The accessories are in place, and the room is ready for the games to begin. Because the room is too small for a pool table, Golden has placed a foosball table at one end, right next to a wall decorated with vintage auto license plates (figure A ). The colorful metal plates, which are available at flea markets, antiques stores and garage sales, add to the room's Route 66 theme.
The snack bar (figure B), a necessity in any game room, is rustic in design and set with an assortment of serving vessels made from unexpected items: a garden-bucket ice container; a canning-jar candy dish; a bandanna-lined metal lunchbox filled with peanuts; and camping bowls instead of fancy dinnerware.
The wagon wheel has been attached to a patio-table base and topped with 1/4"-thick glass (figure C); the chairs that have been paired with the table are bent-metal soda-parlor chairs with plain wood seats. On the wall above the table (figure D) are a collection of posters and old maps that have been decoupaged onto artist's canvas and given a protective coat of glaze. They're hung alongside rusted-metal star-shaped architectural elements that bring to mind sheriffs' badges (Golden reminds viewers that using odd numbers of decorative items is always a better idea than using even numbers.)
The mantel (figure E) has been topped with a variety of games and toys -- marbles in a jar, pickup sticks, dominoes, cards -- and other accessories that fit in with the room's design: an old copper fan, a stack of old-looking suitcases (which provide additional storage for more games). Above the mantel is a real bovine skull -- whose horns provide the perfect spot for a cowboy to hang hos hat.
The homeowner's futon has been covered with a matelasse bedspread and piled with pillows that have been covered in the accent fabrics. Two leather ottomans (figure F) serve as extra seating and coffee tables, and a pair of upholstered camp stools round out the conversation and TV-watching part of the room. The entire area is anchored with a large, brightly colored Native American print rug.
RESOURCES :
Flea Market Decorating: Creating Style with Vintage Finds
Model: 0696208822
Author: Better Homes and Gardens
Meredith Books
February 2000
The New Decorating Book
Model: 0696213818
Author: Better Homes and Gardens
Better Homes & Gardens Books, May 2001
Better Homes and Gardens Books
Website: www.bhglive.com
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