How to Design the Ultimate Gaming Room for Tweens

We knew we wanted to have three gaming stations. An Xbox, a Nintendo Switch and a PC gaming station for creating a Youtube gaming channel.  Measuring the space was key because we needed to make sure that we had enough room to accommodate all three stations.

Measuring the space beforehand allowed me to see where we would have enough room for each station to live.  It will also help you in subsequent steps of the process, such as figuring out the amount of  flooring material needed for step 6, and determining the size of furniture your space can accommodate for step 8.

Deciding on the gaming stations you want early on is also a good idea for when it comes to  installing power sources in step 4.

Meeting with a contractor is the ideal way to figuring out a realistic budget because the majority of remodel costs are spent on labor, not materials. I met with a contractor early on to get a scope of what the project would cost for everything from removing the popcorn ceiling, putting up drywall, stripping the paint off the wood beams, wiring the electrical and installing the flooring and windows.

The estimate was way more than we had to spend but at least I knew what it would take to get the job done before I embarked on the process.  Then I could begin trying to see what we could get done ourselves vs. paying contractors and electricians and painters and installers.

My husband scraped the popcorn off the ceiling and I stripped the paint off the beams.  Both of us mudded and painted the ceiling and walls, with the help of one of the members of our church who used to run the 2^nd largest drywall business in California.  So we really only had to hire out the drywall, door framing and electrical labor, most of which was donated to the church, saving us tons of money.

 Everything from outlets to lighting must be thought of in advance so you can have the electrician run the proper wiring before you get your walls and ceiling all finished and looking pretty. We installed outlets in the center of the walls where we wanted the flat screens as well as along the floor.  We also purchased surge protectors as an added safety precaution for the heavy electronics.

Once you’ve determined where you want outlets and where you want to install the lighting, it’s time to choose the lighting fixtures. I chose pendant and spotlights to keep with the overall industrial look I wanted to incorporate into the space.

P.S. Ignore the flooring tiles in this photo, these were the first option I tried, but I did not end up going with them because they were not durable enough and they were the wrong color.

Using your inspo photo as a guide, choose your color palette. Our kids ministry colors are orange, green and black so those served as the accents for the color palette to compliment the white walls and natural wood accents from my inspiration photo.

Again, referencing your inspiration photo is key here. In my case, I knew I wanted the look of light grey concrete flooring, but given that we were renovating a loft, the sheer weight of a concrete floor was not an option. So I tried to find other solutions that fit the vision.

I searched for an alternative luxury vinyl tile that looked like concrete and after multiple trips to my local tile store, finally settled on Metroflor Savanna Tile in "Chalk".  It turned out to be both an economical and durable solution that fit perfectly with the vision for the room.

I would highly recommend seeking out an expert, aka an 11-year-old, to determine the best gaming equipment to include for the ultimate gaming loft for tweens. These days, no one knows gaming equipment better than a kid.

Luckily,  my 11-year-old son was instrumental in helping me pick the right equipment.  Here are the links to the headset, PC, gaming rocker chairs, gaming chair, & gaming desk he chose.

When it came to the games, we wanted to keep the games rated "E" for everyone, which is very difficult these days with Fortnite being all the rage, but we settled on Roblox, Mario Kart, Zelda, Rocket League and Forza Horizon 4.

We went with 55” Element flat screens (which we scored at a massive discount from Target on Black Friday) and used Hide It Mounts for the Xbox One S and Switch, which we mounted behind the flat screens.

Here are the links to the headset, PC, gaming rocker chairs, gaming chair, & gaming desk.

I really wanted kids to feel like this room was designed just for them, while at the same time leave enough flexibility for the space to potentially be used for meetings down the road.

I wanted it to feel like a creative space, fresh and open for adults while maintaining a fun vibe for kids.  To accomplish this, I kept to the same color palette going with a bright orange couch that had a chaise incorporated for adult lounging, lime green bean-bag chairs  for gameplay, rocking gaming chairs for xbox, and black bungee chairs for added fun.

For the vibe of the room, I went with this modern white coffee table that offered drawers and a shelf for game storage equipped along with blue tooth speakers that pair with any phone to broadcast the playlist of your choice.

Lastly, I tied the space together with an 8x10 sisal rug and matching runner for the crawl space that leads to the sanctuary, for when we need to jump up there to adjust the lights in our sanctuary.

We chose not to go into debt for this project so we made the renovations as God provided the money and labor along the way.  We are still waiting on the windows. So I will update this post when those beautiful black beauties get completed. Thank you for reading!