We’ve all had the same problem, everyone stays in the kitchen, no matter how crowded it gets. It can be fun for awhile, but then you wish everyone would spread out among the other living areas. Here’s 5 tips to lure guests away from the kitchen!
1) Make use of a console table or sofa table!
Food is a great way to lure guests into the living room. Have fun with it, the hor derves or wine or whatever you’re serving will look great if you mix in some fun decorative items.
3) If you don’t have a built in bar in your living room, create a temporary one!
Set up a “portable bar”. The main components being an ice bucket, the drinks, the food etc. Any console table, sofa table, or even a temporary table can work – with a table cloth! Home Depot sells long fold out tables that are great for hosting parties and serving food!
Or for next year’s holiday gatherings – a permanent built in bar is great.
See the below photos, on the left side of photo the bar beside the fireplace is very handy! This is a great use of space, after all, there are only so many books you need to display in your built in cabinets!
3) Remove bar stools from the kitchen!
You might think that’s a crazy idea, but it works! We’re not suggesting you move them permanently of course, just during your party or social gathering.
Perhaps you could bring the bar stools into the living room with a round table? We borrow a pub height table from the patio when entertaining.
4) Make the room inviting!
Take a good look at your living room, as if you’ve never seen it before. It can be helpful to study photographs of each wall.
Ask yourself if it is inviting and cozy? If not, sometimes a few small changes can make a big difference. Maybe ….
- a cozy rug
- an ottoman or bedroom bench for extra seating
- a fire in the fireplace
- comfortable chairs! – perhaps borrow the host & hostess chair from the dining room?
- interesting art – people tell us they actually use the living room more once they love the art
5) Keep the furniture groupings close, for easier conversation!
If there is more than 8′ between the sofa and the chair, it would be hard to carry on a conversation.
Use rugs to “settle” spaces, or create two conversation areas.
Notice in the photo below, the long living room needed two sitting areas instead of one…..so the areas feel cozy.
6) Add music to the room where you want people to gravitate!
There are portable blue tooth speakers that sound great! Even the inexpensive ones! You can use Spotify or your phone to play “party lists”.
Do you have other ideas for luring guests to the living room instead of the kitchen? Click the word “comment” below.
So true… Everyone likes to congregate in my kitchen too. I am a very hot natured person and when we are cooking in the kitchen it only adds to the heat. I appreciate the ideas on how to move my parties to the living room. This was helpful. CHEERS!