May 10, 2022 By Hannah Martin Architectural Digest
Being confined to our homes for the better part of two years has, no doubt, changed the way we live. One rather lighthearted shift? People are playing games again—and we’re not just talking about your morning Wordle ritual. Rather, it’s those analog get-them-out-of-the-cabinet pastimes that involve boards, cards, lettered tiles, and fake money. With the renewed interest, an oft forgotten piece of furniture has reentered the living room: the games table.
In case you’re having trouble picturing it, Robert Highsmith from AD100 firm Workstead describes the games table as “typically slightly smaller in scale than a four-seater dining table, often with a lower profile or details conducive to gaming.” He recently placed a Harvey Probber one in a historic Victorian manse in New York’s Hudson Valley.
He’s not the only one. Who can forget Cara Delevingne’s crimson poker room in L.A. complete with a vintage games table and wheel of fortune? For a less theme-y rendition, look to the mirrored Milo Baughman version in Instagram founder Kevin Systrom’s Ken Fulk–designed Lake Tahoe retreat or the chic Jansen number in Jean-Louis Deniot’s historic L.A. home.
“Games tables are well placed in alcoves or in a larger space where they can create a room within a room—something in between the scales of lounging and dining,” Highsmith explains. “They really define a room and offset the surrounding spaces, performing a playful function that can loosen up more formal layouts.”
Adding a games table into the furniture plan is an unexpected way to squeeze in more, says AD100 designer Frank de Biasi, who placed a Wendell Castle games table and matching chairs in George Lindemann’s Miami Beach home. “I find it a useful and different form of seating in a room when you don’t want to sit ‘soft,’ in a sofa or comfy armchair,” he explains. “Variety of seating is key to a successful space, and games tables bring in at least two to four extra chairs.”
As AD100 designer Ken Fulk reminds us, “traditionally, these tables were designed solely for the purpose of games, with an inlaid board pattern or a reversible inset top and compartments for game pieces.” But these days, the function can vary: It can be an elegant surface for cocktails or snacks, an informal hangout pre- or post-dinner, or (judging from Deniot’s portrait) a perfect setting for the morning paper and coffee.
“A beautiful antique games table is a visual reminder that there is more to life than what’s on your screen,” Fulk muses of the piece’s timely resurgence. “During our time at home over the last few years, I think it occurred to many of us that these rare times of togetherness, passing an afternoon with an old-fashioned diversion or taking up a new hobby with friends, is one of the true luxuries in life.”