Best Home Room: Ed & Diane Watson (Miami, Fla.)

FOR THE second time in less than a decade, Ed and Diane Watson's home billiards room has distinguished itself as a first-rate creation.

In 2001, the billiards room at the couple's Phoenix home, a western-themed space packed with prized antiques, captured top honors, described as "a pristine recreation room that is intricately fashioned to express the romance of the great West at the turn of the century." In outfitting their condo on Miami's South Beach, however, the Watsons ditched the heavy wood and antiques of Phoenix's "Wild West" room in favor of a contemporary, clean-lined look more befitting the posh South Beach environment.

"The Miami space is virtually the exact opposite of Phoenix," Ed Watson says.

With floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking South Beach and the Miami skyline, the Watsons selected Brunswick's Manhattan table as the 25-by-30-foot room's centerpiece, the table's black-and-stainless steel finish exemplifying the sleek, cool style the couple envisioned.

"The table sets the whole room off," Watson says, pleased he bypassed his initial plans to include a restored antique table. "The Manhattan table was our starting point and it inspired the rest of the room?s design."

To further the room's contemporary, trendy look, the Watsons utilized a black, white, and gray color scheme to complement the room's existing marble floor, a classy white tile carrying diamond-shaped black cutouts. Toss in a Sopranos' pinball machine broadcasting authentic character voices, sleek black-and-stainless steel viewing chairs secured from a restaurant supply company, and an assortment of triple-matted posters featuring the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra as well as his Rat Pack cohorts, and the Watsons' room equals the stylish, contemporary vibe of its South Beach locale.

"This is a room that's easy to spend a lot of time in, because it's as user-friendly as it is party-friendly," Watson says.

Best Home Room - Runner-Up: Joe Chyzy (Avondale, Ariz.)

Joe Chyzy's wife foresaw nothing but disaster. Joe's vision, on the other hand, was one of making a home poolroom. Joe was right.

In his own words, Joe doesn't like plain bare walls, or "that boring hotel or funeral-home look." What he does like is change. Although he designed and decorated his room himself, he's always brainstorming ways to make changes here and there. No major construction took place; Joe simply painted the room, decorated the walls with attractive billiard-room décor elements, and appointed it with appropriate furniture.

His room is roughly 28 feet by 20 feet, so there's plenty of room for his 9-foot Gabriels table, which he bought directly from the 2003 Las Vegas national 9-ball championships; professionals played on his table, on ESPN. Barroom liquor signs (Jim Beam, Jack Daniel's, Coors, Cuervo, etc.) weren't hard to find. Two custom oak-framed mirrors were built, and various billiard banners were collected for the walls. As a custom cue collector, Joe also has two magnificent cabinets on the walls to display his cues.

Joe's home room is so comfortable-looking that it's hard to imagine him spending time anywhere else in his house. Carpeting, painting, the wood laminate flooring, oak shelves and mirrors and spectator chairs, and the table itself came to about $12,000. "I think a festive look keeps the billiard room alive," he says. "The walls are pretty full and festive-looking, and that's what I like. Most important, the wife approves."

Best Home Room - Second Runner-Up: Michael & Julie Rudinoff (Gibsonburg, Ohio.)

GOOD THINGS come to those who wait.

In 1985, Michael and Julie Rudinoff purchased their home in Gibsonburg, Ohio, Michael immediately pegging the garage's attached workshop as the eventual site of the family's billiards room. Yet it would be 18 years before the billiards room project would even start and another seven until its completion, a lengthy endeavor given that the Rudinoffs and friends performed much of the room's work.

In 2003, the Rudinoffs, in the midst of home remodeling, elected to push the then-small workshop's walls out nearly eight feet and heighten the ceiling to 15 feet. Thus began the $20,000, seven-year project culminating in "R&R Bar West," a nod to the southern New Jersey bar Michael's family owned for nearly 50 years.

The comfortable and the familiar define the Rudinoffs' space, including bar signs from the original "R&R Bar" and a litany of billiards-themed posters and postcards Michael has accumulated over three decades. Other eclectic elements include a life-sized Bart Simpson caricature, a church pew Michael picked up from a former co-worker, a vintage wrestling poster featuring Gorilla Monsoon, and a 19th century, three-seat chair from an Ohio drug store's rear poolroom that the Rudinoffs seized at a local auction. The room also boasts a collection of original Al Stinson "Billiards Superstars" and "Gallery of Champions" artwork, while a 1964 United table completes the room's cozy, familiar feel.

"I call the room's style 'thrift shop décor,'" Michael jokes. "I had collected so much over 25 years that it had to go somewhere."

Though the room might look busy to some, few open spaces found on the wall or ceiling, Michael says it was designed as such.

"Wherever you look there's something interesting and I love that about the space," he says. "There's always something curious to grab your attention."

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