Summer is the season of friendly barbecues, late nights lounging by the fire pit, and, of course, sunny days spent playing classic games. The problem is, our sets of croquet and horseshoes spend a little too much time in our basements and not enough outside — let's face it, most of them have no business being on display. Well folks, things are about to change. We've rounded up 12 beautiful games that are stylish enough to put on display year-round and functional enough to actually play with. You — and your newly clean basement — can thank us later.
Game On: 5 Picks For Modernists at Play
While a little friendly competition never hurts, some games can be eyesores. We're offering a stylish solution by rounding up five brilliantly designed versions you'll want to display. Whether you're looking for indoor or outdoor play, we promise you'll meet your design match.
Susan Sarandon Taking Her Love of Ping-Pong to TV
Susan Sarandon, Scarlett Johansson, and Edward Norton are just a few of the celebs who love playing ping-pong. But Susan — who already owns the ping-pong social club, SPiN — is taking her love for the sport even further. While at a two-day "World Champions" event at SPiN this weekend, the actress told People that she is developing a ping-pong reality show, which she calls an "episodic documentary."
"It won't be like the Jersey Shore . . . We're trying to invent something you haven’t seen before that follows a bunch of people in this crazy little subculture."
Susan said the show will follow the happenings at SPiN, while also highlighting the young players there — especially the Olympic hopefuls. Calling herself the "Johnny Appleseed of ping-pong," Susan said that the show is in the early stages of filming and will be "quite different than anything else that anybody's seen before."
Sporting a leg cast and crutches from a recent injury, Susan was joined at the SPiN event by celebs like Heather Graham, Judah Friedlander, and Olivia Munn. With Susan's show in the works, it looks like ping-pong is set to become the next big fitness trend — are you already playing?
What Susan Sarandon and Scarlett Johansson Can't Get Enough Of
When Christopher Walken said, "Less talkie-talkie, more ping-pong" in Balls of Fury, people were listening. Table tennis junkie Susan Sarandon recently opened SPiN, a ping-pong social club that counts Axl Rose and Scarlett Johansson as players. Meanwhile, Ed Norton was so committed to honing his paddle skills that he trained in China. Looks like table tennis has successfully shed its skin as a frat boy sport played only in dusty garages.
Trendiness aside, ping-pong is another old-school way — think croquet and bocce — to spend a fun afternoon with friends and burn some calories. If you don't believe me, play a game or two; you will sweat, I promise. But if you're looking for specifics, the average person burns around 260 calories when playing for about an hour. You can probably find a cheap table off of Craigslist to get you started, which you can jazz up with this cute paddle set from Alice Supply Co. And to make the game even more fun, set your table up outside so you can enjoy the Spring sunshine! Don't worry; if you're hesitant to invest, there is bound to be a table tennis club in your area.
Your serve!
Source: Flickr User JoeDuck
Cool Idea: Mirrored Ping-Pong Table
You know how I love mirrored furniture, so it should come as no surprise that this mirrored Ping-Pong table caught my eye. To celebrate the kickoff of the "Reflection" exhibit by Argentinian artist Rirkrit Tiravanija at the Nyehaus gallery in New York, this regulation-size Ping-Pong table was made entirely of mirrors.
The opening night featured an invitational table tennis tournament, and gallery visitors can take lessons with Ping-Pong champion Ernesto Ebuen at the table for $70-100 until the exhibit ends this Saturday. I'm not a Ping-Pong titleholder or anything, but I do love love love this table. It just makes me laugh, and would be a fun piece to have in a well-manicured backyard. It also would be quite cheeky to have a Ping-Pong dinner table, wouldn't it? I'm thinking, I'm thinking . . .
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Love It or Hate It? Ping-Pong Door
Designed by Tobias Franzel, the Ping Pong Door (not yet available) functions just like any ordinary door most of the time. But if you're feeling the need for a spirited game, just flip the inner panel in the door to convert it into a ping pong table. One design challenge: one side of the door looks normal while the other is bright green.

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