Entertaining vs Living… It’s your home after all…

Whether it’s family or friends, having a cuppa and a chat, (and lots of biscuits.) Or a full dinner party, there’s a lot of entertaining we do in our home over the years, from casual and informal, to formal big moments.

Dakota Light Mango 6 Seater Dining Set With Bench

The main thing is to focus on the informal day to day aspect of our homes. Too often do people try and plan their dining room around their Christmas needs, or think about all the guests they could potentially have over.

Your home, should always, above all else, reflect your needs first, and then grow from there. Remember it’s okay to make children sit on the floor, and it’s okay to bolster your dining set with the assortment of occasional chairs!

Reclaimed Indian Open Coffee Table

We start in the living room, we have to focus on flow, it’s all very well choosing a mighty coffee table that’s accessible for everyone, but does this prevent anyone actually moving around the room? And does this swallow all the space?

This is where a combination of end tables and a coffee table can work wonders. Everyone has somewhere to rest their cup, and we stop the congestion, keeping the room open and friendly. Cosiness doesn’t mean constricted.

Imari Industrial Light Mango Nest of 3 Tables

Nests of tables are a fantastic Swiss Army knife of furniture for entertaining, because they greatly increase your ability to grow your entertaining capacity to suit the needs of your guests. And when they all depart, they swiftly tuck away again leaving you with room to relax, (before the inevitable tidying up beings.)

Dakota Mango 2 Cube Nest

This same mindset can be taken into the dining room, a room, so often neglected, because, these days it’s not always in use, it feels like a formal affair, not a casual Tuesday dining experience, but somewhere to turn it up to eleven for Christmas.

This is because we allow ourselves to create our dining room to accommodate for the entire family tree. Scale it down, look into extending tables, or simply a more manageable dining table, it’ll make midweek dining far more enjoyable as you can sit within earshot, and you don’t have to stare at a collection of empty chairs.

Oslo Light Mango 6-Seater Dining Set - Pink Salerno Chairs

That being said, when the guests do arrive you can put the extra leaves in and create the space for them, without having to live with an enlarged table year round.

Or, if you opt for a small table, fit your entertaining around your amenities. Create a menu to work buffet style, and encourage people to disperse between rooms and graze. It lets you flex your beautiful home, and no one will ever notice the chairs don’t match the number of guests.

Brooklyn Industrial 6-Seater Extending Dining Bench Set

Above all else, your home needs to work for you, and whilst we all love to entertain, the one true VIP in your home, is you. So make sure you’re the one whose needs are being met.

That being said, there’s always room for a wine rack, or drinks cabinet, but then, we don’t have to convince you there.