I must confess I was sold on the new house (when we eventually get there) when I was informed that I could have the top floor to replace my lovely 5m x 5m garage wargames room. The top floor being roughly smaller than 4 garages.
Extravagant it is but it is a large Victorian house with 4 floors that need a lot of work to restore it. It's a lot of space but I am not daunted that I can fill it. It's an old house without nice square rooms, or rooms on the same level or ceilings with the same height for that matter.
Tools that I am finding useful in planning the new Wargames Eyrie (couldn't resist giving the space a name) are a software application called Architect 3D gold and Pinterest. I confess I thought the Architect software was free, but I've just Googled it and apparently my wife has spent some money for planning our new layouts. I shall not complain or a light may be shone on my toy soldier addiction.
Architect 3D Gold by Avanquest has helped draw a plan of the floor and the different rooms and work out what tables, shelves, desks and chairs will fit. I'm no architect but it has really helped me plan what the space may become and I found it really exciting.
The next software tool I errr ... my wife found was Pinterest. An application that works on Google Chrome which allows you to capture pictures that interest or inspire you, or are of products you want and organise them in to albums or boards as the application calls them. It also allows you to search for boards other people have created, hence my discovery of other gamers' game rooms or ideas for games rooms. It also works on the iPad and iPhone.
As a note this tool has been great for planning ideas for all rooms in the house and providing discussion points to make decisions on styles and content. From a wargames point of view I have found boards of people planning armies pinning various pictures of the troops they need, board for terrain ideas, modelling tips, painted figures, and game ideas just to name a few. I've also found manufacturers' boards like Mantic and Foundry with pictures of their ranges plus future design ideas.
