It's official: the days of designing a living room around a TV are over. I'm all for the growing pivot away from an awkward 'audience' of seating, towards analogue spaces that invite real connection instead. Conversation pits, vinyl-filled listening rooms, and dedicated 'games' corners are enjoying a revival as screen-fatigue sets in — and furniture (like Dunelm's Harmon Games Side Table) is following suit.
Interior designer Rebecca Hughes has noticed the trend first-hand. "Games rooms are having a real renaissance right now as people fall back in love with analogue activities and consciously try to limit their screen time," she tells me. "We just designed a games barn — a dedicated space for hosting and entertaining, complete with a fully bespoke bar — and it perfectly captures this shift towards more tactile, social forms of leisure."
