Hosting a gathering at home can be a joy (you get to decide when things wrap up) as much as it can be a chore (the inevitable post-party cleanup). The best hosts know that welcoming guests into your space isn’t as simple as just sending out invitations and chilling a bottle of something delicious, but rather in adapting their space to make it sparkle for any social occasion.
You can’t expect your living room layout to automatically translate from its dormant relaxation set-up into cocktail soirée mode without a little work. “Don’t feel beholden to the furniture arrangement you have on a daily basis,” says interior designer Alex Alonso. Adapting your living room’s layout, especially when you’re hosting a lot of people, can make guests feel even more welcome. And perhaps surprisingly, the square footage of your space isn’t all that important — the same principles apply in sprawling open-plan rooms as much as they do in more compact quarters.
