What kind of temps do you have in your area? A garage can be sweltering in the summer and freezing cold in winter. If you are in a humid area, that can add to the misery.

I am in Northern California...it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Would it be better to paint the floor and use area rugs...that is something else I have thought of. I prefer vacuuming, so that is why I was thinking about wall-to-wall carpeting.

Think I am going with the built-in room divider, based on some other things I have been reading. Toying with the portable evaporative cooler/heater. Still investigating electric fireplace and infrared heater.

Here is a link that might be useful: Evaporative Cooler/Heater

We have a separate workshop/garage and are using the garage side as a pool room. I never considered carpet due to the dirty nature of a garage. Regardless of how clean you intend to keep your garage, and we keep ours pretty darn clean, the garage door will allow much more dirt inside than you ever experience inside your house, especially if you live in a windy area like we do. Once you start using your garage as a living area, you'll also start to notice more spiders, bugs, webs, etc. than you ever noticed before. Consequently, we decided to stain our concrete.

PROS:
Easy maintenance; broom and mop clean up.
Looks great, contemporary, warm tones.
Pool table sits on a hard level surface; preferred over soft surfaces like a carpet or rug.
Easy conversion back to a garage when we sell the house.

CONS:
Concrete is hard to stand on for long periods. However we have pool/bar stools we sit on between shots so it hasn't been a problem for us.

Lastly, I would think any walls you put up in your garage would probably detract from your resale value so I wouldn't do anything permanent.

Good luck with your project!

Thanks folks...this has really been helpful. I will angle toward a painted floor and area rugs in the game room and an easy knock-down divider. I am lucky in that I am in an executive model where the garage interior is completely finished on the inside, so that will make it much easier in the long run too.

Although it sounds like you have come to a conclusion re: flooring, I have another suggestion (based on what I did). We too had a 3 car arranged as you, though I used the single door side to convert. I put in a fixed wall, insulated and drywalled both sides From all accounts, it turned out well. It is now my wifes dance studio.

I locked the single garage door and build a wall (boxed in the door - blanked out windows a bit before boxing in). Next, I calculated my lighting needs and installed 6 pots (my space is only 17 by 28) and 3 pendant lights for our little bar area. On 2/3rds the concrete I covered with foam backed engineered floating wood flooring (suitable type for going over concrete) plus placed a vapor barrier underneath that (a slight overkill but softened the dance floor too). It went down easily, looks excellent (a nice finished appearance). The bar area I designed and installed a nice ceraic tile pattern. (all this is on facebook). I also installed crown mounding down from the ceiling about 8 inches and place rope light behind it for a mood/accent appearance. ALl lighting and ceiling fan (a good idea to have) are on variable switches) Your electric needs need to be considered. May want to runs a separated 30amp sub-panel to this new game room to isolate from garage. As us, you probably will put in TV, refrig...and just stuff. The "juice" use adds up pretty quick.

Follow local NEC and building codes of course. Best of luck! Sounds like a nice project but I wouldn't suggest you take 2 yrs to do it!

Wow...you really did a lot of work on your conversions. My neighbor did something similar on his single side as he is a train enthusiast and has a waist high platform for his set-up in that space with a permanent dividing wall.

I am still thinking about the flooring, as concrete is so cold. My friend suggested indoor-outdoor carpeting, so may angle that way. It will probably take me a couple of years (realistically) since I would have to hire out all the work. Once I am ready to move on it, I will develop my own floor plan and get it all laid out and functional to try it before building anything permanent or installing cabinets/flooring.

That crown molding sounds wonderful...thanks so much for sharing your information. :-)

If I were doing what you are talking about and wanted to maintain the possibility of it remaining a garage, I think I would look into rubber flooring which comes in interlocking tiles. I have seen them in gyms and I have a friend who has them on her basement floor over concrete. She says they are easy to clean and they keep the floor warm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rubber Floor Tiles

Thanks pnw...I have thought of that type of flooring before, so will research that option, appreciate the link. :-)