7 Tips for Entertaining in a Small House 

When you open your home to others with warmth, generosity and great food and drink, you’ll create cherished memories regardless of square footage. Break out the invitations and be confident! You’ll generate as much love, joy and fun entertaining in a small home as you would in a large house. At Pottery Barn, we want to help you make your small home shine bright with big style. It just takes a little planning and a few choice tips to help you successfully navigate small space entertaining.

Minimize Your Clutter

The first step to entertaining in a small house is always to declutter, clean, then clean some more. The less clutter, the larger your space feels. Organize piles of paper in separate decorative boxes or in some under bed baskets, and store out of sight. Temporarily move unnecessary appliances and collectibles to the basement. Or, place them behind cabinet doors until you have time to go through them. You’ll be surprised how much space you really have once you declutter and dust off your shelves and surfaces.

Maximize Your Horizontal Space

Now there’s more room to entertain! Empty book shelves hold platters of food. Kitchen countertops become buffet space. A coffee table turns into a dining room table alternative. Use your prettiest dishes and platters for buffet-style serving. Here’s where the bigger is definitely better in a small home. A large coffee table does double-duty as snack-holder, dining space and the anchor in the room that beckons guests to gather around. 

Maximize Your Vertical Space

You’ve maxed out your horizontal space. Now, look up and take advantage of vertical space. Triple the amount of food you serve using groups of tiered trays and dishes. Hang decor, such as garlands, dangling decorative paper fans and strings of sparkling white lights, from the ceiling over buffet tables instead of draping them across tables. Invest in a slim stand-alone coat rack. If the weather forecast is sunny, place the coat rack on a porch or deck. This gives guests plenty of room to store jackets. 

Minimize the Ornamentation

Proportion plays an important role in small spaces, especially when entertaining. Keep your decorating low key. Use smaller floral centerpieces. Keep the color scheme monochromatic to lessen the visual clutter. Or, use neutrals as a party decorating backdrop. To minimize a large grouping of fancy bottles in a makeshift bar area, create a signature cocktail. Put it in a compact drink dispenser on a stand that also takes advantage of vertical space. 

Maximize the Seating

Always have enough room for guests to sit, even if it means using valuable floor space for extra seating. Relocate storage, entryway and dining benches from other rooms in the house. Place them strategically for extra seating. Benches seat many people at once. Put them around dining and coffee tables to maximize seating. Benches are also easy to clean after the party ends.

Maximize the Mood 

Mood and ambience always count more than square footage! Keep the mood cozy and comfortable with soft faux fur or cable knit throws and glowing candles throughout the home. Small indoor spaces heat up quickly, so keep guests cool with open windows. Bring out portable fans and keep them running on low. Just make sure to locate fans in discreet and strategic places. Add them where guests tend to gather, like the kitchen. Keep the fans away from any buffet areas where you’ve set up food.

Maximize Your Creativity

Using creativity is essential when it comes to using every inch of space for daily living and entertaining. Improvise when entertaining. Turn a kitchen sink into a tub of ice for bottles or cans of drinks. Don’t hesitate to rearrange rooms of furniture for the evening to create better flow and use of space. Place small dishes of snacks on deep windowsills that are usually empty. If it’s a sit-down dinner party, push two tables together. Even if the tables are slightly different heights, create the illusion that it’s one table using beautiful linens. Cover the two tables with similar tablecloths and extra lengths of runners, and finish it off by grouping small candles down the center to unify the surfaces.