Entertainment Paradise: Creating a Home Perfect For Hosting

Welcoming guests into your home and hosting family and friend gatherings is one of life’s greatest joys. However, if your home is not decorated exactly how you like or you feel you don’t have the capacity to host in your current environment, it can feel daunting. Your guests are visiting to see you and your family, although it can be lovely to show off your home and be proud of the way it presents itself. Today I am going to be sharing a few simple tips to create beautiful hosting spaces within your home and ensure your next gathering is one to remember.

Check In On Your Organisation

When chatting to clients and friends I find the most common reason they do not like hosting or inviting people over is because their spaces feel disorganised and cluttered. Ensuring your home has adequate storage solutions is the key to keeping clutter at bay. When it comes to the common areas of the home such as the entryway, kitchen, living and dining rooms, ensure all items have ‘homes’ to avoid clutter building up into piles. This can be as simple as placing some large baskets in these rooms to store shoes, blankets, children’s toys and other items that get left around on a daily basis. I always suggest selecting furniture that has cupboards and drawers over open shelving so items can easily be stored away in a concealed and neat way.

Update Your Tableware

Nothing feels more luxurious for guests than sitting down to a meal at a friend’s house with beautiful matching napkins, plates and servingware. It is a simple and relatively inexpensive touch but makes such a difference when hosting a dinner party. If you’ve had the same miss-matched plates for years and cutlery that’s seen better days, there is no time like the present to start fresh. When purchasing new tableware ensure you have enough matching sets for the amount of people you envision to host at one time. Then head into stores like Pillow Talk or Target and pick up some matching placemats, linen napkins and a gorgeous new tablecloth to take your hosting style to the next level.

Seating Options

Having enough seating options for all your guests is a crucial part of playing the perfect host. Whether it is a dinner party seated around a dining table or a casual party with guests mingling throughout living and dining areas, having adequate seating is essential. If you are working with a small space, I suggest investing in a few ottomans for the living room as these are compact, yet still provide a great seating option for a casual gathering. If you love hosting dinner parties, ensure you have a few extra chairs stored away that you can bring out for larger events. Fold out chairs work great if you are limited with storage space too!

Scent Matters

If you’ve been following Eliza Grace Interiors for a while you will know that I am big on scents and put emphasis on creating an ambience through fragrances. When hosting family and friends I always suggest having a candle burning by the entryway so that guests are greeted with a lovely scent upon entering and it sets the tone for the event. Popping diffusers throughout the home in rooms such as the living room and bathroom help to ensure your guests are greeted with fragrance as they make their way through your home. Avoid using scented candles on the table at a dinner party as this can detract from the food and be imposing at mealtimes. However, I love adding a scented candle to the bathroom as a nice touch when guests use your facilities.   

With a few simple touches your home can become hosting ready in no time. It is the simple and often inexpensive things that make such a difference when entertaining at home. So, be sure to make that extra little effort next time it is your turn to host. If you would like some more assistance in creating a home that is perfect for hosting and have spaces designed especially to suit your needs, then get in touch today for a one-off design consultation or a bespoke full-service design package created for you.