every gamers dream to have a space that really reflects their passion for video games. It's more than just a pass time for a lot of us. We want an awesome space, not just to game, but decorate and collect stuff too. A space that's our own and dedicated to what we love. A place that we can express our love of gaming... that also locks from the inside and comes with noise cancelling headphones. Here's a few gaming room ideas, combined into 5 main categories, that will help make your own personal space awesome!

Gaming Room Ideas #1 - Seating Area

You can't relax without something to relax into. Gaming chairs are the common go to for any gaming room and unfortunately when it comes to chairs you get what you pay for. Finding a good bargain can be difficult. It's also a good idea to keep in mind if you want a gaming chair at all when a small couch could work better.

You'll likely have an idea of how big your game room will be and whether there's room for multiple chairs or a couch at all. Either way it won't do for people to be sitting on the floor. Unless you're going for a Japanese theme. And always ALWAYS remember the beanbag. No matter how many chairs you buy you will always be one short and that beanbag will save many a social gathering. You can even use it to chill out on while you play your handhelds.

If you are so inclined you could try sourcing some novelty furniture that has a gaming theme. Keep in mind that shit like that gon' be pricey and the novelty will wear out fast. Boring as it sounds, a decent, smallish, leather couch or recliner is the comfiest and likely best option all round. It will fit in in any décor theme and is easy to keep clean.

You'll also want a decent coffee table too, now this is something you can be creative with. There's a ton of table designs out there that are modelled after different consoles and controllers, again they are likely to cost a mint. A cheaper option is to buy a simple coffee table and just decorate it yourself. A good way to do his is to buy one of those vinyl banners with your favourite game title or design. They're designed for walls but I put my Zelda WindWaker one on my table as a cover. It looks pretty cool.

Gaming Room Ideas #2 - TVs & Displays

You want a gigantic 8k 99" movie screen sized TV that's wall mounted and shoots lasers. I, on the other hand, wish that I was King of Scotland and ruled the land with an iron fist. Reality is often disappointing. In regards to TVs and monitor displays we need to think practically. Especially when the giant TV may actually be too big for what you need.

If you're looking to build a decent PC setup, for example, then the big screen Mamma Jamma is just overkill. What you need is something a little smaller, sleeker and with a little more finesse. If you're planning your gaming room as a space for you and your buddies to chill out in, or you prefer console gaming on a couch, then obviously the big screen will be a better move. If you have the room, and the money, you might want both.

What is there to do with the display once you have it? Sure it looks good on the wall as is but there's other ideas out there. One idea we like is turning it into a giant handheld console with a custom frame. You can usually find these by looking on etsy.com. These can be pricey depending on the level of detail you want but it's certainly something that will make your display pop out. We've seen Switch cases that double up as little game storage cabinets, very handy.

Sadly there aren't many unique gaming room ideas regarding PC setups. For your desktop display it's all about the lighting. Don't go overboard, however, too many LED strips and you'll make your setup look like a cheap strip club and end up messing up your eyes while you play. Moderation is the key, you want ambience, not retinal damage.

Gaming Room Ideas #3 - Merch, Collectibles & Artwork

This is going to be something that's very unique to each specific player. Depending on what you're into you might find an easier, or harder, time finding stuff to decorate the room with. Big franchises like Zelda, Resident Evil or Dark Souls are easy to find all sorts of merch and artwork for. But lesser known stuff might be a little bit on the tricky side. 365games.com has a bunch of collectibles and merchoid.com has even more. Good sources if you want some decent decorations and maybe a way to inspire some gaming room ideas of your own. It's not just what you buy though, but how you display it.

One of the best gaming room ideas I have seen, which seems obvious now that I think about it, but is no less creative, is Portal Mirrors!  I don't know who came up with the idea, but it's brilliant. All you need is two oval mirrors of the same size and two sets of LED strips, one orange and one blue. Put them on opposite walls for a cool infinite effect. This is what I'm talking about when I say it's about how you use your ideas rather then just what you have. Anyone can buy a Portal 2 figure and put it on display, but sometimes you got to think outside the orange box a little.

Another cool idea that I came up with for displaying your collectibles is to have a 'Hero Roommate.' The basic idea is that you buy a coat stand and then decorate it as if your favourite video game character lives with you and this is where they dump their stuff after a long day's adventures. Then just put it in a corner in your gaming room. It's a great way to express your love of your favourite hero.

For example, if Link from The Legend of Zelda lived with you, you'd probably see his hat hanging on the stand, with maybe a spare tunic or two. He would have taken his boots off, maybe they're iron boots or hover boots. Then you can find a Giant's Wallet bag, fill it with Rupees or other Zelda items and sling it over the side. Add a Deku Shield or Hylian Shield and Master Sword for a finishing touch and bam! One 'Hero Roommate!' This idea can work for almost any video game character. Just pick your favourite and start decorating. Skyrim also has a bunch of cool stuff to do this with.

You'll want some decent artwork, and some frames to hang it up with. There was an artist I bought some stuff from at Comic Con that I really liked, you could try looking on etsy.com for some similar stuff. Posters from your favourite games are also a good idea. Some people also like standees. I personally think they take up too much room and are a pain to maintain but it's another cool option. I personally like gaming coasters too. You can find a lot of very cheap coasters out there with old game box art designs like PS1 and Gameboy games. It looks cool and keeps your surfaces clean.

Some figures and statues to place around the room are also great. Keep in mind that some of this stuff can be very expensive. Now, I'm not expecting anyone to go and drop 900 dollarydoos on a limited edition, Japanese import, Resident Evil 2 Leon S. Kennedy Statue complete with gun accessories and kung fu grip, or anything like that (though if I can't talk you out of it then you can). A lot of this stuff will have cheaper alternatives if you shop around. Don't go overboard and keep an eye on your budget.

Gaming Room Ideas #4 - A Décor Theme

Portal Mirrors, a Mario Pipe waste bin and Donkey Kong shelves are all great ideas for your gaming room. But too many different things will make your space a noisy cluttered mess. It's good to plan ahead in order to have a general theme in mind. This doesn't need to be a strict code, you can mix things up here and there, but it's an idea to have a general canvas theme that you can overlay your other cool ideas on top of.

If you're going for a couple of portal mirrors, maybe try and find some companion cube cushions for the couch or an Aperture Science poster/decal on the wall. Maybe even add in a portal logo exit sign. With just a few easy design choices you can make the room into an Aperture testing chamber. White paint is cheap.

There are so many good gaming room ideas when keeping a single game or franchise in mind. For example if your going for a Resident Evil theme, you could try smearing red bloody handprints on the windows as if zombies were trying to get in. Maybe even buy a cheap old typewriter and a big item box for storing your excess stuff and make your gaming room into a classic style Resident Evil Save Room.

Gaming Room Ideas #5 - Retro Consoles

This is an essential if you're ever going to have friends over. Replaying the old classics on couch co-op is THE reason for a gaming room. Whether it's Goldeneye on the N64, Smash Bros. on the GameCube or a little Halo 2 on the good ol' Xbox. It's always a blast revisiting the golden oldies. The good thing is that most of these systems are easy to find and relatively cheap to buy. If you really want to impress then you can stint for a soft-modded system with emulators up the yahoo. You won't regret it, trust me.

Just be sure that you're buying stuff that still works. It's easy to get screwed by buying a broken pile of junk. To a tech savvy enthusiast this might be a bargain you can fix, but to the everyman it's still just junk. You want something functional and, if you don't mind spending a little, in good solid condition. Don't be dismayed by yellowing plastic by the way. A lot of gamers see this as a sign of bad condition, truth be told even the best kept retro systems will have this issue and it's easily fixed by exposing the system to UV light. It takes a while but enough sunlight will make your old SNES look brand new again.

Display compatibility is another issue, your system can work perfectly but not with your new 4K TV. Keep in mind older systems are designed for CRT displays so try looking for an adapter so it can work on your flat screen. You'll find plenty online that work but with varying levels of quality depending on price. This will sadly have diminishing returns as the price increases. Be sure an grab a console table for displaying your retro console collection. This will be the real drawback for retro console lovers, as storage can be a hassle.

For more articles like this try looking on x-button.co.uk