Grown Up Game Room

Dining rooms can be a conundrum. Often times, they’re the prized jewel of a home – the table is exquisite, the chairs make a statement, and surely a prized pendant hangs above. However, many people confess that the room is rarely used. Large holiday meals aside, the art of the dinner party has moved to restaurants and sofa is the location of choice when it comes time for dining at home. (Or worse, standing at the kitchen counter.) There’s nothing wrong with any of that… except for the sadness it brings us knowing that such a beautiful space isn’t being used.

When we spotted Samantha Sidney’s “grown up game room” in our December 2014 issue, we knew this would be a solution many families are searching for. Instead of a traditional dining table, Samantha opted for a beautiful ping-pong table. (Yes, we just typed the words “beautiful” and “ping pong table” in the same sentence!) “So many people have formal dining rooms that never get used,” Samantha explains. “We put the ping-pong table in ours, so that we could play, but eat on it, too. When you take the net off, it seats ten – we’ve had Thanksgiving dinner here.”

The room completely destroys all previous (and stereotypical) visions of game rooms. There’s no reclining sofa, oversized television, or cheesy bar. It’s tasteful and design-conscious while still offering a fun place for her family to gather. This is a room we would absolutely love to recreate. Would you ever try it in your space?

Image originally appeared as part of our December 2014 issue here.