New house and dedicated Arcade/Bar/Theater on the way

[zanna5910]

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I'm pretty sure Griff is envisioning this as an either/or room. Either we're watching Beaches or we're playing Ikari Warriors, but not both at the same time. Or if the TV and vids are on, so is a soccer match so sound really doesn't matter.

I'm with you, hence the slideable/removable idea.  Sometimes you might need it separated.  I like the casual all-in-one as well, but we know how kids are and a little bit of separation sometimes might be needed.  Good luck with the project.

[Maximus]

Went at it again today and came up with this layout.



More seating in a good social configuration, more storage in the overheads, more cabinets now 13 uprights, 1 pin, 1 cockpit, 1 driver. Feels a lot more like a traditional bar now with stool seating for up to 7 people, couch seating for about 4 and then throw a kid in teh beanbag, although I may ditch that for a small coffee table to place drinks and snacks. Managed to retain my viewing distance to screen size ratio at the couch. Also I like the continuous walkway through the left hand side of the setup. Pulled sneaky move and hid the door to the side laundry room behind a sliding curtain.

[shponglefan]

That layout seems very cramped to me.  Do you really need all those cabinets?  I'd probably ditch at least the first four cabs along the top and a couple along the bottom.

And if you plan to have surround sound you'll need places to put speakers.  Right now it seems the sole focus is on cramming a room with as many arcade machines as possible versus creating a room that can cater to a theater and bar as well.

IMHO if it was me, I'd probably find a way to slice the room in half possibly using a bar, then arcade cabs on one side and theater on the other.  That way you have more opportunity to properly utilize the space of each so you don't end up with this oddly compromised space.

Alternatively, I would still recommend going with a bigscreen instead of a projector if the goal is primarily bar/games room.  Then you don't need as much space for the theater component and the room will have some more space.

[macattack]

Agreed, this version and I guess some of the recent ones seems to have switched from a theater main focus to a bar focus. Personally preferred the earlier versions with separate rooms. Just my 2 cents.


WWW.Xtremepinball.com

[HanoiBoi]

I agree with separating the areas as in the earlier renders, and moving area from the island  bar.  I liked the arcade on one side with the theater and bar on the other.  I know the earlier layouts were assuming a larger space, any monkey could see that  , but if this space is big enough, that layout might still work well.

[Dawgz Rule]

Just ran through the whole thing again and I think your best layout was the arcade with the modest bar.  I would give the island bar a close second.  The most recent seems too crowded.  Dividing that size of room up will leave you with two smaller rooms that will also seem crowded in my opinion.  I would recommend going with where your passion lies which seems to lean on the arcade side of the house.  My wife and I toyed arond with the home theater idea in our basement and ultimately ditched it because we aren't that passionate about our movies.  Instead, we have a good size screen and surround sound in our great room and it gets the job done.   If you keep it open concept, you can get the bulk of the finish work done.  Worst case, you will need to have a drop located in the ceiling in the vicinity of where you would put a projector.    Once you start filling it up with stuff, you will have a better idea of the comfort level you will be able to achieve.  In the meantime, keep hacking away at the designs.

[GIZMOGAMES]

ok what with all the skantily clad women the cramped spaces niph neph jokes and nipple rings i cant stop laughing   
but seriously is the garage a pitched or flat roof
and why dont you put into effect a 2 stage plan as i know yr thinking of getting the machines over time why not have 9 machines instead of the alloted ammount youve posted also it would allow a more viable solution to yr plan2 pic with a dedicated mame machine in main bar area and move the driver/starwars cab to the left wall area as posted --BINGO! Either that, or I was attempting to say "before" but it was too many letters to type-- well until you could get a SEPERATE area built rather than an addition ajoined by a walkway that you wouldnt mind having a blaklight in and cinema this way arrows on ceiling and jazzy floor you could make it a 20 x 20 and utilise the doorway to the back makin the mancave big enough to accomodate the skeeball and other kareoke ideas you have or even take it off to the right doorway from the bar rome wasnt built in a day but i am  of the kind of sized areas you lot seem to have in the usa jelouse just a bit itzy teeny weeny bit yah i am green ok im kermit the frog lmao just a thought as wouldnt that be cheeper and a easier solution

[RandyT]

If I might make one suggestion, if you aren't using a retractable, try to avoid using the space directly in front of your screen as a "walk through".  Good screens can be expensive, and a bear to replace.  I really didn't have much choice in my layout to position the 16' screen I have, but the hackles go up every time someone gets too close to it.  It's manageable with private space, but kids and drunk buddies in that space too often could result in heartache.

[Maximus]

Yeah Randy I hear you on the expensive screens. I actually made my own  from blackout cloth stretched over a timber frame. Looks fantastic and only cost 80 bucks to make. So at least its not as much of a loss risk.

As for splitting the room it would be nice but in reality the measurement s just don't work out well. I would love to do floating wall isolation with heavy bead sandwiched substrate and all the fun HT stuff around a theater space but I just don't have the room with the garage the way it is.

[Maximus]

Also on the subject of screens and projectors. I'm using a PJ because I already own it. It stands up to ambient light very well and works great for sports even in average light. Obviously for movie mode the least light the better but I like that. Also I have had projectors for over ten years in the home. I love the flatness of the image no problems with glare or viewing angles.

Here's a snap of the blackout cloth screen its 120".

 Always hard to take a pic of a projection but you get the idea. The room is light enough to move around without problems the screen brightness just throws off the camera exposure

[RandyT]

Yeah Randy I hear you on the expensive screens. I actually made my own  from blackout cloth stretched over a timber frame. Looks fantastic and only cost 80 bucks to make. So at least its not as much of a loss risk.

I'm a big fan of the blackout cloth.  With the size I had to cover, it was really the only affordable option, other than paint, and the image looks great.  I just can't imagine having to do it again.  Too many staples and ladder moves

[brihyn]

Just a thought...is there an option to make a bar directly behind the couch, slightly lower than a normal bar. You could then have seating in front of it, facing the screen to give you a bit more seating for the screen, and also allow people at the couch to place their drinks directly behind them, keeping you from needing a coffee table? (we put a piece of furniture behind ours for exactly that reason).

[Maximus]

You could but it's not very social everyone staring at the screen. I hate it when all the chairs in a living room center around a TV not very good energy.