You know what would be neat? Paint it black, then coat over that with white UV paint. Then if you get some black light lamps it will only glow in those areas.

If you remove the wall you will have to re tile at least the bedroom and wall gap, right? I would do the ceiling white. Remember it is a basement so a white ceiling will give a lot more light. I think lighting is more important in this case for room mood.

I would go flat black on it that way it won't reflect and give it a real arcade feel. Now for your walls what ever you think will look cool. I painted my game room lime green and orange. And had my buddy make some large wall decals. Take a look at my game room pics on my profile.

That ceiling is low. I personally would paint it white, to make the room look/feel larger.

Here's how I did mine. It has an 80s arcade feel to it. Ed

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I like the idea of flat black for the ceiling. However, for my basement game room - it is white. Somewhat of a low ceiling and white makes it seem larger, brighter.

edit: wow fast ed - that is a sweet looking game room!

I used flat black for the ceilings and gloss black for the walls. The carpet is black light. Ed

I used Behr semi-gloss paint in dark grey (almost black) for my walls and ceiling.

Although it's true that the room feels smaller afterwards, versus the white walls/ceiling, it feels a lot more like a game room. I like the idea of supplementing with additional glow-in-the-dark decorations and LED lighting; next on my 'to-do' list.

Oh, if I had to do it over again, I would use semi-gloss on the walls, but flat on the ceiling. Sometimes the reflections shines back onto the pinball machine glass.

I used a glossy white on mine......with the windows curtained off (to avoid fading), I wanted as much brightness as possible. The walls around most of the basement are slime green (better than the concrete gray)

Thats some nice rental space. Are you sure you need a game room?

Grey walls and burgundy ceiling.

Looks like a nice area!

I have a 12 ft ceiling in my basement/ arcade. I painted the ceiling flat black and it looks great and gives a giant feeling of height.

If it were me....Keep the bedroom the way it is. You will regret it, if you decide to ever sell your home. A conforming bedroom with closet and attached bathroom will be really good for resale. Get rid of the mother-in law kitchen. Adds no value and is a little dated. Sell the fridge and stove on Craigs List. Tear out cabinets, maybe add a nice little wet bar with small fridge and LCD TV? I would leave the ceiling white and add crown molding all around with a gap left in-between for led strip lighting. Do dream makers color chasing RGB strips with controllers. Then I would take your spare bedroom and make it another themed room with your new ST LE as showpiece. You can do some badass star field scene for ceiling and cosmic walls. If you really wanted to get crazy how about a salt water fish tank viewable on main wall and accessible through the spare bedroom closet for maintenance. Another popular thing my customers are doing with their ceilings is using rustic barn wood, and a lot of beetle kill pine. It looks sharp in the right room.

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I'm only 5'8" and I felt like I need to duck just watching your quick walk-thru.

I would only paint them white. Maybe some fun color on the walls.

Very nice game room potential you have there... hope the home comes together for you and your family.

White for a ceiling, unless you are going for the cave look.

Robert

That's gonna be nice. Man I wish could have a room like that. Can't wait for pics of it's completion. Good Luck!

how dark do you plan on having the room when it is in use? i've always thought it would be wicked cool to do a night sky mural...

http://www.nightskymurals.com

Looking good. I think you're headed in the right direction. It's not so much about
the colors..... as it is the lighting. Leave yourself enough "room" to make lighting
adjustments and you'll be happy in the end.
Nice progress pics, looking forward to the finished product.

As a painting contractor myself, I'm glad you are painting the ceilings white. Your ceilings are too low to paint black. If anyone is claustrophobic, they wouldn't be able to go down there IMHO.

I like the dark purple for some walls. You could break it up with a dark gray or dark maroon. OR you could go dark purple with some bright neon colors as well. Don't just go all 1 color if you don't have to. Multiple colors will give the room more life, feel and depth.

You should have them put in a recessed trim moulding around the entire downstairs wall perimeter. Then have the electrician wire up some RGB led lights on top of the moulding and all the way around. That will really make the room pop for you.

You could also add a couple of floor to ceiling mirrors around the room to add some additional depth if you feel it needs it.

Another great addition is the glow carpeting. I know you said you were lazy, but that dark carpet hides the dirt well. A quick once a week 20 minute vacuum is all you need. The carpet not only looks nice and neon colorful, but it also helps to insulate the floor to keep the room warmer, deadin the sound which will make everything sound better (it will eliminate echoing) and it also gives nice cushioning when walking around down there in your bare feet.

Also, now is the time to have the electricians pull wires for you big screen TV and surround system. Get those wires behind the walls, not out in the open where everyone can see them. Do it NOW while the walls are opened up and the electricians are there. You'll regret you didn't do it later. Of course that's if you plan on having that down there.

These are all various things I have seen done in some very expensive homes. They looked awesome. Wish I had pics.

Anyway, no matter what you choose, I wish you the best of luck bro. It's gonna look awesome when it's done. Congrats on the new home and the new arcade.

Trust me, for small rooms, go COLORFUL not dark. Yes, it's cool if you have a big room to go old school 80's dark arcade look, but in a small space, dark colors close it in even more and it will feel claustrophobic. Go colorful...here's what I did. And keep in mind, you're going to get A LOT of color from the games...which is why i kept the walls neutral and made the floor pop...

Here's a little video too:

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Don't go overboard with the mirrors. a few are tasteful. Too many may have people walking into them think the room continues on. LOL An idea may be to frame the mirrors in.

Sounds great though my friend. We'll all be looking forward to the pics and wish you the best of luck.

Wow, nice choice in wall color. I like it, perfect for a game room.

Nice work. I just finished mine - did dark roof in blue, orange feature wall, white for the rest. Carpet squares glued down for easy replacement if the machines wear them out. I liked the dark blue as the LED strip lightning can reflect off it easily to change colour of the edges, and at night I can add UV light later on if I want to.
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Is that your son?

Its great doing projects with them. My son we used to play pinball and work on the machines then he got into high school is into his friends and the pinball machines are not important to him. Im sure he still has a place in his heart and will revisit them when he gets older, but for now those days are gone.

Cherish the days working on the game room and pins with your kid. Cause they grow up fast.

The darker and flatter the better.

WOW, you have room along that one wall for about 15 pins. What are ya gona do about the echo down there? That could be a real killer with people, games and music going all at the same time. That's why I went with bl carpet and 3/8in. memory foam pad.

What about tearing out that wall to the coat room and building your bar up there? More games down stairs...

OHEMIO