Mahjong Mania: Is Home Design Becoming All Fun and Games?

Jen Dulac of Jen Dulac Interior Design recently installed a peacock blue Thomasville table in the game area of a 1930s home, where the owner loves to play mahjong, and their three sons love to play chess and build Legos.

“The bamboo legs are a fun nod to mahjong’s origins, and, of course, the bamboo legs echo the bams suit in the tiles,” said Dulac, who notes that her own book club has morphed into a mahjong club.

Some furniture inspired by mahjong takes its influences more literally. In 1971, Hans Hopfer introduced the Mah Jong sofa, which, according to Roche Bobois’s website, “infuses conventional living rooms with a sense of freedom.”

Given that the sofa’s been around since 1971—and the game is believed to date back to China’s 19th-century Qing Dynasty—it’s tempting to ask Why now? about the game-specific furniture trend. The answers are staring us in the face. When your Sunday iPhone notification hits with the average number of hours you spend on your device, it’s no surprise that the rise of mahjong and other social games speaks to the trend of gathering over analog, ASMR-friendly pastimes.

“We’re all on our screens so much, and I think creating spaces that are not meant for screens is really welcome right now,” says Cara Fineman, owner and principal designer of Dag Design.

Games like mahjong allow people to connect in a genuine, authentic manner that fosters conversation. With information about the negative effects of alcohol dominating the headlines, gatherings that were previously based strictly around booze are dwindling. And with a loneliness epidemic causing significant health issues, people are willing to invest in furniture that encourages connectedness.

“I feel like it used to be that adults were gathering around to have cocktails in a formal living space. This is a little bit of a different trend,” said Fineman. “It’s connecting in a different way.”

A games area designed by Cara Fineman of Dag Design

Fineman has always done games tables for her clients. But within the last two years, she’s had four different projects where the clients requested mahjong-specific zones. In each one, she noted features that have become essential components of a good game zone:

“Typically, you’re sitting for a game for a good hour, so comfortable seating” is a must, said Fineman. “You want to be able to sit upright. You don’t want anything that’s too loungey.”