The House Party: designing your home for entertainment

Today, most houses are built with entertainment convenience as a value-add. Older houses, not so much. Many houses before the nineties were still built with rooms separated and differentiated for functionality. That's why there is usually so much renovation when especially younger buyers take possession of their new homes.

The traditional design for entertainment incorporates flow - the living space flowing into the dining area, which is open-plan to the kitchen, and in some cases, leading on to a TV room or family room; sliding doors are a favourite for opening onto an extensive patio, which in turn flows to a braai area or swimming pool. Some houses are so focused on the entertainment theme that the bedrooms might appear as an afterthought - small and purely functional and situated in an entirely separate area, away from prying eyes.  

If you are looking to buy a home that already has all the useful bells and whistles - or if you are intent on redesigning the house to meet your ambition to host amazing parties - there are a number of tips and tricks you can consider, either before you buy the wrong house or find yourself up to your ears in renovation costs.

Designing for family and guests

Most people want a house that serves two purposes: a home for family and friends in intimate gatherings, and a design that opens up for bigger parties; folding doors, sliding doors to sheltered patios which enable the indoors and outdoors to meld for ease and flow of mingling guests. But you also want a house that is a home, that doesn't look as though it's an events facility.

Seating:

• Make sure you have enough seating space, but also enough space for people to move around. Nothing worse than guests forced into a formal circle, looking at one another, waiting for conversation. This usually kills any fun and spontaneity.
• Consider smaller, separate seating areas, enabling guests to break off into intimate groups for one-to-one catch ups. You don't need a large space to successfully entertain. If you design cleverly, you can have a small or large number of people, with interesting nooks, features of attraction, and secluded areas outdoors.
• It's important to have lots of additional seating that you can bring into play as and when you might need it: bar stools, footstools, dining table chairs, bespoke benches, ottomans, or just an accent chair as a feature. There are plenty of ways to include extra seating to complement connectivity without getting in the way.

Zoning: Creating different areas with contrasting paint colours, flooring, rugs, lighting, and partial room dividers, is a brilliant way to easily differentiate your social home hub from your private living and working spaces, and to indicate the special focus of each area. 

Setting the mood: This is important and can be worked to effect in so many ways. A concealed music system is a key tool as music always creates a vibe and sets a scene. Ambient lighting is also vital - just think about the soft glow in a bar or restaurant, and how they use variable levels of lighting to achieve a different sense of time and atmosphere. You can chose from an array of methods to create this: standing lamps have presence and act as focal points, wall lights, as well as low-level lights such as table lamps and even candles, are superb at creating mood and a sense of relaxation.

Creating spaces that really gear your home for entertainment

When you have cart blanche to design for yourself, give a lot of thought to how you like to entertain - and then design your home around these preferences. Are braais your preference? Early drinks evenings? Big, wild parties with plenty of space for dancing? Or traditional, sophisticated dinners at a candlelit table?

• If you are building a new home, or completely redesigning and old one - you may want to make bolder strokes by adding a home bar, a garden gazebo, garden sculptures on a discovery trail, a sunken area with nooks of seating space, a wood-fire oven for pizza parties. Hospitality means just that - creating spaces and atmosphere that is inviting, warm and social.
• Add art as talking points, as a way of bringing in decoration as a function of entertainment. From floor to furniture to walls, add warmth and character through elegant and playful layering of textured materials and a variety of artistic features.  Moving carpets around is another unique and clever way for colouring up and creating new perspective in different areas.

• Lighting is everything. It's all about layers and options. You can burn it up bright or layer it down to create the mood you want. Dimmer switches are inexpensive and go a long way to setting mood, atmosphere and anticipation. Lights on dimmers are always classy, and decorative chandeliers add sparkle and elegance. Plan your lighting well, and plan well in advance of an event.
• And don't forget the importance of the kitchen: A dual-kitchen design is almost essential. This should encompass two connected kitchen spaces - one which is guest-friendly, and the other which is where all the cleaning up work is done - a scullery if you like - where the clutter and dirty dishes can disappear out of sight. If you're throwing a large party, this second kitchen is also where the catering staff can do their job unobstructed.

Leapfrog Property Group

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