Davenport Reversible Top Game Table

The story

The record says California House Corporation has been building game-room furniture since 1953, and the Davenport is one of its own original designs — not a licensed pattern, not a re-skin. The maker describes itself plainly: "We are a third generation family owned and operated company with a small factory located in Sacramento, California." That single sentence carries the whole provenance — three generations, family-owned, one small American factory — and it's the spine of why this piece reads as heirloom rather than retail. California House is widely positioned (and self-describes) as the premier designer and manufacturer of custom-order game-room furniture in the United States, and the Davenport sits inside its flagship Reversible Top Game Table line. Important context for a Puzzlewick reader: this is NOT a Kickstarter or crowdfunded product. It belongs to a legacy manufacturer, distinct from the modern crowdfunded board-game-table brands — the lineage here predates the category's current boom by seventy years. There is no published single "release year" for the Davenport; it's a current production model carried in the 2024–2025 catalogs and build sheets, made-to-order through a national network of authorized billiards and game-room dealers rather than direct-to-consumer alone.

What makes this one special

Verified: the Davenport's signature trick is the reversible flip-top — one side a Teflon-treated playing cloth for cards, poker, and board games, the other a solid-hardwood dining top — so a single piece is both a formal dining table and a serious game table, converted "with a flip of the top." The real "vault" here is not a motor or a powered lift; it's the recessed storage well beneath the removable top — California House calls it a "puzzle place," and one dealer specs it at about 2 inches deep. Lift the top off and a half-finished jigsaw, chips, cards, and board games vanish out of sight. The top is held by an unusually tactile detail: "Genuine leather, non-slip top protectors snap on to cradle the reversible top." Underneath, it's old-school cabinetmaking rather than gimmickry. The record is specific: 100% solid kiln-dried hardwood frame and base with — in the maker's own words — no "engineered hardwood," plywood, veneers, laminate, MDF, or particleboard anywhere; "Massive hardwood, laminated end-grain top support beams for unparalleled strength"; a multi-step, post-catalyzed lacquer finish; and adjustable nylon floor glides for a wobble-free level. You configure the player positions with chip slots, cash/wallet trays, or a hybrid; choose Round or Octagon in five diameters (42–66 inches); pick from 18 cloth colors and Maple or Rustic White Oak with a wide stain range. Who it's for: the buyer who wants ONE heirloom piece that hosts Thanksgiving dinner and Friday poker night in the same footprint — and who values made-in-USA solid-wood furniture over flat-pack convenience or tournament-spec pool play.

Why people love it

Owners of California House reversible tops don't talk about "buying a game table" — they talk about the piece that absorbed the dining room and the poker night into one footprint. The pull is the dual identity backed by old-school cabinetmaking: a Teflon-treated cloth on one face, a solid-hardwood dining top on the other, and a 100%-solid-wood body underneath with no MDF or veneer hiding anywhere. California House states the case plainly on its own pages, and that's where the affection comes from — the table is exactly what the maker says it is. The official copy frames the appeal: "Premium solid hardwood game table & dining table all in one with a flip of the top." The leather-protector detail — "Genuine leather, non-slip top protectors snap on to cradle the reversible top" — is the kind of touch owners point to when they explain why it doesn't feel like a converted dining table or a converted game table, but genuinely both. And the structural promise — "Massive hardwood, laminated end-grain top support beams for unparalleled strength" — is why the word "heirloom" keeps coming up. This is bought to be passed down, not replaced.

Tips & little secrets

• ✒Size it by the room AND the table type, not just the chair count. Diameters run 42, 48, 54, 60, and 66 inches in Round or Octagon. A 42-inch Round seats ~4; you generally need 60–66 inches (or a 48–54-inch Octagon) to seat 8. Octagon gives flat player edges for cards; Round reads more like a dining table. Measure clearance and doorways before you commit — this is solid hardwood and it does not flat-pack.
• ✒Configure the player positions to how you actually play. You choose chip slots, cash/wallet trays, or a hybrid at the seats. If poker is the main event, lean chip slots; if it's mixed game nights and dining, the hybrid keeps the dining face clean. Pick this deliberately — it's a made-to-order choice, not a swap you make later.
• ✒Match cloth and finish to the room's job. There are 18 Teflon-treated cloth colors and a wide finish range (Maple stains like Auburn, Honey, Java, Midnight; or Rustic White Oak). Choose a dining-friendly wood finish you'll see most of the time, and a cloth color you'll only flip to for play — order finish samples through your dealer before locking it in, since finish upgrades like distressed or glazed add cost.
• ✒Use the leather protectors and glides as intended. The genuine-leather, non-slip protectors snap on to cradle the reversible top — keep them on so the top seats securely and the surfaces stay protected. Level the table with the adjustable nylon floor glides on install; that's what delivers the wobble-free stance.
• ✒Care for the lacquer like fine furniture. It's a multi-step, post-catalyzed lacquer (the maker also describes a conversion varnish that cross-links onto the wood as a virtually impenetrable barrier) — durable, but still wood. Use coasters and trivets, wipe spills promptly, dust with a soft cloth, and skip harsh or abrasive cleaners to keep both the dining face and the finish heirloom-clean.