I would like suggestions, resources or input of any kind on design of a trophy room. Items of concern are wall height (I will obviously tailor it to my age and trophies, asking for your preferences or experiences), ceiling style, wall construction under the sheet rock to support heads no matter where they would be attached, lighting, wiring, cost, etc. Sources to look at photos (like here), and just good ideas from people who have been there and would do or redo things differently. Thanks
Rick
New Mexico

I've been working on my room for 2 years, starting with design. It's very close now, within a month of hanging trophies.
Wall height should be 12 to 14 feet max. Viewing of displays should be from 6 to 8 feet distance or closer. If you make the walls too high, you'll be too far from the highest and the details of the display will be difficult to see. All walls should be backed with 3/4 plywood under the sheet rock. Lighting and air vents should be hidden if at all possible, remember the room is to support the art and anything that distracts from the displays is contrary to the purspose of the room. Window glass should be UV filtering and also covered with window dressings at all times. Wall finishes again should not distract from the displays, but should be as easily repairable as possible. I used a light orange peel texture with a lighter paint color. Climate control is recommended, an air handler with heating, cooling, humidification (or dehumidification) plus air filtering should be in the plans. A double wide outside entry door is nice for bringing in larger displays.
Last but most important, make is as large as possible. When finished you'll not say, "Oh I wish i made it smaller".

Thank you!!!! Just exactly what I was looking for. You see my handle is akrick. I raised my family in Homer. Boys are still in Alaska and my wife and I will be planted there. We live in New Mexico now. Thanks for taking the time. Much appreciated!
Rick

Vaulted ceilings are critical for any decent sized trophy room. A flat ceiling can really detract from an otherwise quality layout.

Don't forget to think through lighting carefully. Multiple zones / switching can provide different lighting levels for different activities.

Ceiling color (if painted) should be different from walls. One wall painted a darker color as an accent often addds a nice touch. The same can be said for wood planking, etc.

Good luck.

Bill

min 12' walls, i don't like gyp board so used 3/4" oak T&G oak bards, track lighting, no windows, keep cool & dry, keep in mind to either build larger or with ease of putting on addition.

Rick,
Take a look at Julian & Sons web site. They do wood working but also help with Trophy room design and construction. Their photo's will give you some idea's.
I will recommend using an Architect is you can afford to do so. A good one should give you multiple options and help a great deal with the research. There are several really good Taxidermist out there that specialize in trophy room consulting.
Just remember,all the advice you get is just information for you to use in making your choices.

As for me, I enjoy the planning much more than the finish. I'm so close now that I'm driving everyone, including myself, nuts trying to get the last details completed. I've scheduled diplay hanging to begin on June 18th but before that begins the entire house needs to be cleaned from floor to ceiling (to remove all dust)(this is a really big job as the whole house is around 11,000 square feet)then the airhandlers ( there are 3 in the house)need to run for several days to clean and condition the air. This gives my contractors 2 week so I'm pushing hard as it looks like they have 3 to 4 weeks of work to do.

Painted or textured sheet rock walls do not fit what I will be putting in the room. But, neither does the "mens club" look. I have a lot of rustic Mexican type furniture and display cases that house collections that will be displayed also. The vaulted or viga ceiling will be a "must" part of the plan. I will continue to research.....I too like the journey better than the destination. Nobody mentioned floors. ???

My floor is slab on grade (heated) with Cork hardwood flooring. It's light colored in the main room and the entry has a dark/light cork wood floor pattern. The upper hall that surrounds a portion of the main room has tara-cota flooring.

I also have bamboo wainscott with a stained maple chair rail and maple case molding. The fire place mantle in whingy (dark African wood), the display cases and bar cabinets are maple boxes with zebra wood (another African wood, light colored with very dark grain) trim and faces and doors. The bar counter is copper plating, patina darker with a Africa map and animals etched in, then clear coated. The fire place hearth is decorative concrete and the faces granite. Window selves are granite. My walls are 12 feet high, but the ceiling is 14 feet. I dropped the ceiling around the edges 2 feet down and 6 foot out from the walls to put all the recessed lighting and airhandling duct work. On the face of this soffet I put indirect up lighting to illuniate a heavy texted upper ceiling. My main trophy room is 54 feet long and 40 feet wide with a large see through gas fireplace in the middle (I needed more wall space in the room). With entry and surrounding open hall way I have approx. 2500 sq. feet of display space.

The Julian & Sons site is a fountain of visual ideas. Thank you for pointing me to it and also for your time, kindness, and consideration.

akrick,
I wish I could add something, all I can say is go forward with passion, your desired result will show it.

I wish I'd done some things different. But now I get to start over again with a clean slate.

Can't wait to see your room.

Nganga

That is good advice about everything. If you are going to be a bear, be a Griz!

I'm in the progress of finishing my trophy room. Within a couple of months I might be able to share some pictures..
I think wall height is critical, but as some point out - not to high.
My ceilings is going 16' with "side walls" at 10'.
To my knowledge lightning is very important as well. I'm having some input from a couple of designers, that have recently started with trophy rooms. Will be interesting to see what they suggest..

Good luck!

If there is a local SCI chapter around, you might consider joining (if you haven't already). The one I belong to has quite a few individuals with trophy rooms ranging from all sizes, including one that's over 5,200 square feet. The club members are usually willing to share their trophy rooms and the clubs occasionally have "trophy room tours" which make for a fun day. Each trophy room will give you ideas for how you want your trophy room setup and the owner(s) may have some suggestions on things they wish they did differently that you can capitalize on.

Good luck on your build, post photos when you're done!

Sometimes pictures speak in a way words never could. This series of coffee table books from Safari Press called "Great Hunters, Their trophy rooms & Collections" is simply jaw dropping. Five volume set is a must see....plenty of ideas.

http://www.safaripress.com/pro...tid=912&cat=0&page=2

Thank you Rembrandt.......I just ordered.
Rick

Great books.
I read through all 5 books monthly. I start construction on my Trophy room next march, and cannot wait. This post has been very help full, and keep the ideas coming.
W.

quote:

Originally posted by akrick:
Thank you Rembrandt.......I just ordered.
Rick

When you go through there, check out Jeff Neal's trophy room. I think it's in the third volume, but it is one long room with very high, vaulted ceilings. It's one of the only rooms I have been in in which a Rhino isn't sticking out like an eye sore! I like the way he did that room, it was very tastefully designed, but you will get tons of ideas from the other hunters in the books.

Greg, is the Jeff Neal you speak of the same as the Jeff C. Neal, Inc from your signature?

Looking at the various books gives me some ideas to borrow, There as as an equal anount to avoidfor the next go arounf with eaeth

quote:

Originally posted by Sevens:
Greg, is the Jeff Neal you speak of the same as the Jeff C. Neal, Inc from your signature?

He is one and the same.

A ceiling ten feet high is about perfect, IMHO.

Mounts that are placed on a wall higher than 12 feet or so don't look right in even a relatively large room. The perspective is wrong.

Quality and placement are far more important than quantity.

Also a trophy room needs to be on the shady side of the house.

quote:

There as as an equal anount to avoidfor the next go arounf with eaeth

Mike, you been drinking?

Rick,

If you ever get a chance to attend the Dallas or Reno shows, you must go to Tom Julian's (Julian & Sons) seminar on building a trophy room that he puts on. It will answer many questions for you and provide you with some much important information regarding building a trophy room. Maybe you can get your hands on a copy of one of the seminars. My dad and I went to one of his presentations and we were so thankful. There were many things brought to our attention that we would have never thought of. Good luck and enjoy the planning process!

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Also a trophy room needs to be on the shady side of the house.

Is that because of sun lights? Or warming?

My new trophy room is partly in the shaded side. I think the sun will hit the room during the last hours of sun.. This was the only option on my ground..

I have put in relativly few windows and with UV filter in them.. I'm also thinking getting in some sort of equipment to control temp. and humidity..

Any advice?

quote:

Originally posted by Anders:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Also a trophy room needs to be on the shady side of the house.

Is that because of sun lights? Or warming?

My new trophy room is partly in the shaded side. I think the sun will hit the room during the last hours of sun.. This was the only option on my ground..

I have put in relativly few windows and with UV filter in them.. I'm also thinking getting in some sort of equipment to control temp. and humidity..

Any advice?

I think it's a little bit of both. The UV filters are a great option. The mounts in my house bleached out a bit from the sun even with the filters, but not nearly as bad as some of the ones I have seen in homes that didn't have the filters.

Anders, direct sunlight causes the colors of the mounts to fade.

UV filters help, but shade/indirect light is best.

Thanks!
I plan to avoid putting my mounts next to the two windows on the sunny side anyway.. The three other windows will only provide natural lightning..

Anders,
Ideally you want absolutely NO SUNLIGHT in your trophy room. So no windows would be ideal...artificial light only.

Now the catch 22 is that trophies look better with natural light. So then the question becomes what is more important to you...trophies lasting a lifetime (or more)...say 50 years. Or would you rather have them look good with sunlight, yet, risking Ultraviolet light damage and faded colors/degradataion over the years.

I would say keep things balanced, centered and well-spaced. Some rooms look too cluttered. Then again, I don't have much, but I like what I've got. Nothing too exotic or expensive so I'm not worried about sunlight. Artwork, books and sculpture add a lot. I have a couple of great busts of Stanley & Selous.

quote:

Originally posted by SteveGl:

Your room is very tastefully done! Just about the right amount of animals.

One of my favorite trophy rooms is in this book.


Of course now I can not remember his name ... he is the guy that taught me how to score.

Crap, it will come to me later. Same guy as on the cover of the book.

In there he writes about how he designed the room. No windows all artificial light.

For most of us that is not practical, but if you want to build one specifically devoted to trophies, it is worth looking at these books as Rembrandt1 says.