This post has been quite a while in the making, I just never got around taking new pictures of our flat after the ones I posted in 2012.
A lot has happened since - new consoles arrived, new TVs, iPad gaming became a thing... Just to mention a few.
Overall, the design philosophy of our flat has been that we don't like physical things, so we want our home to be as clutter free as possible. We don't have physical CDs, films or games, and the only physical books we have are coffee table style art books. So our apartment was always designed around the idea that we wouldn't collect stuff, that we'd use that money rather digitally, or to buy experiences instead. The form of the apartment follows function. Everything is as comfortable as possible, and there is a place for everything. We've used as high quality fittings and furnture as possible for the few things we have. A lot of the things in our apartment have been originally recommended by Gaf, from games to consoles, headphones to fitness gear.
Now, we have put the flat on the market as we'll move to a new build as
I intend to go full Harvey Specter / Don Draper with skyline views. So apologies for this post being ridiculously long, wanted to get this all just posted now.
Main Gaming Setup - living room
When we redid our flat, we designed the living room around media and games. A custom wall was built behind the TV, routing 7.1 cabling around and over to the ceiling. Back then it looked like Kinects and sensor bars were going to be all the rage, so we did a cut out in the wall for them. Fortunately it will finally come to use with VR. All the gaming consoles, Apple TV and the AV amp are inside the white cabinet, out of sight. I don't own a single physical game, which is awesome. Any game can be played at any time. PS4 and Wii U have larger HDDs for that reason.
The living room has a Genelec 7.1 system, which I must say is one of our best purchases. They are the same speakers used to mix most of the games and films we play, and some of the big music as well. They work very well in medium sized rooms where the listening spot is well defined. Their sound is absolutely phenomenal, they never become jarring, no matter how loud they are.
Kit - 75" TV - Samsung UE75ES9000. AV amp - Yamaha RX-A1020. Consoles - PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, new Apple TV. 7.1 Audio - Genelec 8040 x 3, Genelec 8020 x 4, Genelec 7050B
Furniture - Sofa - Togo by Ligne Roset. Lamp - Flos by Arco. Media cabinet by Bo Concept. Table from Skanno.
Wii U with the only correct controller
PS4 with Street Fighter V TES FightStick
Late night Halo 5 setup - Elite controller, AMG K712 headphones, Schiit Magni 2
Secodary gaming setup - guest room
Our guest room sees quite a few visitors, we like having people around and everyone seems to come London every now and then. So primarily the setup is for our guests to watch Apple TV at their leisure. But I figured it'd be a nice place for some of the more niche gaming things I do less often. NES looks nicer on a small TV, as does Persona, so the guest room is perfect for that.
Kit 48" TV - Sony KDL-48W705C. Consoles - PSTV, Analogue NT, Apple TV
Furniture Media cabinet by Muurame. Bespoke sliding door from reclaimed wood.
Analogue NT by far the best way to play NES games. Contains the original NES chipset, so no emulation required. Outputs crystal clear HDMI. Plays NES and Famicom games.
Persona shrine when I'm not playing my Analogue NT, I watch the Persona animations, read the books and play the games in our guest room
Mobile gaming setup
I still have a PS Vita and N3DS somewhere, but I took these pictures today to reflect the change of gaming on the go since my last photos. iPad is probably my most used device these days. I watch films on it, listen and AirPlay music, surf Gaf, order food... I got the humongous iPad Pro at launch. I wasn't sure if I'd get accustomed to it, but now I couldn't go back down to the smaller iPads. And the new MacBook, well, it's probably my favourite computer ever. Small, light, battery lasts for an entire day, and enough juice to run InDesign and Photoshop for me.
iPad Pro and iPhone 6S Plus - playing Clash games mostly at the moment
MacBook - super thin and light, great for travel. Just enough power for simple gaming
Other rooms
To give a feel of the rest of the apartment, I'm including some of the previous pictures. Personally I enjoy seeing other people's apartments, and since a separate cribbs thread didn't really take off, I think it's nice to have them here. The rest of the apartment is very similarly designed, quite minimal and driven by functionality.
