Make like David Beckham and Cara Delevingne with a dedicated games room at home
The hottest trend for London homes right now? Luxury games rooms, of course (proof, if it were needed, that country properties – with their outdoor kitchens, saunas and boot rooms – don’t get all the fun).
The capital’s most stylish restaurants did it first, from Mount St. in Mayfair with its card table and Brigadiers in the City with its poker croupier, but now celebrities have got in on the act by carving out their own dedicated spaces from the comfort of their lavish homes.
For a tour of her 1930s home in LA with Architectural Digest, model and actress Cara Delevingne revealed a David Lynch-inspired poker room complete with vintage games table, ball pit and wheel of fortune; mega-celebrity David Beckham showed off a pool table at his Cotswolds super-barn in his Netflix documentary; and Instagram founder Kevin Systrom provided a peek of his mirrored Milo Baughman games table at his retreat in Lake Tahoe, also for a tour with AD.
Now, the trend is trickling down to mere mortals, as they tend to do. “At the upper-end of London’s property market, downtime is a serious business,” explains Toby Downes, London Specialist at estate agents Haringtons UK.
“While traditional wellness spaces like indoor pools and saunas remain desirable, a new trend has emerged: dedicated gaming and leisure rooms,” adds Downes.
“The rise of experience-based gaming venues – whether it’s virtual golf, darts or table tennis – has captured the imagination of Londoners. For those with the space and means, the natural next step is to bring that excitement into the home to offer friends and family an exclusive entertainment experience in absolute privacy.”
Once designed solely for children, such rooms are evolving into gorgeous spaces befitting of the whole gang, as demonstrated by a recent project from interior designer Portia Fox, whose eponymous company is based in Chelsea.
“The clients wanted a multifunctional games room that could be enjoyed by all generations, whether for an intense poker night, a relaxed Sunday board-game session or a social gathering around the bar,” she explains. “Flexibility was key – a space that felt inviting at all hours of the day and could adapt to different moods and occasions.”
The renovation saw the basement of the Notting Hill home completely reimagined.
Portia says: “Counteracting the basement setting, we selected an Iksel wallpaper depicting a Mediterranean garden scene to create a visual connection to a large lightwell featuring an impressive olive tree – the interplay of nature and design enhances the sense of openness to make the room feel far from enclosed.
“Lighting was carefully zoned for versatility – bright, focused illumination over the pool table versus ambient lighting in other areas to foster a more intimate atmosphere.”
The star of the show?
A bespoke games table Portia and her team designed with hidden drawers for cards and poker chips as well as leather-stitched storage boxes for Lego (interestingly, it’s no longer just for kids with adult-specific ranges that Beckham himself is a fan of).
A convertible pool and snooker table, along with a table tennis set-up, caters to a range of different games, while there’s ample circulation space around the gaming tables to allow players to move freely, too.
“Comfortable seating was a key consideration, particularly for games requiring prolonged focus, such as chess or poker,” adds Portia. “We incorporated a banquette upholstered in a mustard-coloured jacquard fabric, complemented by large armchairs with decorative fabric backs and mustard mohair seats. Since games rooms often double as social hubs, we also incorporated a bar area to add another layer of entertainment.”
Elsewhere, an Italianate-style villa in Primrose Hill listed with House Collective comes with a games room featuring a purple pool table; a super-modern house in Northwood for sale with Hamptons comprises a billiards room and accompanying bar; an eco-home in Wimbledon up for grabs with Knight Frank lays claim to an entertaining zone with table tennis, disco ball and foosball table; and the newly-completed One Thames Quay development in Canary Wharf boasts a both bowling alley and games room in one.
Let the games begin.
