If someone really odd were to come up to you in the street and ask if you could guess what the ‘must-have’ home furnishing thing of 2023 was to be, I’m pretty sure that the first thing to leap to mind would not be pool dining tables. You know, dining room tables that transform into pool tables and vice versa? See, not really a ‘thing’, is it?
Except, apparently, it really is. According to Google Trends, the term ‘pool dining table’ was searched no fewer than 8,400 times in the UK in January alone, with such searches ramping up by 124 per cent weekly.
So, this begs the question: just what kind of people are looking to eat and Eight-ball in rapid succession? Well, the majority of dinner and shots seekers in the recent research hailed from London, followed by – in order – Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and then Cardiff, so an almost countrywide kind of city slicking pool people.
Which brings us to the next question: what exactly is a pool dining table? Without wishing to state the obvious, it’s a table hybrid, or chimera if you prefer, the overwhelming requirement for which seems to have been born out of lockdown boredom amongst UK stuck-in-the-householders with a hankering for hitting some balls around but without the additional space needed to add an extra table. But in basic terms, a pool dining table is a high-quality dining table with an equally high-quality pool table hiding beneath its removable tabletop – all in the name, I suppose.
Anyway, since those dark days of in-door Covid dodging, desire for a pool dining table has boomed to the point you can now order them ready-to-go online or even buy bespoke, if you have specific space requirements and lots and lots of cash.
Let’s rack ’em up.
Signature Warwick pool table
Best for: Making pool and pigging-out personal
Home Leisure Direct sell all manner of high-quality home games room gear, but it’s the incredible array of pool dining table options it offers we’re interested in here, starting with the rather minimalist, canteen-style Signature Warwick, seen here in its blend-in-anywhere Grey Oak finish.
Hand-built in the UK by proper craftsmen from an MDF base, the Warwick table (benches sold separately) features that aforementioned oak veneer finish, but also chrome-finish corners, a solid birch plywood support for the slate bed, and competition-grade cushion rubber and pool cloth.
See also the noise-reducing ball return box to stop you from disturbing the peace of those around you, a high pressure laminate top frame with a quick release for maintenance, and a lovingly edged dining top with high tension fasteners to ensure a spontaneously messy game breaks out during the soup course.
The Signature Warwick is available in an array of wood veneer and cloth colours, so if you fancy potting rather than pottering around at home, go take a look on the link below and take your pick. Comes in 6ft or 7ft configurations (6ft is British, 7ft American).
Buy now £1549.00, Home Leisure Direct
Pureline pool table
Best for: Budget cushion bouncing
Not quite in the ‘running the table’ league when it comes to having the cash to splash on a pool dining table? No, me neither. Which is why I’ve included this sexy 6-footer from Liberty Games as, from £500 you’ll have change for chalk.
Called the Pureline, here we have is a nicely slim combination of cabinet and legs, meaning more can fit round to feed in comfort, while the resilient wood composite (MDF) it’s made of make it as sturdy as a stubborn oak tree.
Keeping those costs down, the Pureline table (chairs sold separately) favours a wooden bed over expensive slate, but it’s thick enough to offer absolute years of hard play without any problems. On top of this sits a high-performance nylon cloth offering excellent roll characteristics and good performance.
With rubber lined pockets to keep potting noise to a minimum, adjustable feet for easy levelling, and an accessory pack included in the price, there is yet one more element to the Pureline that makes it a must-buy: the matching two-piece table-top is reversible… and on the other side? A table tennis playfield! With bats, net and balls included in the accessory kit too.
Buy now £499.00, Liberty Games
Rex Hardwood Majestic pool table
Best for: A more traditional table
Some people’s eye for home interior design are more – how shall I say – old-fashioned than others. And there’s nothing wrong with that as not everybody wants to live in the cold minimalism of the early 21st century.
This is the reason that the Rex Hardwood Majestic exists (even the name has a glorious olde world feel about it), a 6ft or 7ft premium pool table with all the elements of luxury thrown in. Available in solid oak or walnut, it’s the walnut that has taken my eye here as it will more than look the part in any dining room with wood panelled walls, heavy drapes and ornate mirrors and picture frames, if you happen to have such a thing.
Adjustable feet make the Majestic ideal for uneven floors, while a whole rainbow of Hainsworth Smart Cloth options and colours is available to let you tailor the detail to your décor, and though the leg design here is turned perfectly, a bespoke service is available so that you can add your own touch.
As before, benches are not included in the price, but an accessory pack of cues and balls is, as – of course – is the two-piece walnut veneer table-top that converts the table from pool back to prandial use.
As traditionally British as queuing and tutting quietly to ourselves, even if you don’t own a dining room that hasn’t seen an update since Victoria was on the thrown, the Rex Hardwood Majestic would look, well, majestic anywhere.
Buy now £3495.00, Home Pooltables
Signature Chester pool table
Best for: Pool dining table perfection
My second pick from the Signature line, while you’ll get little change from three and a half grand, the Signature Chester, selected here in Silver Mist, takes all the exceeding craftsmanship of the earlier Signature Warwick and ditches the MDF to be formed from solid wood and created in conjunction with Rasson, one of the most renowned pool table producers in the world.
So, built to last longer than human lifespans, the Chester has been hewn from ethically sourced wood and features computer slate levelling to give you the flattest and more level surface you’re likely to have ever popped your balls on as well as tournament-grade slate and cushions. The Hainsworth Smart Cloth comes in a spectrum of colour options, and there’s a full-on built-in ball return mechanism.
Naturally with Signature models, the matching high-end table-top is supplied at no extra cost to keep dinner a more civilised affair, as a luxury accessory pack worth over £250, including two whirlwind ash 57-inch cues, two whirlwind ash 48-inch cues, a wooden triangle, a competition standard 2-inch reds and yellows ball set, a two-piece 6x wooden cue rack, a Signature wooden table brush, and a 12 piece chalk pack.
Available in 6ft or 7ft versions, depending on your style, and also in a range of other equally natty natural wood finishes, the Chester oozes the kind of class that will dazzle all your pool opponents even if you can’t so much as shoot straight.
Buy now £3497.00, Home Leisure Direct
Caliope Slate Bed pool table
Best for: Money no object
Getting very silly now just for the sake of it, this is what happens when you have a love of playing pool at home, but have an embarrassing amount of spare cash and a penchant for eating where you play: the Caliope.
Yep, over £18,000 worth of pool dining table that comes available in 7ft, 8ft and even 9ft sizes, this combination of solid wood cabinet and ludicrously elaborate yet utter eye-demanding metal ‘falling’ pipes tapered leg, is truly something to behold.
Blessed with a professional-grade sectional slate bed, with three pieces of individually sculpted slate, anything else goes here, from the wood/wood finish to the table, the colour of the top-end cloth and even the finish of the pipework leg, anything is possible with a call to the sales team at Liberty Games, who will tailor the table to your every last whim.
The dining table-top comes at extra cost here, but if you’re spending over 18-grand on a pool table, you can probable afford the additional, whether that be the wood, two glass options of even – yes – the reversible table tennis top!
Of course, there’s also an extensive accessories kit thrown in to sweeten the deal, worth £650 in this case, featuring balls for both pool and snooker, 2x cues, custom cue rack, chalks, table spots, ball cleaner, triangle and table brush. So, you’re ready to roll from the moment installation is complete.
Yes, it’s silly money, but I’m willing to bet there’s at least one affluent pair of eyes looking at this right now and wondering whether what colour they want it in.
Buy now £18244.00, Liberty Games
