Design for Play: 10 Ideas for a Fun-Filled Rec Room

By Sally Farhat
CTW Features

Image courtesy Sue Pelley

If you’re ready to change your rec room, you’re in the right place. We talked to interior designers across the country to get a pulse on the trends in adult playrooms. Whether you’re remodeling, rebuilding or repositioning, these 10 ideas will get the party started.

1. Think comfort. This might seem obvious, but make sure there are plenty of comfortable places for guests to hang out, says Short Hills, N.J. interior designer Sarit Katz. Buy over-sized, cushy, deep sofas, large sectionals or big beanbags.

2: Home entertainment. Plasma televisions are huge, but how about hiding them? There are now disappearing shelf units that you switch with a remote control. “I’m seeing more people watching movies at home with their families than going out,” says Jayne Pelosi, author of Interior Divine: Walking You Through the Transformation of Your Home (Acanthus, 2005). Don’t forget room-darkening window shades to remove light: there’s nothing more annoying than glare on the screen.

These days, home theaters have everything from projection booths to wall-to-wall screens and surround sound. If you’re designing one, don’t set up your seats like a real theater, says Miami interior designer Jorge Rosso-Ubarri. Arrange them for easy conversation.

3: Be practical. Don’t forget wiring and electric outlets. Think about sound, cable, computer, satellite and phone. “Even if you don’t already have most of the gadgetry, you may get it down the line,” Katz says. “Put in more than required because everything, even pinball machines, require electricity. You don’t want wires tripping you up. And extension chords are a pain, unsightly and a fire hazard.”

4. Poker, poker, poker. Poker is huge right now. Diana Bennett Wirtz, an interior design instructor at the Art Institute of California-Orange County, says poker isn’t just for playing, but for decorating. She suggests poker prints to hang on walls, poker-themed lights and even furniture.

Furniture stores say they’re seeing a major increase in sales of poker items. “People come in looking for tables, table covers and chip sets,” says Bob Jones, Jr., president of American Sale, a large furniture chain in Chicago. “They want the reality, the feel of Las Vegas. Inexpensive plastic chips don’t sell anymore. Customers want the realism they see on TV, and quality.”

5. Storage galore. Make room anywhere you can: think about seats that have storage beneath and book shelves with wicker cubbies. Use a hanging shoe bag to store small dolls and color-code small building toys in shallow, clear plastic fishing trays, says Eric Stromer, star of NBC’s Three Wishes. If you’re not sure where to put everything, a huge cabinet or armoire helps organize all of the electronics, games and refrigerator in one space.

6. Small refrigerator. Nearly every designer we spoke with stressed the importance of having a fridge downstairs. “You’re not going to go and mess up the kitchen at eight at night,” Pelosi says. Keep it stocked with snacks and juices.

7. Tables. This may seem obvious, but you’ll want all sorts of places to lay drinks and food down. The newest trend is expanding flip tables, where you can play poker on one side and backgammon on the other. For a do-it-yourself idea, get scrap wood that is six inches thick and have it cut into squares, says Nicole Sassaman, who stars on HGTV’s “Designer’s Challenge.” After you sand and stain them, stack them until they are at the height you’d like for a coffee table or end table. “Have the wood shop drill a hole through all of the pieces and connect them with a metal pin,” Sassaman says. “You can zigzag them or line them up straight. They’re cheap, easy and look very cool.”

8. Arcade-style games. You’ll obviously get the games you want to play, but anything arcade is in. For example, turbo air hockey used to be very basic, but new versions include electric scoring, an announcer and flashing lights. Don’t forget the old standbys: foosball, skeet and of course, a pool table. If you have space, separate the room informally into two sections: one for conversation, and one for entertainment and games.

9. Alternative flooring. Don’t want carpet? Try cork, Pelosi says. It’s softer than tile or hardwood – good if the kids are playing a bit rough. If you love your carpet, interior designer Sue Pelley says carpet squares are all the rage. They cover the floor in easy to lay squares. “If you have a bad spill, replace the carpet square and you’re good to go,” Pelley, who has been featured on many design shows including Lifetime’s Our Home, says.

Or use pillows with a soft carpet, so people can sit on the floor and prop themselves up, Rosso-Ubarri says. “Be daring with the pillows, use color or pattern here, such as a great scarf as a pillow front.”

10. Look at the new trends. Steven Kleber, a trend expert, says to think outside the “original rec room concept.” How about a refrigerator that has the look of a 1950s automobile to go with fun, retro décor? Or smart light switches and faucets that turn on and off without a touch of the hand? The possibilities are endless.

Whatever you do, don’t forget to have fun. That’s what this room is all about, after all.

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