Starting from scratch with my baseball room.
 

It's been a while since I've posted. Over the past six weeks I've had two long business trips, I've painted 3/4 of our home, replaced all the base boards on the main floor, and installed slate tile. New carpet for the first floor will be in next week. Anyway...I'm starting on my office/baseball room. Everything is out, I just finished painting (nice deep green), I'll put new base in on Saturday, then I start on the good stuff. I'm taking out the old TV and puting in wall mounted LCD.

One of the biggest challenges is deciding what to feature where. Obviously the top tier pieces will be out, but I had almost everything out before and every inch covered (see pics).

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I'm thinking about building a couple nice wall mounted cases on each side of the window to hold figural pieces. Do you guys think I should load the room up again or minimize? I like the idea of packing it in because you can look around and appreciate something new all the time. On the other hand, when you minimize, what is featured looks that much better. Any thoughts or other ideas while my slate is clean. I can build just about anything made of wood, so suggest away.

Hey Mike,
I personally like the look of having the walls covered with memorabilia and everything on display. I would go as far to say to shoot for that borderline messy look. It just seems to work well with this old baseball stuff.

I'll be very interested to see how your room turns out because I'll be starting from scratch in a whole new house in a few months. Maybe I can steal a few ideas from your new room. I'm going to be going to a significantly smaller room but am excited about being able to start all over and get it just how I want it. Not too excited about having to pack up all my stuff and move it though. What kind of wall cases did you have in mind? Did you build the ones in the picture you posted?

Hi Brock. I did build the cases you see and the bat racks. I'm probably going to build cases with shelves 8-10 inches deep, one end open to let in light, dark finish, ornate face frames. I want them classic looking.

Starting from Scratch
 

Mike,you're right it's kind of cluttered.That ole Cincinnati pennant in the 3rd photo is just covering up some of those great bats and that nice rack.Tell you what,give me a price and I'll buy that ole pennant that's just in the way and the walls will look just fine.
Redmansam

P.S. What a nice problem to have-congrats.

nice!
 

That's awesome...albeit a dusting nightmare!

No question, pack it in. I recently had only a bit of my things out on display but have since begun to put everything out in custom frames and on custom shelves. It just gives you a better appreciation for everything.

Our collecting rooms are the scrapbooks of our hobby adventures. Pack it in and layer it on! Dust validates the authenticity of our dedication to the quest...

The perfect display room is the one where you can no longer discern the color of the paint on the wall.

Nice looking stuff indeed. Whatever makes you happier to look at, in terms of layout, is how you should go.

I like the pack it in suggestions fellas. Thanks for the validation:D I'll keep you posted with pics as the project progresses. Any additional ideas or comments are appreciated.

By minimizing you can also rotate what is on display with what is not every couple of months and also feature and appreciate something new all of the time.

The that the room was in your pictures look great. It would still look great with less on display.

I think what it comes down to is a matter of personal opinion and preference.

Personally, I think it would be interesting if every time someone visited me they saw something different because what was on display was rotated.

As usual...Rick is spot-on with his assessment.

Can't wait to see it once remodeled.

Best, Jimmy

Mike, whichever direction you're going in, I like it!! It's definitely a room I want to spend a lot of time in...

Step one...paint. It won't be shiny and will be a bit lighter when dry.

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My desk isn't on fire...
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Phase 2...new baseboards.
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Mike,
Get it all back on the walls asap! My collection has been packed up for about 8 months now and I hate not being able to see it.
Matt

Went to Costco for the LCD today. I'll start on the display cases after my meeting this week...cheers.

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Building the shelving.
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Basement Sport Room
 

Here's my finished basement playroom:

Great space Dina. I'm affraid the basement is off limits to my collection, so I have to plan every inch of my 12 x 10 space...ha ha.

The shelves are in so I threw some pieces up preliminarily for affect. There will be a ton of tinkering. The place still looks naked...ha ha.
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There will be wall mounted bat racks (today) to the left and right of this display. I think I will have gloves on the wall around the TV.
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This doorway was open floor to ceiling before, so I built a header accross the opening to better define the space and provide a good spot for a nodder shelf.
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Keep up the good work Mike, been following your thread with interest. Your planning and execution was/is impressive. I too may someday do a hobby room but will likely go with a 19th century feel (wood floor and wall paneling with generous size door, window, base, and crown moldings).

That sounds like my dream room Joe. Maybe in the next house. It is really tough deciding what is in and what is out. I have a lot of little stuff and paper that may need to go. A lot of pennants won't make the cut either. It is really tough hanging the big pieces, because a few inches one way or another can significantly affect what can fit next to them. Oh well I'm having a ball doing it. Here is an update. I'll try not keep things so symetrical with the other areas.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...0/IMG_1542.jpg

Cool to follow the transformation.
Wish I was handy doing stuff like this, I always have to pay to get it done :(

Looking great Mike! The wall color turned out perfect. The green looks great with the dark wood grain shevles. Has a real nostalgic look. Perfect to accent your memorabilia. Love it!

Agree with Brock... the color is elegant, and looks very classy.

And I love the Bobble Heads over the doorway... a brilliant use of that difficult space! Just be sure nobody slams that door right in back of them. Those things are so fragile, it would drive me nuts to have that door so close.

The shelves in the corners of the room look amazing as well. A free airline ticket to Seattle is yours, if you want to tinker a bit around here when you're done...

It's looking great!

New Room
 

Love how your new room is coming along Mike. The shelves look amazing. Beautiful display so far.

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I'll keep plugging along because I appreciate how insane (I mean enthusiastic) we all are when it comes to this stuff. I'm filling in and adjusting, but now it's off to the framers with a special pennant I'm saving a spot for. Here are a couple updated photos for you. There are large and some small changes in each.

I'm patting myself on the back for creative use of my desk front in this first one.
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Amazing job Mike. I can hear the muffled cries of my own stuff as they wait to be unpacked. Soon hopefully.

Wow
 

That has such a great vintage look to it...amazing! The green walls really add that extra touch. What color and brand of paint is that? Great job!

Fantastic job Mike! Very well laid out. Now the fun part comes when you get something new and try to figure out where you'll put it (but a nice problem to have).

The green looks great.

Greg

Simply fantastic. Congratulations on having such amazing stuff and a beautiful layout.

The brand of paint and color are Valspar, juniper (eggshell). I'm very happy with the color, so I'm glad you all are as well.

I'm actually looking forward to adding more new pieces at this point. I'm going to be selling a fair number of pieces I used to have out (I'll post here before going the ebay route). I'm trying to control the impulse to nail everything to the wall instantly simply to satisfy the urge to fill space (it's a very strong urge...ha ha).

I took my one of my favorite pennants to the framer yesterday. That will go to the right of the TV under the large team photo. I'm considering my options for displaying gloves as well. I may build a case for the wall next to the window, but I'm not jumping into anything. I'll keep posting updates as things go up.

Thanks

Final updates
 

Ok fellas. I'm close enough to being done that I'll wrap up this post. Any changes will go into the pick-ups posts each month. I hope you have enjoyed this process as much as I have:D

I'm building a small custom book case that will sit where you see the clock in this first photo. That small glass table centered on the window contains my pinback collection (photo 2). I'll fill in here and there with smaller pieces, change pennants as upgrades or new favorites are added, and I'm going after a couple special figural pieces for the desk, book case, and shelves.

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Mike...it looks awesome.
Matt

Super, super, super!

Greg

Hats off Mike. Really turned out great.
The newly framed Yankees pennant aint bad either. Any plans to have more pennants framed? The '35 Cubs pennant seems like it could be a strong candidate.

Awesome job Mike!!! That is a place I could relax in.

Thanks guys. Brock, I would love to get them all framed. I may knock off a couple a year, but they take up a lot more space framed, and at around $150 a pop I could buy a Spalding trophy with that money.

Wow Mike! It looks like something out of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book...
 

Can't decide what to get your impossible to buy for Husband, who's a huge Baseball fan, for Christmas. Here's an instant and ultimate Sports Den. Completely furnished with everything pictured. A Neiman Marcus Exclusive. One only. Call for Pricing.

BTW... that scoreboard above the TV is the stone cold nuts! Well Done Mike.

Looks amazing, Mike...

I notice something new (and very cool) everytime I look at the pics. You made perfect use of the allocated space, and got so much in (without looking at all messy or cluttered).

Congrats on a fantastic result, and dont forget that valuable ceiling space, as you expand the pennant collection!

Very well done. I've enjoyed watching the progress.

Mike- My wife would pass out with delight if my room looked as nice as your old layout. I have actually fallen twice in recent months just trying to walk through my room!

We keep the door closed at all times.