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A game room can be a dedicated place for bowling or billiards, or a card table tucked into a room that already serves another purpose. In its 2023 feature “26 Glorious Game Room Ideas From the AD Archive,” Architectural Digest shows both approaches, with ideas for cards, Ping-Pong, arcade games, foosball, shuffleboard, and more. The useful lesson is not to copy a single look: start with the games and people the room needs to accommodate, then use color, paint, lighting, art, and seating to make that arrangement feel intentional.
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River Davies’s feature for Architectural Digest, published September 19, 2023, draws 26 examples from the magazine’s archive. They range from a small card-playing spot to rooms built around large-scale recreation. For a homeowner planning a similar space, the ideas are most useful as a set of choices: which games belong together, whether the room needs to do another job, how nonplayers can join the gathering, and what atmosphere will make the space feel like part of the home.
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What makes a game room work for more than one kind of gathering?
A strong game room supports both the activity and the people around it. Some guests will play; others may want to watch, talk, or take a break. That means the room’s layout and seating matter alongside the game equipment.
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AD’s examples illustrate several ways to make that happen. One billiards room pairs its pool table with a lounge area, while another emphasizes plentiful seating. A game barn combines arcade games, Ping-Pong, foosball, billiards, and a dance floor, offering several ways for a group to spend time together. Elsewhere, poker and billiards share space with arcade games. These are not universal formulas, but they show how a room can accommodate different interests rather than making every guest wait for one game to finish.
Before choosing paint or furnishings, picture a typical gathering. How many people might play at once? Where could someone sit while waiting? Could a conversation happen without interrupting play? Those questions can help determine whether to center the room on one activity or make space for a mix. They also help identify which surfaces will be prominent: a wall behind a card table, a long wall beside a pool table, or the area visible from an adjoining lounge.
Should the game room have one purpose or share space?
It can do either. AD’s archive includes dedicated game rooms as well as games placed in studies, libraries, conservatories, winter gardens, lounges, and family rooms. A dedicated room can embrace a more distinct identity, while a shared-use space asks the game area to feel at home alongside the room’s other purpose.
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Several examples make the shared-use idea vivid: a Lake Tahoe study includes a game table; Fred Astaire’s space combines a library and game room; and a conservatory is used for backgammon. A winter garden also serves as a place for games. The lesson for a multipurpose room is to treat the game as one part of a complete space, not an object that has been dropped into it. A study still needs to read as a place to work; a library should remain inviting for reading; a conservatory may need to preserve its connection to the outdoors.
Paint is one way to define a zone without putting up a physical divider. For example, a homeowner might use a distinct wall color behind a game table while keeping the adjoining work or sitting area visually calm. That is a design option, not a detail attributed to AD’s individual homes. In a compact room, a cohesive color scheme can also help a table or game feel integrated rather than visually competing with the room’s other furnishings.
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In a dedicated room, the opposite approach may make sense: give the space a memorable mood that differs from the rooms around it. AD’s examples include a tented poker room associated with Cara Delevingne, Madeleine Castaing’s antique-filled card room, a blue Bahamas card room, and a red-and-white striped cabin game room. Their variety shows how different a game room can feel, from collected and traditional to vivid and theatrical.
How should you choose a game-room color scheme?
Start with the mood you want and the visual role of the room, not with a universal “game-room color.” AD’s feature includes saturated color, patterned wallpaper, murals, art, lighting, textiles, and views as ways to give a room character. The archive offers inspiration, not a required palette or a ranking of styles.
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Some examples make color especially prominent: a billiards room has a red table and a dartboard; another room is described as blue; and one bright-blue room includes an arcade game. A card room has a blush banquette, while a cottage game room is covered with a mural. These descriptions are useful starting points for thinking about a room’s focal point. A striking table or banquette might carry much of the color, leaving the walls to support it; alternatively, a vivid wall treatment could be the main visual feature.
For a paint-led scheme, decide which element should attract attention first. If the game equipment is already visually bold, quieter walls may help the space feel balanced. If the furniture and equipment are relatively restrained, paint can create the room’s defining character. A mural or patterned wall covering can add detail without relying on a single flat color. The right choice depends on the room’s existing finishes and how much visual activity feels comfortable to the people who will use it.
Think about adjoining spaces, too. A game room with an open doorway into a family room may feel more connected if the colors relate, even when the game-room walls are more expressive. A closed room gives more freedom to create a distinct atmosphere. Before committing to a strong color, consider how much wall is visible from nearby rooms and whether the room’s furnishings, art, and lighting will reinforce or compete with it.
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Which games need the most space and planning?
Games differ in their layout demands. A card table can occupy an alcove or share a room; a pool table needs clearance around it for comfortable play. AD makes that clearance point but does not give measurements. For dimensions, use the specifications for the particular table and allow for how people will move and play in the actual room rather than guessing from an image.
The archive’s range makes the trade-off apparent. It includes poker and other card-room examples, backgammon in a conservatory, billiards, Ping-Pong, foosball, shuffleboard, arcade games, bowling lanes, and a dance floor. Some activities are represented in rooms that combine several games; others anchor a more specialized space. A home bowling alley or a billiards setup calls for a different kind of planning than a card table placed in a library or study.
For a room with more than one game, think about whether activities can happen at the same time without interfering with one another. A Ping-Pong table, for example, is a different visual and spatial centerpiece from a card table; a room that also includes billiards, foosball, or arcade games needs to account for the people using each area. AD’s examples show such combinations, but the feature is not a technical floor-planning guide. Confirm the chosen equipment’s actual space requirements before settling on a layout or paint plan.
That order matters for painting as well. Once you know where the table and players will be, you can judge which walls will be most visible and most likely to become the backdrop for play or conversation. Planning the room first helps avoid choosing a wall treatment that later feels crowded by equipment or hidden behind it.
How can seating make the room welcoming to spectators?
Include places to sit for people who are not playing at every moment. The lounge paired with a pool table and the example with plentiful seating show that a game room can function as a social room, not just a playing surface surrounded by empty floor.
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Consider different uses for the seating: watching a game, talking between rounds, or taking a break. A banquette can provide a built-in social edge, as in AD’s blush-banquette card room; a separate lounge can make the room feel more like a place to stay. The right arrangement depends on the games and the number of people the space is meant to host. Keep seating from interfering with the clearance needed for play, especially around a billiards table.
Seating also influences how color reads. Upholstery, cushions, and textiles can introduce color and texture without requiring every wall to carry a strong shade. If a room has a prominent mural or patterned wallpaper, simpler seating may let the wall treatment remain legible. If the walls are understated, seating can provide a focal point. These are practical ways to interpret the archive’s mix of furnishings and finishes, not prescriptions for recreating any one home.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What can the AD examples teach about atmosphere?
The rooms show that equipment alone does not create a memorable game room. Color, wallpaper, murals, art, lighting, textiles, antique furnishings, and views all contribute to its identity. A billiards lounge with an indoor-outdoor connection, for instance, suggests a different mood from a mural-covered cottage room or an antique-filled card room.
Other examples broaden the range further: Kelly Behun’s home bowling alley uses patterned wallpaper; a wood-and-chrome interior incorporates a game table; and a family gaming area sits beneath a palapa. The feature also includes a Wisconsin family game house with a custom pool table and shuffleboard, a home with bowling lanes beside a Ping-Pong table, and a Connecticut barn with Ping-Pong, foosball, and billiards. Taken together, these spaces show that a game room can be polished, playful, rustic, tropical, or highly expressive.
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AD’s feature also includes Cara Delevingne’s personal comment: “I love games—charades, beer pong, poker, Cards Against Humanity, tug-of-war, whatever feels fun,”. It is a reminder of the range of activities a host might have in mind, not a design rule. The practical question is which activities suit the available room and the people who will actually gather there.
How do you turn inspiration into a workable plan?
Use the archive as a prompt for decisions rather than a checklist of things every game room needs. A simple planning sequence can keep the design grounded in the way the room will be used.
- Choose the main activities. Decide whether the room is primarily for cards, billiards, Ping-Pong, arcade games, bowling, or a mix. Start with the games that matter most rather than trying to fit every example into one space.
- Check the room’s practical limits. Confirm the specific equipment dimensions and space needed for play. Billiards requires clearance around the table, and a multi-game layout needs room for players to move without crowding one another.
- Decide how the room will share space. If it is also a study, library, lounge, conservatory, winter garden, or family room, identify how each use will remain comfortable. If it is dedicated to games, decide whether a more distinctive visual identity suits the rest of the home.
- Plan for players and nonplayers. Add seating or a lounge area where people can watch, talk, or take a break. Keep those places in mind when you assess play space.
- Choose a visual focal point. Decide whether the main feature will be equipment, a strong wall color, wallpaper, a mural, art, lighting, textiles, or a view. Let the other elements support that choice instead of competing for attention.
- Relate the room to its neighbors. A bold space can still connect to the home through a color, material, or furnishing that feels at home nearby. In a shared-use room, continuity may be more important than a dramatic contrast.
That process captures the most useful idea in the archive: the best direction depends on the games, the group, and the room. The 26 examples offer many ways to combine activity with atmosphere, but none is a universal template. Choose the layout first, then build a color and finish scheme that makes the space inviting for the people who will use it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Architectural Digest’s game-room ideas feature?
The feature was written by River Davies and published on September 19, 2023. It gathers examples from AD’s archive rather than presenting a new ranking or product guide.
Does the AD feature give exact billiards-room dimensions?
No. It notes that billiards needs clearance around the table for comfortable play, but it does not specify measurements. Check the requirements for the table you choose and the room’s intended layout.
What games can work in a family game room?
The AD examples include games ranging from cards and backgammon to Ping-Pong, foosball, arcade games, billiards, shuffleboard, and bowling. Which ones suit a family depends on available space and the activities people in the household enjoy.
Can a game room feel formal rather than playful?
Yes. The archive includes an antique-filled card room and a game room combined with a library, alongside more colorful and theatrical examples. The furnishings, finishes, art, and relationship to the rest of the home can make the space feel more formal.
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