Going to turn my basement into a Retro haven.

[hireshi]

We've just moved into a new house and 70% of the basement (a huge living room plus a small hallway) is standing unused.

I was considering painting the walls in 80s Super Mario style, adding dimmers as lights, two leather couches and one huge projector hooked up to my SNES & N64. AKA the GEEK-CAVE, or the retro dungeon. Of course, surround is a must.

I have about €2000 to spend, which equals just above $2700. I already have one leather couch and a projector screen, so those money will be spent on one more couch, painting and the surround (possible some extra controllers / games if leftovers are found).

Could anyone come with any more suggestions to make this living room the ultimate Retro gaming dungeon for 80-90s Nintendo lovers?

[Jagosaurus]

So being from Texas, we don't really have basements.... I'd think you'd need a decent dehumidifier though to prevent it from being damp and in turn, crinkling manuals, etc.

TX guy & collector speaking lol.

[hireshi]

Hah European basements in general are like a normal floor of their own, dry, not humid, .. My English isn't very good, but there's not a lot that needs to be done with the air or what not.

Except the walls are horrid, so I wanted a theme to fit the idea

[KalessinDB]

Some place (thinkgeek?) has SMB (and other) decals to keep you from having to stencil/paint the stuff. Of course that also makes it easily removable if you decide to change your mind.

You can always add non-video game related stuff to make your area more enjoyable -- small wet bar, mini-fridge, etc.

I'd do it myself, but my basement has flooded before so I don't want to risk it.

[Frag Mortuus]

Keep us updated with pictures.

[Ziggy]

Pictures of the empty room could help us suggest ideas for it better.

Overhead lights are great, but there's nothing like lamps for living rooms. They just create a better atmosphere for gaming, in my own opinion. The best lamps to use are those three-way ones that have 3 different brightness settings, unless you have dimmer controls for them. If you do get overhead lights, at least you're getting a dimmer. The problem with a wall dimmer is having to get up to adjust it. But, this can be fixed if you get a dimmer switch that's controlled with a remote. I have one in my bedroom, and I couldn't imagine life without it at this point.

Anyways, even with overhead lighting, you can still use lamps. That's what I do in my basement retro room. I have overhead florescent light fixtures. But when I go down there to game, I keep them off and use lamps instead.

Is this basement room finished or unfinished? I'm assuming finished. As for painting, me personally, I wouldn't try and paint the walls with any kind of theme. I would just choose colors that seem to fit the room, and make you feel comfortable in it. Of course, colors are super subjective, so only you can decide what to pick. What I will suggest, however, is to go with a faux finish.

My favorite part about faux finishes is that you're able to be very creative when doing them. You usually pick at least two colors (a base color and a semi transparent color to do the faux texture). They make specials rollers to get different patterns, but you can use basically anything. I had some one suggest to me to use a crumpled up plastic shopping back. When I did my bedroom, I used a weird floor mop cover and it ended up coming out really good.

Are there four walls for this room? If there is, consider making one wall different from the rest. Either by painting it a different color or some kind of paneling. For example, wood paneling or panels that are made to look like bricks or stones or whatever. Again, if I saw pictures of the unfinished room I'd be able to suggest something more specific.

Whenever finishing a room, I always take a lot of consideration into colors and lighting. It doesn't really matter what's in the room, how large or how small, the arrangement of furniture, etc. Color and lighting will make or break any room.

So what's the floor like? Carpet, hardwood, tiles?

[BRIK]

Please upload photos as you carry this all out, I love following along and seeing the progression