4 Tips For Creating An Amazing Rec Room

Basements too often go underutilized, left to languish as the underbelly of the house, but they have just as much potential as any other space. The idea behind a recreation room is pretty simple: create a space away from the everyday foot traffic of the home that’s dedicated to games and entertainment. It’s not something you’d have, for instance, in your main foyer, as that would look odd, but squared away downstairs in the basement, the rec room is a perfect solace and sanctuary after a long day.

Rec rooms are very often warm and inviting – one of the reasons Woodcraft solid wood furniture fits so well in a rec room – and often evoke a kind of old fashioned aesthetic, for instance with an antique pool table or 1950s beer signs. Here we’ve compiled four ways that you can achieve this aesthetic – four ways you can create the ultimate rec room.

Compartmentalize The Fun

What we mean by this is that it’s in your best interest to try and section off different games and activities. For instance, you don’t want the TV directly behind the pool table, or the bar rubbing up against the foosball table. Give every piece of entertainment its proper space, dividing up the room (or rooms) according to activities. That way, no pool players will get in the way of someone trying to watch TV, and no stray elbows from the foosball table will knock a glass off the bar.

Deck It Out In Wood

Nothing says bespoke and timeless like custom wood furniture and a rec room is going to look awesome with a few choice pieces. Put a reclaimed wood coffee table in there to drive home the old-fashioned, character-rich look of the room, and line one of the walls with an entertainment unit, like our Turnbuckle TV Unit or Modo Console w/ Hutch. The nice thing about solid wood in a basement is that it does a wonderful job evoking a pool hall or old-fashioned inn, adding layers of warmth and comfort.

Add Some Old-Fashioned Flair

You are limited only by your imagination with this one. Our advice would be visit a flea market, like the Toronto Weston Flea Market, or the Sunday Antique Market at St. Lawrence Market, and search for anything that strikes your fancy. Old Guinness posters, old bar serving trays, baseball arcade games from the 60s, a light-up Coors sign… the list is endless. Just pick a design idea and fly with it.

Paint For Warmth

To match the wooden tables and old-fashioned curios, paint your rec room to give it a warm, welcoming vibe. Choose earthy colours that match the existing décor. Since it’s in a basement, be sure to follow proper procedures for painting a rec room, like creating proper ventilation through fans or open windows, and preparing the room with sheeting or tarps to avoid damaging the room.

Once you’re all finished, you can finally relax. Invite friends over, flip on the TV, have a friendly game of pool and enjoy some cool drinks to celebrate all your hard work. It’s important to have a space in the house that is purely recreational, somewhere you can go to unwind and not worry about life outside. With these four simple steps, you can create the ultimate, old-fashioned rec room, the perfect place for any game night or get together. Cheers!