How to Make Your Room a Game Room? Transform It Now!

Any room can be a game room, but sometimes you want your entertainment in the most relaxing room in the house. Bedrooms can be quite small though, which poses significant issues for aspiring game rooms. If you’ve ever dreamed of turning your bedroom into a game room, we’ve got the perfect guide for you.

How do you make a bedroom a game room? Make space for playing tabletop or video games, relaxing, and entertaining guests. Create storage space for games and accessories by using hidden areas, such as under the bed, to maximize space. Opt for convertible or multi-function furniture and gaming accessories.

Turning a bedroom or other small space into a game room can be challenging. When you know what game rooms need and how to maximize your small space, however, even the tiniest room can become a gamer’s paradise. Below, we’ll cover this topic in detail, giving you game room suggestions for a variety of bedrooms, small spaces, or oddly-shaped rooms.

Can a Bedroom Be a Game Room?

Yes, a bedroom can become a functional and impressive game room if you plan carefully and use our tips to fully utilize your available space. The biggest question you need to answer before you start is whether your game room will still need to act as a bedroom or if you’re converting a bedroom into a full-fledged and dedicated game room? Each option has its own pros and cons.

How to Make a Bedroom a Game Room

Many of the suggestions for one type of bedroom game room can be used for the other type, too, so I suggest reading the whole article to get the full view. That way, I won’t be repeating a bunch of information and wasting your time. Let’s get to it!

Converting a Bedroom into a Game Room

Converting an unused bedroom into a game room is a much simpler project than adding a game room to a functional bedroom, but there are still some pitfalls to keep in mind.

Bedrooms are typically quite small, making them tough to fit all the cool stuff game rooms usually have. You’ll need to be creative in how you decorate, furnish, and stock a bedroom that’s been converted into a game room.

Generally speaking, you’ll want to keep any screens—such as televisions or monitors—away from bedroom windows, but not directly across from them. This helps avoid glares or reflections and can help reduce eyestrain for those marathon video game or movie nights.

You’ll need to consider the sound system if you plan to install one. Since the room itself was designed to be a bedroom, it’s likely sharing at least one wall with another bedroom or a common area, such as a bathroom or living room. Sounds can pass through these interior walls and disturb other residents.

Bedrooms usually have closets. Since this bedroom is being converted into a game room, you actually have a nice bonus here, as long as you use it properly. Bedroom closets are generally designed to hold clothing and some boxes. You may wish to add shelving to use this storage space to its maximum. If you’re unable to build shelves directly into the closet, you can still add some freestanding shelving that will still look nice while holding all your games and accessories.

Closet shelves can either be inexpensive, like this one, or pricey but look nicer, like this one.

Closet clothing rods are a great place to hang wires, headsets, and controllers for video gaming or other multimedia entertainment. You can also use a plastic or canvas shoe rack to hold smaller electronic accessories such as controllers, remotes, and adaptors.

Adding a Game Room to a Bedroom

If you’d like to add a game room to your bedroom, but still use it as a bedroom or guest room, you’ll have a few added pitfalls to watch out for. As mentioned above, bedrooms are usually pretty small. Even if you have a nice, large bedroom with lots of extra space, you’re still going to be competing with the bedroom essentials.

Technically, a bedroom only needs a bed, but most people also have their clothing stored here and some personal effects. Guest rooms are a bit easier to deal with, but you’ll likely still want to provide some kind of personal storage for your guests, too. Navigating this space and making room for essential gaming gear can be a challenge.

Murphy Bed, Sleeper Sofa, or Futon

Consider using a Murphy bed. These beds fold up against a wall or tuck into neat little cubes when not in use. They can be simple and DIY, or you can go all out and get a fancy one like this one from Night & Day Furniture. I’m especially fond of this design because it not only puts the bed out of sight while using the game room but also includes nice storage for bedding, too. The top of the folded bed can be used for a variety of gaming uses, display, or a place to set drinks and snacks.

Another bedding option is a pullout bed tucked inside a couch; they’re often called sleeper sofas. These are a popular choice for those creating a game room in a bedroom. They come in a ton of styles and sizes, plus they are easy to find just about anywhere. This is a great option because the dark colors match nearly any decor, the leather is easy to clean, and it pulls out to a surprisingly roomy bed in seconds. The couch itself is a perfect location for gaming or viewing movies and can fit a lot of people.

A futon is also an option, though it’s the least comfortable. Like sleeper sofas, they come in a variety of sizes and colors. They are comfortable enough for gaming or watching television, and they fold out quickly for sleeping. Here is my budget pick for futons.

Creative Storage for Game Rooms

Storage for a game room in a bedroom or other small space is probably the biggest problem most people will face. Creative use of typically ignored space is the way to go here. Look for places to store your games, movies, music, and accessories under permanent furniture. Look for places such as beds or freestanding cabinets. You can use plastic bins of all shapes and sizes under permanent furniture; just find the right fit for your space.

Don’t ignore wall space for storage. Install shelves, hangers, and racks to use vertical space for gaming necessities such as controllers, game boards and pieces, timers, dice, and play mats.

Using the space under chairs and stools is often overlooked. Since most chairs and stools don’t break down, fold, or otherwise condense, you have usable space right under the seat or on the back. Just hang a basket, bag, or fabric shelf from them.

Modular Furniture

Choose modular and multi-function furniture to save space. Modular furniture can come with a huge variety of features. In addition to beds that turn into tables, there are tables that turn into seating, footstools that double as storage, cube furniture that can be stacked and organized into a variety of shapes. For bedroom game rooms, look to furniture made for tiny houses or trailers. These often come with modular designs and multi-functionality.

Multi-function and Combination Game Tables

These come in an assortment of styles and aesthetics, each geared toward specific gaming tastes and age brackets. For example, this folding mahjong table can also be used for cards, dice, and dominoes. For our fancy readers, check out this 3-in-1 game table.

You can find multi-function game tables for the faster-paced games like air hockey, foosball, and table tennis among others. While the smaller tables are usually geared toward younger players, there are some that would fit well in an adult’s game room, too. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail on combination game tables in this article because we already covered that topic right here. Let’s just say that these are a great option for small spaces such as bedroom game rooms.

Common Problems Setting up a Game Room in a Bedroom

We’ve already talked about space issues and given a bunch of tips to make your game room efficient and fun. But what about the other problems you may face creating a game room in a bedroom?

Power

By far, the biggest complaint we hear is power. Bedrooms are built to a certain code, including expected power consumption. Some bedrooms have one outlet on each wall. Some may have even fewer than that. If you plan to play video games, have a small home theater, or just want to run a simple light and sound system in your game room, you’ll need to consider power consumption.

If you’re unable to add more outlets to your game room, you can still power an impressive amount of electronics with the right power strips. Many modern power strips come with USB slots to charge your mobile devices, too. Just be sure you don’t overload your outlets. You can find specific information about your power loads from your landlord, builder, or a local electrician.

Even if you’re not doing video gaming or running a high-tech home theater in your bedroom game room, you’ll still need more lighting than a standard bedroom. Plan for the floor space and power needs for your lighting before you purchase. Ceiling mounted lighting is always a favorite, but you can find some great clip-on lights, floor lamps, and wall-mount lamps, too. Be sure to arrange your best lighting near the area that will see the most action. Dimmable lights are best in a game room.

Noise

We touched on noise briefly above, but there’s more to this topic than just fitting big speakers in the game room. You need to consider neighbors, too. Even if you live in a house and not an apartment, if you pack too much boom into your small game room, that sound is going to make it next door, and I doubt your neighbors will appreciate it. Make sure you measure your room and get advice from a local audio specialist to pick the right sound system for your game room.

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Conclusion: You Can’t Go Wrong

From board games to video games to tabletop games like poker and mahjong, playing your favorite games in your bedroom has never been easier. There is such an assortment of products meant to turn small spaces into productive and fun spaces, you can’t go wrong. Look for ways to maximize your storage space to leave more room for playing and enjoying your game room, make sure your lighting is appropriate for your chosen games, and furnish your game room with modular and convertible, multi-function furniture to complete the look, feel, and function of your bedroom game room.

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