Westlake Game Room
As your family grows up, so should your fun. In the case of this game room renovation, the clients wanted a space that met all their family entertainment needs, while also showing off their style and personality. Games and a bar were requisite; so was customizable lighting for movie nights, along with plenty of storage. However, the central challenge was unifying two very different tastes into one dynamic, fun and very grown up game room.
Before renovation, the game room was cavernous and drab. With only a tiny wet bar and no grounding aesthetic, the space was ill-suited for entertaining. To define the space, architect Joanna Hartman designed a new, larger bar and reinvented the outdated stone hearth fireplace. Using the existing firebox location, the stone was replaced with blackened steel panels over a plywood substrate. Pan-head screws hold everything in place and were installed evenly to look like rivets, creating a statement feature that is simultaneously industrial and coolly modern.
On the opposite side of the room the bar dominates, situated within a wall of cabinets made from pre-finished wood designed to mimic reclaimed barn wood. While the pre-finished wood was less costly, more uniform in texture and color, and even slightly easier to work with, the complicated cabinet plan meant that significant effort went into creating the European-style frameless cabinets. Made by Amazonia cabinetry, the boxes were built offsite with the faces attached on site. As an additional challenge, the cabinets had to be flush with the wall around it, and the surrounding drywall had to be completely level on all axes to not disrupt the effect of a seamless wall.
Besides plenty of clever storage and a concealed ice maker, the bar also includes a dual temperature wine fridge with pull out drawers for beer, soda and water. The bar top is quartzite, and the backsplash uses the same blackened steel as the fireplace to tie to the room—and its opposite sensibilities—harmoniously together.
Two window seats function as reading nooks and storage, with the same pre-finished wood used on the bar covering the drawer fronts. A drink rail was built along the wall and doubles as storage for a ping pong table top, and, across the room, an 80” television is nestled in a custom wall accent. Not part of the original plan, the wall accent was added when the clients felt that the T.V. needed something to anchor it to the room. The solution was the accent, made with the same poplar tex-gap used for the drink rail.
To provide the right light for any activity, dimmable LED strip up lighting was installed in the structural beams that span the room. The beams themselves were re-clad with the same material as the bar and window seating. The construction team worked with an AV rep to outfit the space with custom subwoofer and speaker placements, resulting in a media space that can adapt to any occasion.
For the soft finishes, Hartman stepped in again to reconcile her clients’ differing styles. She chose drapes with blackout lining, pillows and window seat cushions that would both unify and punctuate the space—a mix of earthy yellow, warm greys and a set of round, blood orange seats to balance the dark, sleek hardware, also selected by Hartman. The clients wanted wood flooring, but required the durability of tile, so tile designed to look like wood now covers the floor. The sofa and game tables were selected by the homeowners, and they worked with Hartman to find the rugs—bluish gray to mix with the room and complement the bright orange seats.
An adjacent bathroom was also part of this renovation. A new shower was installed and lined with subway tiles, and new cabinets were put in above the toilet. Installing the quartzite slab proved difficult, as the design called for the 3 cm slab be shaved down to 2 cm. The thinner pieces were more brittle and broke when handle. The team weathered three attempts and then changed the design as needed to work with the 3 cm pieces. Despite the delay, the bathroom came together beautifully with new gray cabinet paint (tying into the game room color scheme), more of the wood-like tile and an oversized chandelier that gives the intentionally neutral bathroom a twist of personality.
A study in balancing styles, shapes and proportions, the new space is visually upscale and adult without sacrificing attitude or playfulness. Thoughtful design, on the other hand, ensures that no amenity is lacking to create an atmosphere of relaxation and entertainment. With form and function playing so well together, the future is looking a lot more fun.
Before renovation, the game room was cavernous and drab. With only a tiny wet bar and no grounding aesthetic, the space was ill-suited for entertaining. To define the space, architect Joanna Hartman designed a new, larger bar and reinvented the outdated stone hearth fireplace. Using the existing firebox location, the stone was replaced with blackened steel panels over a plywood substrate. Pan-head screws hold everything in place and were installed evenly to look like rivets, creating a statement feature that is simultaneously industrial and coolly modern.
On the opposite side of the room the bar dominates, situated within a wall of cabinets made from pre-finished wood designed to mimic reclaimed barn wood. While the pre-finished wood was less costly, more uniform in texture and color, and even slightly easier to work with, the complicated cabinet plan meant that significant effort went into creating the European-style frameless cabinets. Made by Amazonia cabinetry, the boxes were built offsite with the faces attached on site. As an additional challenge, the cabinets had to be flush with the wall around it, and the surrounding drywall had to be completely level on all axes to not disrupt the effect of a seamless wall.
Besides plenty of clever storage and a concealed ice maker, the bar also includes a dual temperature wine fridge with pull out drawers for beer, soda and water. The bar top is quartzite, and the backsplash uses the same blackened steel as the fireplace to tie to the room—and its opposite sensibilities—harmoniously together.
Two window seats function as reading nooks and storage, with the same pre-finished wood used on the bar covering the drawer fronts. A drink rail was built along the wall and doubles as storage for a ping pong table top, and, across the room, an 80” television is nestled in a custom wall accent. Not part of the original plan, the wall accent was added when the clients felt that the T.V. needed something to anchor it to the room. The solution was the accent, made with the same poplar tex-gap used for the drink rail.
To provide the right light for any activity, dimmable LED strip up lighting was installed in the structural beams that span the room. The beams themselves were re-clad with the same material as the bar and window seating. The construction team worked with an AV rep to outfit the space with custom subwoofer and speaker placements, resulting in a media space that can adapt to any occasion.
For the soft finishes, Hartman stepped in again to reconcile her clients’ differing styles. She chose drapes with blackout lining, pillows and window seat cushions that would both unify and punctuate the space—a mix of earthy yellow, warm greys and a set of round, blood orange seats to balance the dark, sleek hardware, also selected by Hartman. The clients wanted wood flooring, but required the durability of tile, so tile designed to look like wood now covers the floor. The sofa and game tables were selected by the homeowners, and they worked with Hartman to find the rugs—bluish gray to mix with the room and complement the bright orange seats.
An adjacent bathroom was also part of this renovation. A new shower was installed and lined with subway tiles, and new cabinets were put in above the toilet. Installing the quartzite slab proved difficult, as the design called for the 3 cm slab be shaved down to 2 cm. The thinner pieces were more brittle and broke when handle. The team weathered three attempts and then changed the design as needed to work with the 3 cm pieces. Despite the delay, the bathroom came together beautifully with new gray cabinet paint (tying into the game room color scheme), more of the wood-like tile and an oversized chandelier that gives the intentionally neutral bathroom a twist of personality.
A study in balancing styles, shapes and proportions, the new space is visually upscale and adult without sacrificing attitude or playfulness. Thoughtful design, on the other hand, ensures that no amenity is lacking to create an atmosphere of relaxation and entertainment. With form and function playing so well together, the future is looking a lot more fun.
Project Year: 2017
Country: United States
Zip Code: 78746
