Socialisation Spot: Making Your Home Appealing to Guests

Home is of course the most personal place in the world, your own space where you can spend time with close family or just on your own to relax and recuperate. However, being able to share your home with guests and host loved ones is also a huge benefit of having your own home- whether it’s for sunny barbeques in the garden, dinner parties, cocktail parties or movie nights. If you love being ‘the host with the most’ and love nothing more than getting friends and family together to make memories, then it makes sense that you’d design your home in a way that’s appealing and suitable for them- as well as yourself. Here are a few ideas for how you can go about this in each room.

Kitchen and dining area

Dinner parties in years went by were much different (and much more formal) than they are today. Generally homes would have a small kitchen which was considered as almost a ‘backstage’ area, with larger living and dining spaces where you’d bring out the food to those waiting. These days, modern living much better suits open space- large, open plan kitchen/ diners where your guests can sit with you and watch you cook and even get involved. Something with an island would be fantastic, or a standard kitchen/diner with plenty of light and space. Not only does this make cooking for guests a breeze, but it will also make things more pleasant for you and your family too- and you’ll even add value to your home. If your kitchen is small, consider opening it up with an extension or knocking down walls to create a more open concept space. There are so many stunning themes you can choose from these days, from shabby chic to ultra modern to lake house kitchen ideas, all of which can be customised to fit your property and style. If you’re going to make any large investment in your home then this is one of the very best to go with, and will have the biggest impact overall. 

Living room

Love hosting movie nights on those cold, rainy winter nights? Maybe you like getting everyone together when there’s a big sports game on, or perhaps you’re a keen gamer and love having friends over to play multiplayer on the console? Either way, a large, comfortable sofa with enough space for guests to sit, a large tv and a cosy atmosphere is what you should be aiming for. Again, this is fantastic just to sit and enjoy with family from your household, but when you have people over they’ll be cosy and comfortable and have the best time. Don’t forget the coffee table where you can lay out lots of easy to grab snacks and drinks!

Extra bathroom

If you host parties at home and have quite a few guests over at once, having people wait around for the bathroom can be an issue. Consider installing a second bathroom, just a toilet and sink under the stairs to create a small cloakroom can be the ideal scenario. Again, it adds value to your home and is practical for you and your family for everyday use, but when you have people over there’s less queuing for a bathroom which makes everything more convenient. Have a look for unused spaces around the home and work out where a bathroom would fit, speak to a plumber and see if it would be feasible to add one there. It all depends on where the current plumbing runs in your home, but there’s plenty they can do these days and it’s a great upgrade to make on your property. 

Garden

Finally, not to be overlooked is the garden, a usable space all of its own. You might only be able to use the garden over the warmer half of the year depending on the climate you live in, but it’s such a worthwhile upgrade. Tidy it up and make it look nice, you might need to get a professional landscape gardener depending on what sort of changes need to be made. Consider seating options, making sure you have enough places to sit for everyone. Fold down temporary chairs that you can keep in the shed can be handy when you have a larger gathering. Think about lighting and heating- a firepit is a good choice for those cooler evenings, and a light that’s bright enough for everyone to be able to see later on into the evening. Finishing touches like twinkly solar lights and pond lights can really add to the ambiance as well. If you’re going to be doing a lot of cooking outdoors, you’ll need to invest in a good quality grill, maybe even a pizza oven depending on what you want to make. For simpler get togethers, picnics on the lawn and afternoon teas work well too. If you live in a sunny part of the world and spend a lot of your time outdoors in the garden, you could even look into having a full outdoor kitchen installed. These make light work of feeding larger numbers of guests and are really practical.

Changes you make in your home will benefit you and your household members, but can also make your property better suited to entertaining guests too. We all want to be the house that everyone wants to come and spend time in, and having a good setup means you’re always ready to get people together and make memories.

Have you made any changes in your home to better accommodate guests?