The Safavieh California and Safavieh Milan rugs both have deep pile and are hard to keep clean. If it were my basement, I would prefer something with shorter pile that is easier to clean and has a pattern to help camouflage spills and spots. You want something that will look good and hold up well when your teens are entertaining and having snacks and soda.

My preferences would be something like:

https://www.houzz.com/products/nourison-moroccan-casbah-area-rug-gray-710x106-prvw-vr~120375390

OR

https://www.houzz.com/products/nuloom-belini-turquoise-76x96-area-rug-prvw-vr~86635756

OR, more upscale:

along with a washable rug, how about some ikea hacks for that tv wall? also get one other tall storage for the empty wall across from the lockers

yes, this is also a hack. all done w/custom trim work at top.

or, get unfinished top cabinets, do custom trim work and paint (these are set on wood platform base that's easy to build)

top with a few 1x4's or larger piece of wood (or remnant stone) , paint it white, add some shiplap and shelving on the wall.

Ikea Besta tv stand and shelves (build a platform base for this one and trim w/regular trim work for a custom look)

or, you could easily make something like this for the wall.

do some cool artwork against the far wall (where you have that current frame just dangling)

Surya area rugs, Hayneedle. Something bright, add more storage and bean bags. The kids will love it

Here is an example. Each tile is approximately 20x20.

In general, when there are items on the sofa, like a pillow or even towel: is it red, is it hot turquoise.... what do your kids like with black, again in general? maybe they'd like bright yellow-gold....

If red metal is a bit cool cherry [instead of tomato] this?

https://www.houzz.com/products/casa-polypropylene-rug-orange-710x910-prvw-vr~27610844

Geo.?

https://www.houzz.com/products/caravan-hand-woven-reversible-rug-multi-5x76-prvw-vr~27756568?lid=14599854

How about a Ruggable rug? You can wash it in the washer! I just bought one and it works great with kids and pets since you can wash it over and over again.

I’d consider a navy blue rug or some white with pattern on it.

What a great Christmas surprise! You boys are going to be thrilled. I was going to suggest Flor tiles/rugs, too. And, I love all the wall storage suggestions, also.

$24 per 20”x20” carpet tile seems excessive. You can get carpet tile at the big box store for a fraction of that price.

Instead of using a deep pile or shag rug for comfort use a thicker, denser rug pad and a shorter, easier to clean rug. I agree with the idea of a pattern to hide potential stains in between cleanings Since this is a kid space.

Thank you all for the suggestions! It's bizarre but I posted this twice the other night after it didn't show up and then deleted this copy and yet here it is. Poof! Magic!

Ok so I think I'm convinced to look for a patterned rug. I like several of the options but have some art to factor in and wondering if that changes things. I have 5 of these national parks prints to use. They are 12 x 19. I have black frames for them.

Also, the boys are getting 2 blankets for the sofa. Seattle Seahawks which is navy and lime green and a Washington State Cougars one which is Crimson, gray and white. Does that change or influence the rug selection?

@Beth H I love the look of those built ins (especially the blue gray Ikea) but I cannot make that happen in the time frame and I already have the langley cabinet in the garage which I really love too. It's got cool industrial doors with glass on top for the video game consoles and then I can hide board games, nerf guns etc. on the bottom where it's solid.

Your prints impact rug choice imo.

Carpet tiles come in many patterns, including sports teams. The cost can be kept down by designing a pattern with more solid tiles, and sports teams as an accent.

klcinaz,,,, you could always do the ikea hack/storage cubby at a later time. You can never have enough storage w/the boys and their games. maybe after the holidays when you have more time, you could implement one of those ideas on the empty wall.

your cabinet you already have sounds cool. maybe do some industrial pendant lighting or make some industrial shelving out of the pipe/wood?

or that empty spot across from the locker area,,,something like this?

Thanks Beth H. My husband and I have gone back and forth about adding a mini fridge. I think the boys would love it. I mean of course they would, but he just envisions half drunk cans of soda littering the basement. And of course he's right about that so I think he's winning that one.

Flo Mangan I looked at the Flor tiles. They are really nice but pricey and I don't think I can get them in time. That said I like the idea of a colorblock rug now so I'll start looking in that direction too .

I've been browsing for hours. Need to sleep. Good night all.

Good morning. A good night's sleep has given me a fresh perspective. I need to order a rug today and move on with all the other Christmas shopping, decorating, mailing I need to do. It's such a crazy time. I can't be staring at a computer all day. So here are some rugs from Rugs USA that I like. I'm leaning towards blues and natural materials. The first is my favorite. Probably because it has no pattern. ha! I love the color.

Anyone have any strong thoughts one way or another?

1.Textures Braided wool/cotton

2. Tuscan Viga Chevron Wool

3. Bashian Veniza Ramba Wool

4. Homespun dimensional Wool

5. Keno striped Polyester

Oh and everdebz to answer your question about what colors the boys would like. In general they don't even notice if their clothes match. They'll just be thrilled to have a TV bigger than a computer monitor. I think all the rugs I picked will go with the prints I have.

We just re-did our basement family room to make it more useful for our boys, 11 & 15. Finding a rug was a challenge. We went with a large indoor-outdoor sisal-looking rug. Adds some texture, super easy to maintain. My other choice was a polyester rug for easy washing. I would avoid anything wool or light colored. Wool requires professional cleaning of any stains.

Pattern is best for not showing spots and spills. More colorful the better. This is a fun space! Wild colors, picked up with solid colored bean bag chairs. Lime green. Red. Bright blue. And/or floor pillows. And more lighting, please. The room seems dark. I love Flo’s suggestions for storage. Remember...this is for kids!

How about something with just a lot of color

I liked number 3's prominent amount of blue, and its strong pattern.

Whatever wall paint is, idk, but others didn't seem ideal, even as a neutral.

Here is great one from rugsusa. Has blues, grays and won’t show much of anything. Many sizes.

if you want to have fun with the walls and the décor then I would say do a simpler rug like gray and white, or navy. but if your gonna go simple on the décor then go crazy with the rug.. go all out.

there is a website called rugsusa.com they have really nice stuff and they have great discounts too

A good rug store would have rugs in stock. Or IKEA has rugs in stock. The rug should have a pattern to hide the spills and stains which are inevitable if they snack in their room. The rug should be large enough that the front part of the sofa and chaise will be ON it. A lower, dense pile is better than a shag rug for cleaning crumbs and such.

Might want to try looking at World Market if you have one near you. They have rugs in stock that could work along with Pier 1 and Lowes. That would speed your process if you can find something you think will work.

I'm finally getting back to showing you all how it turned out. The boys are totally thrilled with the new space. We all are. We separated the sofa and chaise and rearranged in a way that feels like a cocoon. The tv cabinet is awesome and wow it's really nice watching tv on a bigger screen. We had David Attenborough's Planet Earth playing when they came down and the images of the ocean life were so vibrant. It really added to the overall effect. My only potential regret is the rug. I was clearly out of my mind when I picked it and didn't take anyone's advice. (sorry!). Although I like the way it looks a lot, (the color and that it is wool) I couldn't have picked a more difficult rug for this spot. It is braided and therefore has a million little holes to catch every crumb. I should have consulted all you wonderful and wise Houzzers much sooner for advice before I was absolutely panicked for time. Lesson learned! Oh well I do like it. I still need more lighting and some more pops of color but overall I think it's a success. Happy New Year to you all!

Well done - and under extreme pressure. Sure to bring a lot of enjoyment!

What a great space you created for your family. It looks cozy and relaxing. I love the media unit. This looks like a real family space on a realistic budget. Very nice to see a place that didn't take tens of thousands of bucks to create nor months worth of DIY time.

I love your National Parks posters. I feel like the two alone seem kind of lonely. They all seem hung a bit high - maybe that was intentional? I'd play around a bit with placement of them. Could you hang two above two on the wall to the right of the TV and then find another little space for the singular left over? When you come down the stairs, what is on the wall in front of you? Could you hang one there as a tease to the other ones that are in the room? Or what about a singular one to the right of the chalkboard door?

PS - Not sure what you decided about a fridge. I think if kids can't run upstairs to the kitchen, that's a problem. They need *something* to pull them away from the screen, right?

Thanks Flo and Kendrah. The whole room including the tv cost about $1200. I bought everything on sale which saved a bunch and allowed me to get the cabinet and tv size that I wanted but I could have spent less buying from craigslist. There were lots of nice options there as well.

Yes the art needs some attention. The ceilings are only 6'9" so it may need to come down to balance that out. I tried several variations on xmas eve and lost steam after midnight. They are hung with command hooks so I can easily pull them off and reconfigure. I think I need a couple more items to work with before I start playing around. Oh and I'm attaching a pic of the wall at the bottom of the steps since you asked.

Lastly, we decided no on the mini fridge and have no regrets. It's a fun idea but my kids get more than enough sugar as is and I don't want to set them up to expect a stocked fridge full of soda. Also, I don't want to add another obligatory item to my grocery shopping list. ;)

you did a great job! nice family Christmas present to enjoy a long time. my favorites are the national park pictures too. I live close to Yellowstone. but really like the picture at the bottom of the stairs too. I also thought the pictures were a little high but with a low ceiling you have to work with what you have.