| Join our Real Estate Newsletter - includes great tips and articles on the latest real-estate trends, plus lists upcoming real-estate training opportunities, clubs, or networking events.
|
Make Room
powered by Content that Works
Posted On: 11/18/2009Having guests can be wonderful. Then again, not having enough chairs or room at the dining room table or enough beds to put up overnight guests can prove extremely stressful and dampen the holiday spirit.
The good news is that there are fast, affordable steps to take to accommodate family and friends at the holidays to make everyone relax, have fun and hope they get invited back. Here are ideas for making your gathering stress-free:
Expand Dining Room Seating
If your house has a hall adjacent to the dining room or family room, add a table next to your existing one and create one long eating area to continue it from room to room, suggests Barry Izsak, a professional organizer in Austin and past president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. If you don't have enough china, glassware and cutlery, buy matching services at a restaurant supply company.
No matter your room layout, rented rectangular tables can be arranged to snake through several rooms and create a whimsical arrangement. Broker and sales manger Diann Patton, with Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Grass Valley, Calif., has used this design in her own home to seat as many as 30. "I cover the tables with linen cloths and use good china. All looks beautiful and nobody is left sitting at the 'kids' table," she says.
If you need to purchase a new table, consider one that's a wider 48-inch rather than 42-inch to accommodate two at each end, says decorator Judith Sisler Johnston, president of Sisler Johnston Interior Design in Jacksonville, Fla.
Sleep Guests Overnight Comfortably
• Outfit sofas, love seats or chairs so they can open and convert to beds.
• Go with affordable air mattresses or futons that can be inflated for use and deflated and stashed in a closet when not in use.
• Have young children "camp out" in sleeping bags and tents, so that the visiting adults can use the beds.
• Make a spare bedroom a quasi-bedroom, even if it serves more often as a home office or exercise room. Johnston turned her children's former bedrooms into guest rooms and an office so her three children and five grandchildren would feel more welcome and comfortable when visiting.
Find Room for Kitchen Help
Everyone seems to congregate in the kitchen, which can be helpful for preparation and cleanup, but it also can make the kitchen too crowded. To keep things running smoothly, consider the following:
• Clear away small appliances that aren't going to be used often so you have more counter and prep space.
• Assign shifts for prep, serving and cleanup to cover necessary tasks, says Izsak.
• Assign guests a food they'll prepare on-site, so that everybody has a task they know they're responsible for in advance and that allows them to bring ingredients.
Extend the Look of Your Space
Paint is the cheapest and fastest way to remodel. Paint walls to extend the look if not the square footage and create a more relaxing mood. Consider pastel colors in the cool range - blues and greens - as well as create a peaceful ambience to help everyone relax, says Sue Kim, color trends and forecast specialist for The Valspar Corp., a paint manufacturer based in Minneapolis. Colleague Ann McGuire, founder of Beehive Studios in Buck Hills, Pa, says another tactic to add depth is to use more than one shade of the same color.
Maintain Sanity by Relaxing Your Standards
Even the best laid plans can fall through and stress hosts. Prepare yourself to avoid disappointment by accepting the fact that your house may not look like your house normally does. "You probably can't maintain the same standards you normally do. There may be piles of shoes in front of doors. Accept that, bring in a lot of takeout food rather than worry about cooking every meal, let guests help themselves at times to food you've prepared, don't get upset about unimportant things such as guests not making beds, and focus on enjoying your company," says Johnston.
And remember, you've got a full 365 days to recover before they return!
View Foreclosure Article Archives
| Join our Real Estate Newsletter - includes great tips and articles on the latest real-estate trends, plus lists upcoming real-estate training opportunities, clubs, or networking events.
|
