Having just bought our home, this week has so far been all about redecorating the main living room downstairs. It’s been a positive experience for me – despite being the least handy male in Britain – and I’ve learned a lot of useful basic skills. One realisation is that all those years of making wargames terrain at Games Workshop gave me more awareness of tools and materials than I expected.

Part of the process has been to begin the decluttering of our house which, over 29 years of marriage, has become rather overstuffed. I’ve shared before the “stacks of doom” wherein my RPG collection lives. While the time has come to finally get to grips with it, there has also been talk between us of reallocating rooms to different purposes.

There is a very large top room which was designed to be a bedroom but which has become (until now) largely a guest room that never gets used and excess storage space. In the new medium-term plan, we are seriously considering moving my entire hobby up into that room. We’ve discussed the possibility of a larger computer desk for podcasting and online gaming, plus a 4-foot-square gaming table to allow wargaming and group gaming alike.

In return for relinquishing the rat room, my current home, I have begun to dream of a dedicated hobby room. Sure, we might need to have a sofa bed in case there are guests but bookshelves and space to play is deeply exciting to me. I can see a future in which my more focused RPG gaming can live alongside wargaming and online pursuits.

Perhaps this is me finally entering middle age and being established enough to make such ideas a reality. One thing is certain: after this week learning to redecorate and model our house to suit out own designs, I am keen to invest the time and effort required to make a home for my hobby.

Game on!