One huge perk of having your own space? You can host, entertain, and have your friends over as and when you want.

If you’re big on entertaining, and you’re planning to offer up your place as the de facto spot for gatherings with your friends, you’ll want to design your home to meet this specific need. In this article, we walk you through exactly how to design a home that’s great for entertaining, and point out all the factors to consider.

1. The Overall Layout And Design

If you’re planning on hosting a lot, the overall layout and design of your home should be conducive to that.

For example: if you’re staying in a mansionette or a landed property with more than one level, make sure that you have a toilet (or at least a powder room) on the first level. This way, your guests will have easy access to the toilet, and they won’t have to go up to the second floor in search of it.

Also, you’ll also want to ensure that your bedroom is housed in a separate, standalone space, and appropriately blocked off.

These days, it’s trendy to have the main living area “flow” into a sleeping area, especially in studio apartments or smaller spaces. Some folks might have archways (without doors) separating their bedroom from their living space, which means their bedroom (and its clutter) is visible to any guests who are over.

This is completely based on personal preference, but you might have an easier time hosting if you can shut your bedroom door. This way, you won’t need to rush to put away personal items, every time your friends are over!

2.Your Entryway

Your entryway sets the tone as your guests walk into your home, and it should be both inviting and functional.

We recommend warm lighting, which is cosier and less harsh than cold lighting. Also consider having some sort of shelf or storage in space, so that your guests can put down their belongings. You can even add hooks on the walls for guests to hang their masks – it’s not necessary by any means, but definitely a nice touch!

3. Your Living Room

Living room layout

If your sofa and other seating options are lined up and facing the television, this isn’t exactly conducive for conversations. You’ll want to have seating options facing inwards, so that guests can face each other while they sit and chat. (If you don’t find this functional for day-to-day living, you can always rearrange your furniture once your party is over).

When positioning your furniture, also make sure there’s enough space for people to walk and maneuver easily.

Prepare extra seating

Extra seating is always great – the last thing you want is for your guests to be standing around awkwardly, because there aren’t enough seats for everyone. These can come in the shape of footstools, storage benches or ottomans that can live in your other rooms (or even your storeroom) until they’re needed for an event.

Always go for low maintenance 

For folks who are planning to entertain a lot, there will be a point in time when someone scuffs your sofa, spills red wine on your rug, or accidentally scratches your table. With that in mind, opt for low maintenance and durable furniture and seating that can withstand wear and tear.

For sofas, for example, it’s a good idea to get machine washable sofa covers that can be slipped on and off easily. The same thing goes for rugs – opt for a machine washable rug, instead of one that has to be dry-cleaned and handled carefully.

Opening up your space

Let’s say you have a study next to your living room, and you’d like to take advantage of that space and use it to host as well. If you have glass sliding doors between your living room and study (instead of regular doors), this opens up the space both visually and physically. Because you can see through to your study, your home will look that much bigger, and you can easily push the sliding doors to the side to add more square footage to your entertaining space.

4. Your Kitchen

Wet vs dry kitchen

You know what they say – the kitchen is the heart of the home. When you have guests over, they more often than not naturally gravitate towards the kitchen, so you’ll want to have this designed in a way that’s conducive for entertaining.

If you have the space (and budget!), consider having two separate spaces – a wet vs dry kitchen. The wet kitchen is where you do any heavy-duty cooking, such as frying. You can close the door to hide the mess and entertain your guests in the dry kitchen, where you’ll do “light” food prep and hosting activities such as assembling canapes, cutting cake, and pouring wine.

A kitchen island

A kitchen island looks great, and it’s functional as well. You can make cocktails or pour wine for your guests here, before migrating to the dining table for dinner. If you’re hosting a casual get-together or something interactive like a DIY pizza party, you might even choose to pull up a couple of stools so that everyone can eat at the island.

Also consider adding a second sink and extra powerpoints to your kitchen island, for more convenience. You might need to use your first sink (located at your kitchen counter/main prep area) for some light washing up; whilst you do that, your guests can wash their hands at the second sink, without having to wait around. Extra powerpoints will also come in handy if your guests need to charge their phones, or if you’re having hotpot and need to plug in your electric cooker.

Storage, storage, and more storage

In a kitchen that’s built for entertaining, storage is key. You want to have your counter space free so that people have space to sit around and chat, and this means you’ll need enough cabinet space so that you can keep your appliances and equipment tucked away.

Other than cabinets, you can also use open shelves to store hosting necessities such as wineglasses, extra cutlery, and beverages. This makes it easy for your guests to help themselves.

5. Your Balcony

Balcony blinds

Got a balcony, and want to use that space to host as well? We recommend installing balcony blinds, since the weather in Singapore is so unpredictable. With balcony blinds, you can keep out the dust, rain, and any insects, and make sure that your event goes off without a hitch.

Balcony furniture

As for furniture, if you don’t have balcony blinds and are intending to have your furniture be exposed to the elements, you’ll specifically need to get outdoor furniture. This category of furniture tends to be made from hardwood, synthetics or metal, and anything that falls within this category can withstand wind, rain, insects… you get the idea.

If you do have balcony blinds, though, you’re effectively transforming your outdoor space into an indoor space. With this in mind, you do have more options when it comes to furniture. You can technically put any of your favourite pieces outdoors, but given that Singapore’s climate is really humid, and there’s moisture in the air even when it doesn’t rain, we recommend going with durable materials to err on the side of caution.

For example: you can’t go wrong with teak furniture, which is hardy and resilient, and even repels water. For this reason, teak doesn’t warp, crack or become brittle, and is one of the best options for outdoor furniture.

Want to check out home renovation projects, and see how homeowners design their homes for entertaining? Browse here on Hometrust, or click the button below to get connected with expert designers.