Mum Saves £400 On DIY Gaming Room For Tween Sons

• Jade Lowe, 32, revamped the shared room for a total of £350 as a Christmas present for her sons Addison, 7, and Kairon, 11
• Didn’t want to splash out on the ready-made bunk bed gaming stations she’d seen in the shops for £380, so created her own for less than half the price
• The boys “absolutely love” their room and can’t wait to have a sleepover

If you’re a parent of tweens, gaming may be on the brain. And if your little ones have been following the ‘Eat, sleep, game, repeat’ mantra over the Christmas holidays, then they’ll love this video game themed bedroom.

Jade Lowe, 32, revamped the room as a Christmas present for her sons Addison, 7, and Kairon, 11. The creative mum, who works in childcare and lives in Warrington, Cheshire, did it all in two days on a £350 budget, with a little help from some handy family members.

“My boys’ shared room was comic themed before the revamp and they had both outgrown it,” she told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk. “They are really into their gaming, as most kids their age are. I wanted to create a room where they could play, sleep and have space to do their schoolwork.”

After seeing ready-made bunk bed gaming stations in the shops for £380 each, Jade found a way to cut down the cost of the fun sleepers to £160 each by buying the key items separately.

“It’s a small space, so I wanted two high sleeper beds,” she says. “The ones with the gaming set-ups already built-in were really expensive, so I needed my own budget solution. I wanted to create something similar but not at that price.”

She picked up two black, metal-framed high sleeper beds from Argos, which were on offer for £90 each. The desks were second-hand from Facebook Marketplace for £10 each and the drawers were £60 each from Ikea.

“My mum bought the gaming chairs from Amazon for £80 each as one of their Christmas presents,” she added.

The space-saving set-up was everything the boys wanted – somewhere to sleep, game and study – for less than half the price of the ready-made ones she’d seen.

It was the finishing touches, however, that made the room extra special for the boys. Following a fresh lick of grey paint, Jade created an edgy feature wall using Black Graffiti Wallpaper (£8.99 per roll, 53cm x 10.05m) from B&M.

“I think the graffiti style wallpaper will take them through to their teens,” she says.

Another key feature is the white and silver IKEA PS 2014 pendant lamp, £60, which is inspired by science fiction films and changes shape when you pull the string. The boys even got a cool mini fridge for drinks and snacks costing £40 from Amazon, which was another gift from granny and grandad.

“The bedding, wall stickers, pictures and LED lights are all from Amazon while the paint and other nick-nacks are from B&M,” added Jade.

From the groovy Playstation lava lamps to the cheeky wall décor, including the ‘Choose your weapon’ stickers and ‘Just five more minutes’ artwork, the room is everything a young gamer could wish for.

“My favourite features are the LED lights, the ceiling light and their little mini fridge,” says Jade. “The LED lights can be connected to a phone or gaming device so they flash along to the music.”

The fun room refresh was simple to achieve.

“The room took my partner, my dad, and I two days to complete,” she says. This included a fresh lick of paint, wallpapering and arranging all the new furniture and accessories.

“Personally think mine look a lot better than the ready-made ones I’d seen, especially when they're lit up. And I did it for a fraction of the cost. Everything was fairly straightforward and I'm over the moon with the results as it's exactly as I envisioned it. All I wanted was for it to be comfortable for them and the rest was created with them in mind.

“The boys absolutely love their room,” she continues. “They each have their own space now. They video-called their friends straight away when they saw it on Christmas Day and they can’t wait to have a sleepover when it’s allowed.”

“If you want to create a room like this for your children, I would advise you to listen to their wants and needs. After all, it's their space and a place where they need to be able to relax.”

Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk comments: “Gaming themed rooms for kids are hugely popular right now, and it's easy to achieve the look on a budget.

“If you buy all the main elements separately, and snap up some second-hand bargains like Jade, then it’ll help to keep your costs down.

“There are some great video-game themed accessories in affordable high-street shops. You may need to shop around for them but once you find the perfect added extras for a great price it’ll be well worth it.”

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