It’s time to LAN party like 1999 as an entrepreneurial couple has pulled out all the stops in making their home a gamer’s paradise. Kenton Varda and Jade Wang designed their Austin, Texas, home with a customizable gaming room in the basement that houses 12 stations inside the walls with foldable desks and also includes a built-in dance pad.
The Basement:
The Upstairs:
As impressive as the basement is, it is only one part of this amazing endeavor by the couple. The upstairs also features a room with another 6 stations but its space can also be reconfigured for good old tabletop gaming. There are also two “Call Rooms” for guests that can be used for business or gaming purposes.
Gaming amenities do not stop here as the house features many other luxuries such as a spacious living room for group gatherings, with a view, and an upstairs roof deck, also designed for groups to enjoy their time outside. Additionally, there are rooms for children and guest rooms. The couple has even gone to lengths in providing for feline companionship with a catwalk in the living room along cat doors to various rooms, and a separate cat restroom.
The Story Behind It All:
Kenton has created a blog with great detail regarding how this dream came to be and those interested are highly recommended to give it a read here. There are also many more images of the house, networking, and other rooms to be seen. From an earlier version that wasn’t allowed to reach its potential to the specifications of hardware (which is briefly listed below along with a few other details) to Q&As about his history with Google, Silicon Valley to (per his LinkedIn profile) being a lead tech/principal engineer, founder/CTO of a startup-within Cloudflare.
- Cost of House: As one should expect, over 7 figures. Kenton’s father, Richard Varda was the lead architect and has an extremely impressive background of his own. Kenton and Jade directly designed it and also worked with an architect firm, RSP Architects, whom his father has partnered with over the years.
- Cost of hardware: ~ $75K
- Cost of cabinetry: Almost the same as the hardware. Anyone who does woodworking knows, for indoor or outdoor projects, that the cost of wood has skyrocketed in the last 5+ years. Factor in the custom designed for various spaces and it’s a miracle this didn’t cost more.
Of course, this house is not open to the public to drop in at any time but those interested might have, albeit a slim, chance to get an invite by getting to know the couple via their social media channels. It’s also said that being a Cloudflare employee could help get one as well. Once again, here’s the link for the website created by Kenton, Jade, and Richard, and for those interested in knowing more, since for the lucky few, it’s time to LAN party like 1999.