Playful Home Trends

When an interior designer meets a new client, there’s no telling what surprises a home might reveal: Are the homeowners golfers or pickleball fans? Do they love to entertain? Will their hobbies take center stage indoors or spill into the backyard?

For many Houston-area homeowners, the focus is on having fun and staying active with friends and family—all in a lively, social setting.

Across the city, adults are embracing more playful home designs. Houston interior designers are adding backyard putting greens, basketball and bocce courts, and pickleball setups, while also creating indoor game rooms for popular activities like mahjong.

According to local designers Kara Childress of Kara Childress Interior Atelier and Tami Owen of The Owen Group, play spaces are no longer hidden away. Instead, they’re becoming a focal point of the home. Golf simulators and putting greens are now featured prominently in family and entertaining areas.

Childress notes that one of her projects in Houston Oaks includes a spacious entertainment room with a golf simulator. Another client has an entire floor made of putting-green turf. “Five years ago, that would have been tucked into a man cave,” she says. “Now everyone wants to be together—you want your kids, friends, and family all in the same space.” Large family rooms equipped with simulators, TVs, and bars are now common in new builds.

Simulators, while easier to install than in the past, require specific conditions—ample ceiling height and light control through automated shades or drapes. Designers also use materials like vinyl wall coverings, plaster, and rugs to help reduce noise.

Traditional game rooms once centered around billiards and poker are evolving, too. Mahjong tables are replacing poker chips, and the spaces feel less masculine and more versatile. “There’s always a game table or a four-top for mahjong,” Childress says. “We design them with little trays for drinks, or we make pool tables that convert into ping-pong or dining tables. Flexibility is everything.”

Owen adds that demand for recreational spaces has grown dramatically over the past decade—especially since the pandemic. Families now want areas that can accommodate larger groups and multiple activities. “One client built a basketball court, gym, and garage apartment,” she says. “It started for their kids, but the adults use it just as much for watching Astros or Texans games.”

Another of Owen’s clients built an additional guesthouse solely for entertaining and hosting, complete with a golf simulator and other games—perfect for gatherings and charity events.

For her brother’s Lake Granbury home, Owen created several outdoor gaming areas, including a bocce court that’s become a crowd favorite. “Bocce ball is huge,” she says. “His house is truly a kid’s paradise.”

Designer Sherrell Neal of Sherrell Design Studio has also transformed homes with family theaters, hobby rooms, and homework spaces. Many of her clients want to refresh underused rooms to reflect new interests while making them more social.

“One client had a library with built-ins and an electric fireplace,” Neal says. “They wanted it to feel more modern, so we removed the fireplace and added a built-in art TV. We decorated in pink and green to honor her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, making it a perfect space for hosting her sorority sisters.”

In another project, Neal turned an unused upstairs room into a retreat for a busy mom. “Sometimes a space doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be,” she says. “I always ask clients what they’re missing in their home or what they’d love to have more of—and that’s where we start.”