The Best Home Features for Gamers and Collectors Aren’t Always Extra Bedrooms

You found the extra bedroom.

Perfect gaming room, right?

Maybe.

Now open the door.

There's a closet taking up one wall, two windows on another, the door swings across the third, and somehow the only conveniently placed outlet is exactly where you don't want your desk.

Suddenly, that “extra bedroom” has about six feet of actually useful wall space.

This is why I don't want my gamers and collectors getting too excited just because a listing says bonus room, flex space, or extra bedroom.

Those labels tell me what the room could be.

They don't tell me whether your 72-inch desk, dual monitors, manga shelves, card collection, display cases, gaming chair, and everything else you've accumulated over the years will actually work in there.

So when we're touring?

I'm looking at the room differently.

1. Usable wall space matters more than you think

Let's say we're comparing two rooms.

One is 12×12.

The other is 10×11.

Obviously, the bigger room wins, right?

Not necessarily.

That larger room might have two doors, a closet, multiple windows, and almost no uninterrupted wall space.

Meanwhile, the smaller room might have one beautiful blank wall where your entire setup fits perfectly.

That's why I'm not only interested in the dimensions of a room.

I'm looking at usable space.

Where does the desk actually go?

Can we fit two desks if you and your partner both game?

Where are the manga shelves going?

Is there enough wall for your display cases?

If you're a TCG collector, where does your card storage go—and can you still fit a table where you can actually sit down and use the collection?

The room doesn't need to be enormous.

It needs to work.

Measure your setup before you start touring

This is one of the easiest things you can do before house hunting.

Measure the things you already know are coming with you.

Your desk.

Your shelves.

Your display cases.

Your gaming table.

Your largest pieces of furniture.

Put the measurements in your phone.

You do not need to arrive at every showing with graph paper and a tiny architect's ruler. 😂

But if your desk is 72 inches wide, I'd much rather know that while we're standing in the room than after you've bought the house.

2. Yes, I'm looking for outlets

The staged bed is cute.

I'm looking behind it for outlets. 😂

If you've got a PC, multiple monitors, consoles, chargers, speakers, lighting, cameras, streaming equipment, or some combination of all of the above, outlet placement can affect how easily the room works with your setup.

That doesn't mean a room is automatically unusable because an outlet isn't exactly where you'd prefer it.

But it does mean I want you thinking about the practical setup while we're touring—not just imagining how cool the finished room will look.

Where does the desk make sense?

Where is the existing internet equipment?

Would you prefer a wired connection for your setup?

Where would the TV or monitors go?

Where are you putting everything that needs power?

These aren't questions you want to start asking while you're carrying the PC into the house on moving day.

3. Natural light is great...until it's directly on your monitor

“Lots of natural light” sounds universally positive in a listing description.

And generally? We love it.

But gamers, collectors, and content creators may need to think about where that light actually falls.

If you game during the day, window placement can affect screen glare and where your desk makes sense.

If you film your setup, unboxings, card pulls, or other content, good natural light might be a huge plus.

And if you're planning an entire wall of shelving or display cases, those windows are also taking up wall space.

So I'm not just walking into the room and saying:

“Oh, look at all this natural light!”

I'm thinking:

What are we actually going to do with it?

4. Where does the collection you're NOT displaying go?

Collectors, this one's for you.

Because I know the beautiful shelves aren't the whole collection. 😂

You've got the things currently on display.

And then you've got...

The boxes.

The binders.

The packaging you refuse to throw away because obviously we need the box.

The duplicates.

The bulk cards.

The things you're rotating out.

The protective cases.

The shipping supplies if you buy, sell, or trade.

The collection has a backstage.

And that stuff needs somewhere to live too.

So yes, I'm looking at the beautiful wall where your manga shelves could go.

But I'm also looking at the closet.

The built-ins.

The cabinets.

The garage storage.

The other spaces that can hold the less glamorous part of maintaining a collection.

Because if your gorgeous display room requires six storage bins to permanently live in the hallway, we haven't actually solved the storage problem.

5. Don't forget about the other humans

This is especially important if your hobby is social.

Maybe your gaming setup needs room for another chair because your friends actually come over.

Maybe you collect TCGs and regularly have people over to trade or play.

Maybe you're building a game room where your partner will spend just as much time as you do.

It's easy to look at an empty room and think:

“Oh yeah, everything will fit.”

And maybe it will.

Then the desk goes in.

Then the chair.

Then the second desk.

Then the shelves.

Then the display case.

Then somebody tries to walk behind your chair and realizes we've created an obstacle course. 😭

So don't just ask:

“Does my setup fit?”

Ask:

“Do I still fit once my setup is in here?”

And if other people regularly enjoy the hobby with you, they need to fit too.

6. Think about what happens when the hobby grows

I am not encouraging anybody to buy an extra 1,000 square feet because you might acquire more manga.

Please don't tell your lender I said that. 😂

But I do want you to be realistic about yourself.

If you currently own 300 manga volumes and have added 75 in the last year...

Maybe we shouldn't design a room where the only available bookshelf is already completely full on moving day.

If you're upgrading your gaming setup piece by piece, maybe we leave enough room for the second monitor you've been talking about.

If you've recently gotten into collecting cards and somehow already own four binders...

Well.

We both know where this is going. 😂

You don't need to plan your entire house around hypothetical future purchases.

But a little flexibility can keep a room working for you longer.

7. A good hobby room might not be a bedroom at all

This is one of the reasons I don't want buyers getting locked into bedroom counts.

Your perfect gaming or collection space could be:

A loft.

A finished basement.

A den.

A formal dining room you know you're never going to use for formal dining.

A finished room over a garage.

A large office.

Part of a bonus room.

Even an oversized landing in the right floor plan.

The listing doesn't get to decide what a room is for.

You do.

If the “formal dining room” would serve you significantly better as the place where four people gather every Friday night to play cards?

Congratulations on your new game room. 😂

What matters is whether the space works for your life.

There's a difference between having room for your stuff and having room to enjoy your stuff

That's ultimately what I want you thinking about when we tour.

I'm not trying to find an empty room where we can technically cram everything you own.

I want to know:

Can you sit comfortably at your setup?

Can you actually see and enjoy the collection you've spent years building?

Can your friends come over?

Can you film your card pulls without dismantling half the room first?

Can you add another shelf someday without blocking the door?

Does being in the room actually feel good?

Because having room for your stuff and having room to enjoy your stuff are two different things.

And if you're spending the money to buy a home, I want us thinking about both.

Bring your hobbies to the showing

Not literally.

Please don't bring your entire manga collection to a showing. 😂

But bring the information.

Take a few measurements.

Save pictures of your current setup.

Know which pieces absolutely have to fit.

Tell me what you wish worked better about the space you have now.

Because that's useful information when we're standing in a house trying to decide whether it works for you.

Your priorities don't have to sound like everyone else's.

You can tell me:

“I need a wall long enough for two gaming desks.”

“I have 500 manga volumes and I'm not putting them back in boxes.”

“I need somewhere four people can comfortably play Magic.”

Great.

Now I know what I'm looking for.

And that's a whole lot more useful than simply telling me:

“I think I need three bedrooms.”

Your hobbies need a home.

If you're thinking about buying in Hampton Roads and want an agent who's going to pay attention to where your actual life fits, let's talk about what you're looking for →