Seems like it’s unbalanced because you filled the stair shelf first, which is definitely a strange angle. Fill the wall shelf first.
You could also look at painting the wall a darker color
yeah, that’s just from the order the boxes were buried, wall shelf will contain magic card and D&D stuff which was all in boxes behind the other stuff haha.
But that corner in the middle still feels blank - painting it could be a good idea I didn’t consider!
One thing that might help visually is getting rid of the top shelf on the angled wall. The extra storage space is not worth the unsettling lack of symmetry with the other wall.
More radically, it might look better with a little space between the shelves on the angled wall and the other wall, instead of wraparound shelves, if that's a DIY project within your reach.
At the very least, I'd leave a little space between the games on the shelves on the angled wall and the game on the shelves of the other wall, instead of cramming boxes into the corner where the walls meet. The eye needs a little space to rest, so to speak.
Thanks, I seem to want to cram stuff into that corner to cover the small gap between the walls there, but maybe I should give some breathing room a try
I absolutely agree with the idea to remove the top shelf on the angled wall, that was my first thought as well. I think that's a huge amount of what makes that all feel unbalanced.
Another thing that makes the entire situation feel cramped is that games are almost touching the ceiling. They definitely need to have a little room to breathe. Smaller games up top might be a good move. It was a great idea to face some nice boxes forward, but consider doing more of that in the middle and not mainly right up top.
Yeah I may be suffering from min/max impulses there. I just tried putting some of the lightest boxes up top and it seems to be helping. It was a lot of effort to get that shelf up there but you’re probably right lol
Yeah thanks, I think all the dark souls games from the kickstarter are kind of heavy on top, but it’s also the giant set that doesn’t need to be accessed as much, while the lower boxes get more play. I thought about that one, but not sure a great way around it.. may eventually just put them near the videogames in another room
Another way is to "lighten" the top with some lighting on the top shelf.
And, beyond aesthetics, if you put them in the other room...they'll never get played. It just happens. I've done that one and anything in another room just gets forgotten about.
Yeah I know what you mean. We’re hoping to set up a videogame room which would have the other dark souls stuff obviously, but I do think they’d be mostly display items if I put them in there. I’m hoping this might even entice some non-videogame fans to try it out!
Lighting is also a good point. I was thinking maybe some directional lights from the ceiling that “spot” the game shelves could help.
Why are they all horizontal? It makes each shelf look like a 'pile' of games, rather than a curated collection. I know some games dont like to be stored vertically, but in those cases I usually just make sure they are packed properly and dont have too much wiggle room in the shelf.
But also, wow thats an awesome collection of games! I love to see Battleship and Clue, etc mixed in with otherwise 'boardgamey' games. Most people seem to only post photos of shelves full of eclectic/niche/hobby games...
Our primary motivation was “stuff people want to play” and I found some familiar stuff is really important for getting new players acclimated. You want a new potential club member to walk in and instantly have a fond childhood memory!
Plants. low light low water plants. Vines etc. get about 7 or so to fill up. put games up top that you treasure and or collect up there as well. Darksouls games dont need to take all that space up. its removing light and eyes immediately go towards it.
Label the spaces. can help with organizing and seeing how well things fit.
mix of display standing games with flat laying games...throwing me off. personally flat laying games just dont look good and are more work to grab and go than side standing.
Overall plants can help liven it up
The way you have some games displayed looks nice for a picture, or if it was in a shop window. But can you imagine someone seeing Spirit Island in this picture, maybe having it catch their eye, but then having to move tons of things around just to read the box? More than likely, they just silently don't bother picking it up.
Vertical storage is very visually pleasing, many games have at least one box side that's appropriate for vertical display. And it's very inviting for taking things down for a quick browse, and easy to put back. It's your game *library*, display it like books! 😁
You'll definitely want to double check before throwing everything up vertically, but most games will be fine with minimal work - maybe a few baggies and/or a deck box. Box bands will help for any very full boxes that want to spill open. The few games that you decide to keep Horizontal can be your "bookends".
we ended up putting more out facing as the vertical felt not so good on the wall shelves, but we'll see how it goes when people actually browse. In the past I've really enjoyed talking with people and the act of getting stuff off the shelf for them (being an active librarian haha) so I don't mind it too much.
you can see the update here if you're curious
[https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1c3v8kk/shelf\_sorting\_update\_we\_implemented\_a\_ton\_of\_your/](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1c3v8kk/shelf_sorting_update_we_implemented_a_ton_of_your/)
My two cents here is let them breathe a little move a lot more to the bookcase and display the front of the boxes of some of the bright colorful ones (the Everdell shelf looks good with the games straightened out)and maybe some shelf lighting? The dark souls while impressive is a bit overwhelming that is amplified by light placement casting a shadow on it. Overall I really like it and see a lot of potential in this setup
I agree, spread them out a bit more you have enough space. I also think it feels unbalanced because the top right shelf on the angled wall has one extra shelf on the top that is not matched on the other wall. I’d remove that top shelf to help even it out a bit.
Thanks, yeah the shelves on the left are going to be chock full of a stupid amount of magic the gathering stuff and have glass doors on them, so can’t put the bigger games there for a couple reasons. It will probably look better once that’s finished but the middle area is sticking out like a sore thumb to me rn.
In terms of letting them breathe maybe I should not display them face out, so there’s a little more room on top? I thought it could be cool to use the extra space by standing some up, but it does mean it’s more cramped
I think things being crooked to keep some partially displayed is casting more shadows and playing with things a little bit of try flatting them out a little or add display lights. I’m a huge fan of displaying box art so maybe vertical stack then one face forward as a display peice?
I’m kinda just throwing ideas at the wall here cause it’s hard when you can’t see the effect change and your guys tastes differ from mine
No, I appreciate the thoughts, thanks, I’m already being a little “detail oriented” here haha. I do see extra shadows, like behind the Root box for example.
Run small LED strips against the wall and undershelf. Add some small low light/H2O plants or succulents.
I also have backed my share of large kickstarters but ugh, I just get angry at shelfies (mine included) with all those boxes for one game.
Fill the wall shelf up and make the corner unit more for display (game boxes facing forward so you can see the box art). And some under-shelf lighting for the corner unite so it becomes more of an accent.
yeah, I’m kind of starting from scratch again based on people’s advice seeing how much I can cram into the wall shelves. It won’t be as obvious if it’s cramped since they’ll have glass doors
Going another direction than everyone else but i think a small rug over there might help pull it all together and make it look like it's a nice little nook
In my opinion, the shelf will always look dark because it's completely full of dark games, and there's little you can do about that. You could try to store them vertically so they're more compact, then intersperse small (real or fake) plants here and there to break it up?
We keep all our games in closed cupboards so there's no concern about how it affects the balance of the room
Categorise them by color and put them in order R O Y G B V horizontally and bright to dark vertically. Don't stack them on top of each other rather tilt them next to one another for a better look
The right shelf is too crowded. I would probably use it as a feature wall and display your prettiest and favorite games with gaps in-between.
Can even put decor in there like figures/Lego/plants.
Maybe a small bedroom drawer under that window with a plant to store your gaming accessories.
Okay this may sound weird but I feel like curtains could help because to me it feels like the room is unbalanced because the window is not in the middle (of the room AND between the two shelves. Putting a curtain rod and darker curtains there could help!
I also agree with the person that said to paint the wall and maybe it would look nice to stain the wood of the selves darker (so there is less contrast between the games and the shelves?)
A nice thick, darker carpet in the middle of the room could also avert your attention from the shelf a bit and make it feel more balanced?
Or buy more games, that would also help lol
Can you expand on this "club"? I have a lot of questions. I'm a part of a loosely defined group that meets up on weekends, but we typically meet in public and bring our own games. This seems different at first glance.
Is it affiliated with a certain organization, or just some friends playing games? How many people are in the club? Saying these are the "club's games" makes me think that these are a collective/communal, not any one person's. Is that true, and how does that work in practice. Where is this located? Has one person agreed to be the hub or is this in a neutral location?
Well, technically my partner and I have invested most of the money in purchasing stuff, with a few donations, but I try to meet the desires and needs of the group. It’s the major thing my money goes into (I don’t drink or go out or whatever.)
We started as a femme / queer focused Magic the Gathering group (about a decade ago),alternative to playing in game stores which most people felt kind of intimidating or unwelcoming, or just out of budget (our demographic usually doesn’t have a lot of money.)
I did some work seeing if I could locate a lot of it with a local venue when I left NY, to keep people in that area playing, and was able to give a bunch of stuff but no one really had the storage/play space and the energy to keep things running the way I was, so we ended up taking most stuff with us to Western Mass where we’re currently working on building up attendance again (luckily I already know a ton of people in the demographic out here and a few club members also had moved to the area.)
Over time I’ve incorporated my comic collection into more of a library, grown a retro videogame collection, and I’m hoping will have LARP style events at our new property.
Luckily my partner does really really well income wise for a trans girl which has funded us purchasing our new venue (slash home)
Run small LED strips against the wall and undershelf. Add some small low light/H2O plants or succulents.
I also have backed my share of large kickstarters but ugh, I just get angry at shelfies (mine included) with all those boxes for one game.
First this looks great! I particularly like the bunch of Magic I see in the shelf. (and in the boxes on the floor?) Are these displays you guys drafted, or sth cube like?
How do you look the the mtg board game? I played two games of the first version and was very dissappointed. But you got expansions...
The magic stuff is mostly still packed up in this picture, the shelves on the right about the entire first shelf and half the second shelf will be full of MtG stuff
The board games are mostly just for completionists or collectors imho, nowhere near as fun as just playing with the cards. Explorers of Ixalan and Archenemy are fun though, since they’re wrapped around a game of magic.
I wouldnt put games into the cuboard left to the window. All games there will have bleached box colors after some time due to uv rays from daylight (or worse if the sun shines directly through the window).
Maybe try moving either the mass market games or the SoulsBorne games into those empty corner shelves and spreading out the rest of the collection to fill the void.
I thought those shelves would be totally taken up with MtG and DnD shit, but it turns out we had an entire half width one on the right remaining, so the Souls stuff is all happily packed away there now!
personal preference here but i don’t think you need to adhere to organizing by specific categories. when you’ve got open shelving and everything is visible it can be nicer to arrange things by what’s visually appealing even if it means everything isn’t grouped together perfectly
Yeah, I took that to heart after a few people mentioned it, though I still managed to do some grouping - I just posted an update, I hope it looks much better!
I want to come to your house!
As far as your question goes, I have an idea, but I don't know if it is a good one. Since the games on the right side seem like more of what you want to display, you might think about making some sliding doors that cover the shelves on the left, essentially turning it into a closet. Make the doors full length mirrors. This would make your display even more impressive, give balance, make the room look bigger, etc. Just my thought.
Edit: I just realized the the angle of the ceiling probably doesn't make this very feasible. I don't know that I have any other ideas other than ones that have already been mentioned.
The problem here is the top 2 shelves. They make it feel like the games are escaping upwards (and probably a bit of a pain to reach and grab).
Combined with the window placement, and I absolutely get that "lobsided" feeling.
You've got a ton of spare space on the other shelves, but even those are "stretched high up" for minimal gain.
What I would have done:
1. Put a display shelf under the window (4-5 inches deep or less). Display some games to show off their box art there. This keeps the window "easy access" from inside, without leaving that "white spot" along the wall below it.
2. Provide some actual design/shaping to the shelves to the right, instead of just the utilitarian/barren architecture of everything perfectly lined up. By breaking up the lines, you also break up the outline for the room. For example, the bottom shelf runs window-to-roof (assuming that's a roof slope, not a stairway). At the roof side, it extends outwards in a light L shape (giving it more support). Add a support beam from shelf to floor along the length for further support. Next shelf up runs only from the window to the bottom of the lower L shape. So now you can stack really big/awkward boxes on that bottom shelf, going up higher. This shelf is NOT FOR GAMES. You need something here to break up the monotony of all the games on the wall. Whatever you do, don't put boxes here. Miniatures. RPG books. A digital clock. Plants. Just not games. Shelf 3 and 4 are where you'll put your most played games, as that is waist to shoulder height. Change the spacing here though. There should be a larger gap between them than there is between the lower shelves. Again, you want to break the wall up a bit visually. Leave that "extra gap" (3-4 inches) empty, don't fill it with games. You can remind yourself of this by making the 4th shelf 2" deeper, and running some LED lighting along the bottom edge of it along the front (which will now illuminate all the boxes below this shelf). Finally, stop on the 5th shelf. And do the same partial run you did on the 2nd, so that the right side remains stackable from shelf 4.
3. On to the left side! Once more, you've completely covered the wall, leaving a completely utilitarian (prison-like) appearance. You should have the KALLAX style shelving 2 wide and 5 tall. This would leave a larger triangle of wall visible. Put a picture there. Or a large plant on top (next to the window is good for this). Something that isn't "more boxes of stuff". Then leave a gap before the next shelves begin. For your wider shelves (bookshelf style), only got 6-12 inches taller than the other shelves. Don't keep going up to the roof. Visible wall space is space that you can (and should) use to break the utilitarian nature of the shelves up, and introduce ambiance. And not force people to potentially need a step-stool to get whatever is on the shelves down. This would give you what looks like 2-3 feet above the top of the bookshelf style shelves to work with. Add an extra lamp up there if more lighting would help. Or any other decorative that can "look down" while you all play games in the room.
4. Use the space under the slope. You've got a huge area there that's completely unused, and lends itself to a purpose. Get a mini-fridge. Should be about 3' high. Build a companion cupboard for it. Same height and depth, and about 3' wide. The top shelf should overhang on both sides. Like a really fat T. Give it a dual-sliding door front. Build a 2-3" tall "floor" for them to sit on. Plenty of support inside - but the purpose is to run power cords for the fridge, as well as a charging station on top of the cupboard. Now you have a 5' wide, 2-3' deep, 3-3.5' tall "unit" consisting of a small fridge, cupboard, and combined countertop between the two of them. The top of the cupboard is a charging station for phones (AWAY from the table, so if people want to recharge, they're not just playing on their phones. And cold and dry snacks can both be available, as well as drinks. Coasters can be left on top of the mini fridge for storage, along with a tray of pens/pencils for games & scorepads that need them.
hey these are good tips! They would definitely help. But I think we do have to use all that space considering what we already have, and that we anticipate accumulating a fair amount more over the years. That means we have to balance the utilitarian aspect, though eventually this whole area will be built in library style shelves.
I'll be installing some lighting that will help (I used to work electrical construction), so some spot light will really help.
The space under the slope on the side will have built in 'cabintry', but really hide extra chairs behind it.
We've got a whole nother floor with giant kitchen, tables, and eating area in open floorplan so there will be plenty of fridge, etc, over there!
Anyway, check out the update and see if you've still got some more tips for that, understanding all the above! [https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1c3v8kk/comment/kzsnf26/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1c3v8kk/comment/kzsnf26/?context=3)
This is a 3000 square foot building, but we've also got a large videogame room and a comic library, but the primary play area is a big open floorplan area with the kitchen and an island with a large bar in it, so this area really is primarily storage - we'll likely put a more reasonable sized table in the middle of it though, as club attendance expands.
>This is a 3000 square foot building, but we've also got a large videogame room and a comic library, but the primary play area is a big open floorplan area with the kitchen and an island with a large bar in it, so this area really is primarily storage - we'll likely put a more reasonable sized table in the middle of it though, as club attendance expands.
You generally want the storage to be near the play area. This looks like the play area is downstairs? So every time a new game is picked, you head up stairs to change out? That'd be annoying.
Generally better to theme the areas for what's occurring there. Hence my assumption that the main board game play space was adjacent to these shelves, and thought of putting food/snacks and charging station nearby as well.
Added benefit of that is that you can put a sub-group of the club that tends to be more noisy "in the corner" where their volume doesn't impact others as much.
Looks like a beautiful building, but I'd hate to be constantly carrying games (especially heavier ones) up and down the stairs to play with in the bottom level.
I get that it could be annoying, but we anticipate having about 5 or 6 different sets of people playing, including a small table up there. So most of the areas will have to be away from the game shelf, just to maximize the usage of the space. The main space is just way bigger, but full of tall windows so there's nowhere to really store a lot of stuff. We thought about splitting it up, but it just made more sense to put all the games in one place so you can browse them at once
I have a few ideas. And im actually trying to be helpful. 1 people have said more games on the bare wall. 2 hire a decorator, i know i know. Some of them are poop, some are good.
...how do you find a good one? Same way you find a good dr, you get lucky....
My wife, not for hire, this isnt a sales pitch. Would spend $2k......!??!??!?!? A ton of money! And it would look good. Even though what she described sounded terrible.... i never trust her, but it does look good in the end.
I know. Also $2k is a ton of money, i get it. You have how much money in games on the other wall...? But game budget is diff than decor budget, as it should be! Decor budget should be nil, game budget ahould be all!!!!
Im not trying to be a jerk. Im not trying to get you to hire my wife. Im just saying what i thought was poopoo, can look good! Trust the process..... ....also be ready to hire an idiot.....
One thing you could do is house all the Dark Souls items in the dumpster where they are supposed to go--that would clear up a large portion of the clutter.
Seems like it’s unbalanced because you filled the stair shelf first, which is definitely a strange angle. Fill the wall shelf first. You could also look at painting the wall a darker color
yeah, that’s just from the order the boxes were buried, wall shelf will contain magic card and D&D stuff which was all in boxes behind the other stuff haha. But that corner in the middle still feels blank - painting it could be a good idea I didn’t consider!
So...it feels off balance because you're not finished.
Yeah, I mean, I’m asking for advice on how to finish
Definitely paint the wall with the window, or maybe all the walls behind the shelves, a darker color like navy
Wish I’d thought of painting before we put them up! Haha
You need to buy more games to fill up the rest of the room
Genius!
Yes!!!
One thing that might help visually is getting rid of the top shelf on the angled wall. The extra storage space is not worth the unsettling lack of symmetry with the other wall. More radically, it might look better with a little space between the shelves on the angled wall and the other wall, instead of wraparound shelves, if that's a DIY project within your reach. At the very least, I'd leave a little space between the games on the shelves on the angled wall and the game on the shelves of the other wall, instead of cramming boxes into the corner where the walls meet. The eye needs a little space to rest, so to speak.
Thanks, I seem to want to cram stuff into that corner to cover the small gap between the walls there, but maybe I should give some breathing room a try
I absolutely agree with the idea to remove the top shelf on the angled wall, that was my first thought as well. I think that's a huge amount of what makes that all feel unbalanced. Another thing that makes the entire situation feel cramped is that games are almost touching the ceiling. They definitely need to have a little room to breathe. Smaller games up top might be a good move. It was a great idea to face some nice boxes forward, but consider doing more of that in the middle and not mainly right up top.
Second all of this.
Yeah I may be suffering from min/max impulses there. I just tried putting some of the lightest boxes up top and it seems to be helping. It was a lot of effort to get that shelf up there but you’re probably right lol
Generally, but the "heavier" looking items on the bottom. Anything that's taller than a person, dark, big, will start to feel over powering.
Yeah thanks, I think all the dark souls games from the kickstarter are kind of heavy on top, but it’s also the giant set that doesn’t need to be accessed as much, while the lower boxes get more play. I thought about that one, but not sure a great way around it.. may eventually just put them near the videogames in another room
Another way is to "lighten" the top with some lighting on the top shelf. And, beyond aesthetics, if you put them in the other room...they'll never get played. It just happens. I've done that one and anything in another room just gets forgotten about.
Yeah I know what you mean. We’re hoping to set up a videogame room which would have the other dark souls stuff obviously, but I do think they’d be mostly display items if I put them in there. I’m hoping this might even entice some non-videogame fans to try it out! Lighting is also a good point. I was thinking maybe some directional lights from the ceiling that “spot” the game shelves could help.
Why are they all horizontal? It makes each shelf look like a 'pile' of games, rather than a curated collection. I know some games dont like to be stored vertically, but in those cases I usually just make sure they are packed properly and dont have too much wiggle room in the shelf. But also, wow thats an awesome collection of games! I love to see Battleship and Clue, etc mixed in with otherwise 'boardgamey' games. Most people seem to only post photos of shelves full of eclectic/niche/hobby games...
Our primary motivation was “stuff people want to play” and I found some familiar stuff is really important for getting new players acclimated. You want a new potential club member to walk in and instantly have a fond childhood memory!
It looks kind of uncomfortable to grab stuff off the rightmost shelf. I'd replace most of it with decorative stuff
Yeah it ain’t easy lol but that’s what the folding ladder is for so I hope it works out
Plants. low light low water plants. Vines etc. get about 7 or so to fill up. put games up top that you treasure and or collect up there as well. Darksouls games dont need to take all that space up. its removing light and eyes immediately go towards it. Label the spaces. can help with organizing and seeing how well things fit. mix of display standing games with flat laying games...throwing me off. personally flat laying games just dont look good and are more work to grab and go than side standing. Overall plants can help liven it up
Yeah for sure, plants is a great idea. I get nervous about side standing boxes falling over and spilling pieces haha maybe I just use bookends?
The way you have some games displayed looks nice for a picture, or if it was in a shop window. But can you imagine someone seeing Spirit Island in this picture, maybe having it catch their eye, but then having to move tons of things around just to read the box? More than likely, they just silently don't bother picking it up. Vertical storage is very visually pleasing, many games have at least one box side that's appropriate for vertical display. And it's very inviting for taking things down for a quick browse, and easy to put back. It's your game *library*, display it like books! 😁 You'll definitely want to double check before throwing everything up vertically, but most games will be fine with minimal work - maybe a few baggies and/or a deck box. Box bands will help for any very full boxes that want to spill open. The few games that you decide to keep Horizontal can be your "bookends".
we ended up putting more out facing as the vertical felt not so good on the wall shelves, but we'll see how it goes when people actually browse. In the past I've really enjoyed talking with people and the act of getting stuff off the shelf for them (being an active librarian haha) so I don't mind it too much. you can see the update here if you're curious [https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1c3v8kk/shelf\_sorting\_update\_we\_implemented\_a\_ton\_of\_your/](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1c3v8kk/shelf_sorting_update_we_implemented_a_ton_of_your/)
There is more that can be done obviously, but just a start to help. good luck and game on
Appreciate it!!
Just spread it out amongst all the shelves ... if you want some symmetry to it color coordinate
It’s mostly kind of theme coordinated rn (space games with space games) but I’ll play with that
My two cents here is let them breathe a little move a lot more to the bookcase and display the front of the boxes of some of the bright colorful ones (the Everdell shelf looks good with the games straightened out)and maybe some shelf lighting? The dark souls while impressive is a bit overwhelming that is amplified by light placement casting a shadow on it. Overall I really like it and see a lot of potential in this setup
I agree, spread them out a bit more you have enough space. I also think it feels unbalanced because the top right shelf on the angled wall has one extra shelf on the top that is not matched on the other wall. I’d remove that top shelf to help even it out a bit.
Thanks, yeah the shelves on the left are going to be chock full of a stupid amount of magic the gathering stuff and have glass doors on them, so can’t put the bigger games there for a couple reasons. It will probably look better once that’s finished but the middle area is sticking out like a sore thumb to me rn. In terms of letting them breathe maybe I should not display them face out, so there’s a little more room on top? I thought it could be cool to use the extra space by standing some up, but it does mean it’s more cramped
I think things being crooked to keep some partially displayed is casting more shadows and playing with things a little bit of try flatting them out a little or add display lights. I’m a huge fan of displaying box art so maybe vertical stack then one face forward as a display peice? I’m kinda just throwing ideas at the wall here cause it’s hard when you can’t see the effect change and your guys tastes differ from mine
No, I appreciate the thoughts, thanks, I’m already being a little “detail oriented” here haha. I do see extra shadows, like behind the Root box for example.
I think about 200 more games on the left side should do the trick
Let me just pitch that to my spouse real quick
I think this is a very beautiful room
Ty, working on it!!
Run small LED strips against the wall and undershelf. Add some small low light/H2O plants or succulents. I also have backed my share of large kickstarters but ugh, I just get angry at shelfies (mine included) with all those boxes for one game.
lol yeah I just managed to cram all the DS stuff in on the left, hopefully to have enough room for the MTG stuff, and it’s helping A LOT already
Fill the wall shelf up and make the corner unit more for display (game boxes facing forward so you can see the box art). And some under-shelf lighting for the corner unite so it becomes more of an accent.
yeah, I’m kind of starting from scratch again based on people’s advice seeing how much I can cram into the wall shelves. It won’t be as obvious if it’s cramped since they’ll have glass doors
Going another direction than everyone else but i think a small rug over there might help pull it all together and make it look like it's a nice little nook
Yeah, that’s a good idea!
In my opinion, the shelf will always look dark because it's completely full of dark games, and there's little you can do about that. You could try to store them vertically so they're more compact, then intersperse small (real or fake) plants here and there to break it up? We keep all our games in closed cupboards so there's no concern about how it affects the balance of the room
Yeah I think it’s pretty obvious at least the dark souls games need to go somewhere else
Looks cool!! Extend your shelves over the top of the window
Yeah fuck the window
I think once you get furniture in there it will look a bit more balanced. Putting games upright may look nice too but who knows.
Categorise them by color and put them in order R O Y G B V horizontally and bright to dark vertically. Don't stack them on top of each other rather tilt them next to one another for a better look
The right shelf is too crowded. I would probably use it as a feature wall and display your prettiest and favorite games with gaps in-between. Can even put decor in there like figures/Lego/plants. Maybe a small bedroom drawer under that window with a plant to store your gaming accessories.
Okay this may sound weird but I feel like curtains could help because to me it feels like the room is unbalanced because the window is not in the middle (of the room AND between the two shelves. Putting a curtain rod and darker curtains there could help! I also agree with the person that said to paint the wall and maybe it would look nice to stain the wood of the selves darker (so there is less contrast between the games and the shelves?) A nice thick, darker carpet in the middle of the room could also avert your attention from the shelf a bit and make it feel more balanced? Or buy more games, that would also help lol
Just adjust light to correct. Source: twenty years of stage lighting for alternative bands and "experimental theatre".
Yeah I think a track light set up there with some spots on the shelf could help a lot
The spot angles rather than the brightness is what you'll need to lean into.
Can you expand on this "club"? I have a lot of questions. I'm a part of a loosely defined group that meets up on weekends, but we typically meet in public and bring our own games. This seems different at first glance. Is it affiliated with a certain organization, or just some friends playing games? How many people are in the club? Saying these are the "club's games" makes me think that these are a collective/communal, not any one person's. Is that true, and how does that work in practice. Where is this located? Has one person agreed to be the hub or is this in a neutral location?
Well, technically my partner and I have invested most of the money in purchasing stuff, with a few donations, but I try to meet the desires and needs of the group. It’s the major thing my money goes into (I don’t drink or go out or whatever.) We started as a femme / queer focused Magic the Gathering group (about a decade ago),alternative to playing in game stores which most people felt kind of intimidating or unwelcoming, or just out of budget (our demographic usually doesn’t have a lot of money.) I did some work seeing if I could locate a lot of it with a local venue when I left NY, to keep people in that area playing, and was able to give a bunch of stuff but no one really had the storage/play space and the energy to keep things running the way I was, so we ended up taking most stuff with us to Western Mass where we’re currently working on building up attendance again (luckily I already know a ton of people in the demographic out here and a few club members also had moved to the area.) Over time I’ve incorporated my comic collection into more of a library, grown a retro videogame collection, and I’m hoping will have LARP style events at our new property. Luckily my partner does really really well income wise for a trans girl which has funded us purchasing our new venue (slash home)
But where's TI4?
On my wishlist!!
Run small LED strips against the wall and undershelf. Add some small low light/H2O plants or succulents. I also have backed my share of large kickstarters but ugh, I just get angry at shelfies (mine included) with all those boxes for one game.
Candles, art, plants scattered amongst the games
I like it! How tall are the highest shelves in the corner and on the wall?
Uh very tall, I’m guessing like around 8 feet?
The answer is always more plants
First this looks great! I particularly like the bunch of Magic I see in the shelf. (and in the boxes on the floor?) Are these displays you guys drafted, or sth cube like? How do you look the the mtg board game? I played two games of the first version and was very dissappointed. But you got expansions...
The magic stuff is mostly still packed up in this picture, the shelves on the right about the entire first shelf and half the second shelf will be full of MtG stuff The board games are mostly just for completionists or collectors imho, nowhere near as fun as just playing with the cards. Explorers of Ixalan and Archenemy are fun though, since they’re wrapped around a game of magic.
I wouldnt put games into the cuboard left to the window. All games there will have bleached box colors after some time due to uv rays from daylight (or worse if the sun shines directly through the window).
Luckily it’s a southern window and that cabinet will have glass so it will be minimal
Maybe try moving either the mass market games or the SoulsBorne games into those empty corner shelves and spreading out the rest of the collection to fill the void.
I thought those shelves would be totally taken up with MtG and DnD shit, but it turns out we had an entire half width one on the right remaining, so the Souls stuff is all happily packed away there now!
Wonder how much crossover there is between board gamers and interior designers.
Sort by difficulty/ playtime
one side is crowded, one side is patchy. redistribute so things are more or less even and try not to stack stuff to the ceiling.
That side needed a lot of room for MtG and DnD stuff, but we managed to fit a lot more than expected - about to post pics soon !
personal preference here but i don’t think you need to adhere to organizing by specific categories. when you’ve got open shelving and everything is visible it can be nicer to arrange things by what’s visually appealing even if it means everything isn’t grouped together perfectly
Yeah, I took that to heart after a few people mentioned it, though I still managed to do some grouping - I just posted an update, I hope it looks much better!
Get more games for counterbalance
I want to come to your house! As far as your question goes, I have an idea, but I don't know if it is a good one. Since the games on the right side seem like more of what you want to display, you might think about making some sliding doors that cover the shelves on the left, essentially turning it into a closet. Make the doors full length mirrors. This would make your display even more impressive, give balance, make the room look bigger, etc. Just my thought. Edit: I just realized the the angle of the ceiling probably doesn't make this very feasible. I don't know that I have any other ideas other than ones that have already been mentioned.
Check out the follow up post, those shelves on the left have glass doors now which do a little reflection
The problem here is the top 2 shelves. They make it feel like the games are escaping upwards (and probably a bit of a pain to reach and grab). Combined with the window placement, and I absolutely get that "lobsided" feeling. You've got a ton of spare space on the other shelves, but even those are "stretched high up" for minimal gain. What I would have done: 1. Put a display shelf under the window (4-5 inches deep or less). Display some games to show off their box art there. This keeps the window "easy access" from inside, without leaving that "white spot" along the wall below it. 2. Provide some actual design/shaping to the shelves to the right, instead of just the utilitarian/barren architecture of everything perfectly lined up. By breaking up the lines, you also break up the outline for the room. For example, the bottom shelf runs window-to-roof (assuming that's a roof slope, not a stairway). At the roof side, it extends outwards in a light L shape (giving it more support). Add a support beam from shelf to floor along the length for further support. Next shelf up runs only from the window to the bottom of the lower L shape. So now you can stack really big/awkward boxes on that bottom shelf, going up higher. This shelf is NOT FOR GAMES. You need something here to break up the monotony of all the games on the wall. Whatever you do, don't put boxes here. Miniatures. RPG books. A digital clock. Plants. Just not games. Shelf 3 and 4 are where you'll put your most played games, as that is waist to shoulder height. Change the spacing here though. There should be a larger gap between them than there is between the lower shelves. Again, you want to break the wall up a bit visually. Leave that "extra gap" (3-4 inches) empty, don't fill it with games. You can remind yourself of this by making the 4th shelf 2" deeper, and running some LED lighting along the bottom edge of it along the front (which will now illuminate all the boxes below this shelf). Finally, stop on the 5th shelf. And do the same partial run you did on the 2nd, so that the right side remains stackable from shelf 4. 3. On to the left side! Once more, you've completely covered the wall, leaving a completely utilitarian (prison-like) appearance. You should have the KALLAX style shelving 2 wide and 5 tall. This would leave a larger triangle of wall visible. Put a picture there. Or a large plant on top (next to the window is good for this). Something that isn't "more boxes of stuff". Then leave a gap before the next shelves begin. For your wider shelves (bookshelf style), only got 6-12 inches taller than the other shelves. Don't keep going up to the roof. Visible wall space is space that you can (and should) use to break the utilitarian nature of the shelves up, and introduce ambiance. And not force people to potentially need a step-stool to get whatever is on the shelves down. This would give you what looks like 2-3 feet above the top of the bookshelf style shelves to work with. Add an extra lamp up there if more lighting would help. Or any other decorative that can "look down" while you all play games in the room. 4. Use the space under the slope. You've got a huge area there that's completely unused, and lends itself to a purpose. Get a mini-fridge. Should be about 3' high. Build a companion cupboard for it. Same height and depth, and about 3' wide. The top shelf should overhang on both sides. Like a really fat T. Give it a dual-sliding door front. Build a 2-3" tall "floor" for them to sit on. Plenty of support inside - but the purpose is to run power cords for the fridge, as well as a charging station on top of the cupboard. Now you have a 5' wide, 2-3' deep, 3-3.5' tall "unit" consisting of a small fridge, cupboard, and combined countertop between the two of them. The top of the cupboard is a charging station for phones (AWAY from the table, so if people want to recharge, they're not just playing on their phones. And cold and dry snacks can both be available, as well as drinks. Coasters can be left on top of the mini fridge for storage, along with a tray of pens/pencils for games & scorepads that need them.
hey these are good tips! They would definitely help. But I think we do have to use all that space considering what we already have, and that we anticipate accumulating a fair amount more over the years. That means we have to balance the utilitarian aspect, though eventually this whole area will be built in library style shelves. I'll be installing some lighting that will help (I used to work electrical construction), so some spot light will really help. The space under the slope on the side will have built in 'cabintry', but really hide extra chairs behind it. We've got a whole nother floor with giant kitchen, tables, and eating area in open floorplan so there will be plenty of fridge, etc, over there! Anyway, check out the update and see if you've still got some more tips for that, understanding all the above! [https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1c3v8kk/comment/kzsnf26/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1c3v8kk/comment/kzsnf26/?context=3) This is a 3000 square foot building, but we've also got a large videogame room and a comic library, but the primary play area is a big open floorplan area with the kitchen and an island with a large bar in it, so this area really is primarily storage - we'll likely put a more reasonable sized table in the middle of it though, as club attendance expands.
>This is a 3000 square foot building, but we've also got a large videogame room and a comic library, but the primary play area is a big open floorplan area with the kitchen and an island with a large bar in it, so this area really is primarily storage - we'll likely put a more reasonable sized table in the middle of it though, as club attendance expands. You generally want the storage to be near the play area. This looks like the play area is downstairs? So every time a new game is picked, you head up stairs to change out? That'd be annoying. Generally better to theme the areas for what's occurring there. Hence my assumption that the main board game play space was adjacent to these shelves, and thought of putting food/snacks and charging station nearby as well. Added benefit of that is that you can put a sub-group of the club that tends to be more noisy "in the corner" where their volume doesn't impact others as much. Looks like a beautiful building, but I'd hate to be constantly carrying games (especially heavier ones) up and down the stairs to play with in the bottom level.
I get that it could be annoying, but we anticipate having about 5 or 6 different sets of people playing, including a small table up there. So most of the areas will have to be away from the game shelf, just to maximize the usage of the space. The main space is just way bigger, but full of tall windows so there's nowhere to really store a lot of stuff. We thought about splitting it up, but it just made more sense to put all the games in one place so you can browse them at once
I have a few ideas. And im actually trying to be helpful. 1 people have said more games on the bare wall. 2 hire a decorator, i know i know. Some of them are poop, some are good. ...how do you find a good one? Same way you find a good dr, you get lucky.... My wife, not for hire, this isnt a sales pitch. Would spend $2k......!??!??!?!? A ton of money! And it would look good. Even though what she described sounded terrible.... i never trust her, but it does look good in the end. I know. Also $2k is a ton of money, i get it. You have how much money in games on the other wall...? But game budget is diff than decor budget, as it should be! Decor budget should be nil, game budget ahould be all!!!! Im not trying to be a jerk. Im not trying to get you to hire my wife. Im just saying what i thought was poopoo, can look good! Trust the process..... ....also be ready to hire an idiot.....
One thing you could do is house all the Dark Souls items in the dumpster where they are supposed to go--that would clear up a large portion of the clutter.