The garage in modern-day America can be a very unique space. Many people use their garages in different ways. Some people park their cars in the garage, while others use it as a space to store anything from outdoor equipment to seasonal decorations. With so many different garage options today, we want to show you how to turn your garage into a game room.

There are a lot of reasons why you might want to convert your garage into a game room. Maybe you get too loud at night when your team is up and the clock is running out, so you need somewhere where you can celebrate the big win into the late hours of the night. Or maybe you’re looking for a bigger space for a group game night. Many game rooms can include places to play board games, a ping pong table, a billiards table, and many other items. For more ideas of what to put in your game room, just check out this blog from Extraspace.

So now let’s get into the actual process of converting your garage into a game room. We are going to give you a step by step process on what to do, so just follow along.

Step 1: Clean up

It is very likely that your garage is full of stuff right now. You can’t have a game room garage if it is full of storage or other items, so the first step is to get into your garage and start moving everything out of there. Throw away or give away anything you no longer need or use. If you still need to keep things in your garage, designate a small space like a corner to be the spot to store your items. If there is not enough ground space, consider something like garage shelves for more efficient storage. Cabinets are another option if you don’t want any guests to see those items, think about getting some that can look great, and store stuff out of sight. Once everything is nice and tidy you can move on to the next step.

Step 2: Put Your Big Idea on Paper

This is the beginning of the fun part. Get an idea of the area you have to work with, and start brainstorming how you want to design your personal game room. Draw it out if you need to.

The first step in brainstorming is to figure out the theme of the room. Themes can range anywhere from your favorite sports team, board game, or video game. Take a look through websites like Wayfair and Amazon for decorations that best fit the style of the room you’re looking for.

You will also want to take a look at your garage’s floor. Most garages have a normal concrete floor which won’t stand out, but likely won’t clash with any future design ideas. You could take it a step further. With garage floor tiles, you can mix and match a variety of different colors to perfectly match the overall aesthetic. As a bonus, you won’t have to worry about any damage to the tiles since they are extremely durable. Having your floor correspond to the other elements in your garage game room will bring it to a whole new level.

Step 3: Adding Furniture and Games

The final step in creating your own garage game room is to fill it with the games and furniture of your choice. Now is where you can break out the dusty ping pong table and finally put it to some good use. If you are using the game room for video gaming, look into getting some soundproofing or a surround sound system for the ultimate experience. If you have a ping pong or billiards table you will need a space to store paddles, balls, and cues. Rather than just stuffing them in a corner, or leaving them on the table where they could get damaged, storage hooks and wire baskets, are a great alternative. For ping pong balls, a bucket holder creates easy storage. There are also many DIY projects out there that can help you store these items as well.

Step 4: Have Fun

Now that you have successfully turned your garage into a game room, all that’s left to do is have fun. Whether you are playing video games late into the night with friends or hosting small get-togethers with friends, your new game room will help you get more out of those experiences.

Bonus Pro Tip: If you have a ping pong or billiards table you will need some space to store the paddles, balls, and cues. Rather than just stuffing them in a corner, or leaving them on the table where they could get damaged, you could look into more efficient storage options that can help the game room look more stylish. For the cues and paddles, garage storage hooks, or this wire basket, are a great option to keep them off the ground. For ping pong balls you might think about getting something like this bucket holder to fill a bucket full of ping pong balls for easy storage. There are also many DIY projects out there that can help you store these items as well.

If you are interested in doing a different type of garage conversion, check out some of our other ideas, like turning your garage into a gym.