Furniture: Finding Function in Style

While you may have all the furniture your family needs to feel satisfied in your home, you may still lack sufficient furniture to entertain a larger group of people. An excellent example is having insufficient seating to invite multiple guests over and seat them comfortably. You can solve a variety of such problems by going furniture shopping with a strategic plan in mind to properly outfit your home to accommodate visitors. When designing your new floorplan and creating a list of storable furniture, consider the following factors:

Entertainment

When you want to entertain coworkers, friends, neighbors, and relatives, you'll want the right furniture for the task. The key is to make all your guests feel comfortable, and getting furniture that allows you to entertain them is a worthy goal. For instance, not having a big enough entertainment center in a centralized location can make it harder to entertain guests because your television may be too small or positioned at an inconvenient viewing angle for a large group.

Appropriately sized and positioned coffee tables and side tables can also help with entertainment in the living room. A coffee table will give your guests a place to put things, and sometimes you can use it to play board games. Using side tables in the living room will give your guests another place to set down food, drinks, and items they may have in their pockets. 

Seating

Even after you have your entertainment needs covered, you'll still need to ensure that you have enough seating to accommodate your guests. An oversized couch may not be enough to seat more than your family alone. So, you can choose an option like replacing the existing couch with a chaise sofa or even a sectional one if you have the room. You may also want to consider buying and storing foldable furniture that you can bring out when it is needed. It helps a lot to know the maximum number of people you are likely to regularly have over, so you can plan ahead when designing your floorplan and listing your furniture needs. 

Storage

Extra storage space can make a noticeable difference when you invite people to stay over for a long time or even just overnight. For example, a coat rack and shoe rack in the front entry will give your guests a place to store their shoes, coats, and bags, which will help keep the entire house clean.

You can also invest in dressers and nightstands to ensure your guests are comfortable when they stay over at your house. These are great extra furnishings to have on hand, particularly if you have guest rooms in your home or if you are hosting a guest for a longer period of time.

Once you have made a plan to improve your ability to entertain guests in your home, go to a furniture shop and make a few essential purchases. It'll make hosting guests in your home a lot easier.