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Living Room | Game + Dining Table

Awhile back I posted about the idea of putting a small round table in the corner of our living room. Today I wanted to show you that I made progress on giving this a try!

My thought was that we had room in this little corner for *something* so why not make it a usable destination that serves a purpose?

As I mentioned in this post my original idea for this spot was built in book cases and maybe even enclosing a closet for the master. I still love that idea, but I have to pace myself on bigger projects. So that idea has to wait until we’re ready to commit and get it done!

But, a round game table seemed doable right away! I love those ideas, the ones you can do on a whim because they are affordable, flexible and far less messy than construction on a new closet or built ins.

Living Room | Game + Dining Table

I tried our dining table here first (by taking the leaves out) but it just felt too big for what I was imagining. I’ve used this particular table as an end table and LOVE IT. It’s a nice size, perfect for lamps next to a sofa or between a sofa and a chair. Courtney uses this same table as her dining table in her studio apartment! Plus, it has drop leaf sides so it’s really a flexible piece that can be used however and wherever it’s needed.

Living Room | Game + Dining Table

To set up this game table corner I pulled together a few other pieces I had to see if would work (a bench from outside, our rattan shelf from the dining room, a rug from here, the flea market art from our dining room).

Living Room | Game + Dining Table

This whole corner can (and knowing me, will) evolve in time. But that actually made it more fun to try it, since I knew I didn’t have to commit to anything permanent!

I do that often around my house (as you’ve probably noticed hahahaha) as it’s nice to sometimes just try something in a new spot or in a different configuration and see how you feel about it.

Living Room | Game + Dining Table

You may eventually land on exactly what you want where, or you might always be a shuffler. It’s your room, do what you want. There’s not only one right way to go about it.

Often you simply need to give yourself permission to try things. Work with what you have (or don’t have!), taking into account your taste, timeline, current needs and your budget.

Don’t be afraid to make a “mistake.” If you don’t like it, you can switch it all up again. You can take things away, streamline or decide you want to add something new based on how you felt.

I find shuffling even helps me to visualize more permanent changes to a room before I make them. Less expensive mistakes are made when you aren’t rushing into permanent changes.

I already have a few more updates coming to this room in the next few weeks, so it’s all still in “transition.”

Living Room | Game + Dining Table

For now, I can say this set up feels like a useful and cozy update to our living area. We could definitely use it as a “book nook” and I’ve already sat here to work!

Our plan is to at least use it at Thanksgiving as an additional table for the meal, too. And of course, it will be a great surface to play a game, do a puzzle or even to set up a candlelight breakfast or dinner for two empty nesters. :)

Living Room | Game + Dining Table
Living Room | Game + Dining Table

This J.R.R. Tolkien quote about the perfect home was in my book The Inspired Room (hand-lettered by my daughter Courtney!) and it still rings true for me. You can download it as free printable artwork here…and more free quote artwork from my book Dwelling right here!

What could be more perfect than a home that inspires you to live the life you want to live?

PS…Have you joined The Inspired Room Community yet? It’s free for my subscribers! I am loving it so far! Find details and join here. Comment below if you have any trouble getting in!

More on The Inspired Room:

Shop my house sources and latest decor finds here

My House Tour

My Paint Colors

A Look Back on Our House Improvements

My Decorating & Homemaking Books

Catch up on this year’s Fall Nesting Series

30 Comments

  1. Patty

    What a fun and cozy corner you created and love how you pulled it together that way. Enjoy!

  2. Debbie Keith

    This may be one of the most inspired nooks I’ve ever seen! When I read your first post about this (thinking of putting in a game/puzzle/corner table in the living room), it resonated with me because I had been thinking of doing the same thing. I just have to find the right table. We too are recent empty nesters and it’s been fun re-working spaces to make them more usable for our life now. This is really wonderful!! Enjoy all the coziness and multi-functionality it will provide this season!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Thank you Debbie!!! (even though it’s hard to say goodbye to an old season, I just remind myself to embrace this new one in our home with joy!).

  3. Bonnie Stoltzfoos

    I love this corner! :) A place to do a puzzle or switch up your dinner spot is so sweet. Very inspiring to create a new useful spot in my house. :)

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      It’s fun to continue to discover what you need and what you enjoy in your home. It’s definitely not an overnight process, but it’s fun and so much more meaningful in the long run to create a home that really speaks to the heart and soul of your family!

  4. Carolyn

    Thanks for all the wonderful ideas. I can use many of them in my new home. Also, thanks for providing the sources.

  5. Jen S

    I am definitely a shuffler until I get things just right. Then I usually get bored and shuffle some more! But I enjoy it!

      • Lorraine Johnson

        I recently added a craft/game table in our family room and it has been wonderful. We even eat dinner there when there’s something we all are excited to watch together. I love that it opens up possibilities.

  6. Pam Rychener

    Love this idea.

  7. Christine

    The little stool on one side of the table looks lower than the chair on the opposite side. Have you sat on both sides to see if it would be comfortable for whoever would be sitting in the chair or the stool?

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      I have chairs I would probably pull up but yes, I sat there and it’s actually a comfortable height! I’m sure most would prefer a chair though so for a dinner or game night if I had enough chairs to go around I’d use those first! :)

  8. Debra

    Love it!

  9. Mercedes

    Very much pro game tables , much more game playing happens when it’s all ready to set up , plus can be a homework area for study groups or co projects for those w younger children

  10. Amanda

    Such a good reminder that I can just mess with stuff and try things. And more importantly, that we should make space in our house for the things we want to be doing together. Thanks!

  11. Kathi Builta

    I so agree! Continue to move and shuffle what you have. I have a tough room with walls of windows, odd angels, and a two sided fireplace, although this does create considerable interest, furniture placement is difficult. So far my favorite cozy corner there consists of a small desk, upholstered chair, and a little foot stool.
    Keep shuffling ?

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      It sure can be tricky with unique features of a room, but it’s kind of like a puzzle to figure out! I love when a room starts to come together or you suddenly find the missing piece you’ve been looking for to bring it all together. Thanks, Kathi!

  12. Renee

    Aren’t the small spaces sometimes the trickiest? I love having a place to sit at a table in a family room – it’s great to be able to work on a project while still being involved in family time :)

  13. Hartsuff

    Love the idea of a table set up just for games and puzzles.

  14. Shari

    I love this corner! I need to make one in my house!

  15. Pam

    It works! As I get older sitting on the floor around a coffee table to play a game is not comfortable and keeping a puzzle or game out means you will stop by to work on it more often. Cool art work piece too.

  16. Brittany Romero

    I love that Tolkien quote! I like to move things around too. ?

  17. Rachel

    Even when I move things around and it doesn’t work at all it helps me to know the layout I have really is the best and I don’t have to wonder if there’s something better.

  18. Shannon

    Love this. Our family does a lot of jigsaw puzzles in the winter and they take up the dining room table. This is the inspiration I needed to find a way to fit in a dedicated spot in the family room instead.

  19. sandyc

    Love what you’ve done with the nook. I’ve done the same at various times in my small house – that super fun outside-the-box thinking that you’ve inspired in me and that can be so rewarding. And now I’m working on the very small breakfast area off my small U-shaped kitchen (I think Del Webb designed it all for hobbits). My u-shaped kitchen is similar to your previous kitchen except much smaller and where you had a peninsula, I should have had one but didn’t and where you had a wide opening to the family room, I have a wall closing off the living room. I created a peninsula with the help of two rolling Origami carts end to end (with skirts to hide the clutter) and a narrow console cabinet on the solid living room wall. Challenge now is to set up a very small round table or other piece to use near the patio door without blocking the exit (something to use to set groceries or packages on when I come home) but I want it to look attractive and not junky or crowded when not in use. A small tulip table in my budget (Ha! Ha!) would seem to be perfect but then that might not really be thinking outside the box enough. Again, as always, I thank you so much for all your inspiration. You are superb at this – I can’t think I’ve encountered anyone better.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Oh my goodness, you are so sweet!!! Thank you Sandy. What a kind thing to say. You made my night. I’m so grateful that the community here flows along with my slow progress and experiments haha! It means a lot to me.

      I love how you have been inspired to work on your home and have made good progress! It sure takes time. If you aren’t in the new facebook group yet (are you?), it would be so fun to see your home! :)

      • sandyc

        Melissa, thanks for your response. I’m not in the facebook group yet. Never signed up for facebook because I wasn’t comfortable with the exposure. I think your setup where we are a private community will be much more comfortable and I do plan to join. However, right now I’m going through the seemingly impossible to avoid procrastination stage of rearranging all my stuff and getting rid of all those HOA Board files collected over the last four years. In addition, our duplex is on the list to be exteriorly painted next week and my catio and patio all have to be relocated for a few days. And then the BIGGIE!!! TA DAH!!! My 7-year journey to marshall the funds and settle on the perfect new product to replace my “#10 envelope with too many stamps and stickies” floors is scheduled to end with installation the first week of December. Major Gulp but Major Relief/Anticipation as well.
        Come January hopefully I”ll have new directions and new smaller goals. I’ve missed having time to read and respond with my morning coffee as I used to and I look forward to more involvement and getting to know the group (and getting enough experience with the camera to take pics of my home and share. Thanks for the invitation.

  20. Mary

    I would like to know where to find the wooden game board for the Aggravation game you have one the table, it is beautiful! You have such simple, “doable” ideas, that’s what I love about your blogs. I usually save them until I have time to look at and look up everything you have listed.
    Thanks!

  21. Paige

    Oh my goodness! I missed this post somehow! I LOVE your game nook. It’s just so pretty and inviting and playful , too. I remember the previous post, but didn’t see the result. Oh, how it inspires me to find a spot like this. We love games and end up on the floor alot with our teens, but I really like having a cute , dedicated spot. Where did you get your painting?

 

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