How To Fit A Dinner Party Into A Small Space

There's something wonderful about throwing dinner parties. They're a relaxed, intimate environment in which you can have some excellent conversations with a small but select group of people. It's like a halfway house between an actual party - which can be too loud and busy for a serious conversation - and going for coffee with friends, which doesn't have the same sense of 'occasion'. If you're living in a small space, though, it can be difficult to find enough room. So what can you do to get around that?

Method One: Modern Folding Furniture

Chances are, the phrase 'folding dining suite' makes you think of clunky trestle tables and uncomfortable conference room chairs. This isn't true in the way that it used to be. Plenty of furniture stores are now carrying collapsible dining suites that are every bit as attractive and hard wearing as their more permanent counterparts. You don't have to go for the folding pine table your mother had when you were a kid that always felt rickety and insecure and had leaves that pinched your skin when you leaned on them. There are plenty of choices now, and you might be surprised by what you find. For more information, contact a business such as Baker & Shuhandler.

Method Two: Repurpose Your Dining Suite Between Parties

Your chairs don't have to live at the table all the time. Between dinner engagements, they can serve double duty as desk chairs in the study, a makeshift valise in the bedroom, armchair substitutes in the living room - there are plenty of possibilities. The table itself can have other jobs, too; you could use it as a desk to work and browse the internet from, use it as craft station, or - if you have one that folds up small enough - even as a bedside table. Don't tether yourself to always keeping it in the same place.

Method Three: Embrace An Alternative Dining Style

Of course, it might be that none of these ideas suit your home - in which case, you can do away with the dining suite altogether. Eating without a table doesn't have to mean trays in front of the television. You could turn your dinner party into a floor picnic, for example, or if you have a garden, there's nowhere better to eat in the summer than outdoors. Huge, squashy beanbags create a relaxed atmosphere that's just as conducive to socialising with your guests as sitting at the table is.