How To Adapt Your Furniture For Hosting Christmas

Getting Creative with Furniture for Hosting Christmas

Getting Creative with Furniture for Hosting Christmas

As Christmas looms ever closer, more of us are wondering how we’ll comfortably fit all our loved ones in the same space. This is the time of year where family gathers together the most, and this can come with lots of different stresses, but the layout of your home and whether you can actually fit everyone in shouldn’t be one of them. No matter the size of your living or dining room, don’t feel like you’re not equipped to invite guests over for the most sociable time of year. Whether you’re hosting Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, all of the above, or just some time in the future, let us help you to get creative so no one is left sitting on the floor!

Staple Furniture Pieces That Will Get You Through Hosting Season

The living room is the hub of the home. It is important that everyone feels relaxed at Christmas so they can fully enjoy themselves, and the comfiest seats in the house should be the main ones you use for entertaining. That being said, versatile furniture is super useful when hosting lots of people. But who says versatility has to mean being uncomfortable or unstylish? If you have a big enough room, a corner sofa is great for adapting the number of people it seats. Take what was once a space for putting your feet up in the evening and use it as a perch for an extra guest. Or, speaking of putting your feet up, use a pouffe or ottoman the majority of the year for resting your feet and then you can move it to the edge of the room in place of an extra chair that takes up less room but is just as comfortable. The added bonus of this option is that you can use them to store your casual soft furnishings like scatter cushions and blankets and swap them out for their festive counterparts for an easy and tidy way to make your living room feel even more in the Christmas spirit.

Corner Sofas Seat More People

Richmond Corner Group Sofa

An ottoman doubles up as seating and storage

Ruby Storage Ottoman Grey

<p>You can take this one step further if you have guests staying overnight. Take a sofa bed with storage underneath, use it as communal seating during the day and then simply pull it out in the evening for a comfortable bed alternative for your overnight guests, and then neatly hide their bedding underneath during the following day when you need it as a sofa again!</p>

You can take this one step further if you have guests staying overnight. Take a sofa bed with storage underneath, use it as communal seating during the day and then simply pull it out in the evening for a comfortable bed alternative for your overnight guests, and then neatly hide their bedding underneath during the following day when you need it as a sofa again!

Sorrento Corner Storage Sofa Bed

So, we’ve got the living room covered, what about those unlucky souls hosting Christmas dinner too? The art of the extending table is not to be underestimated! You can read all about it in depth here, but the gist of it is that your small space doesn’t want to be overcrowded the majority of the time with a table big enough to host the 5000 so you need a dining table that can adapt with your adapting life. A table isn’t just for the plates that people eat off of; it might be worth having something that can fit in all the extra roast potatoes people will want to help themselves to after their initial plate is clean!

Check out how useful an extending table can be

You can fit so much more on a table when it's extended

Ravenna Motion Table with Paulo Grey Bench

Speaking of dining tables, the shape is important to take into consideration as well as the size. Circular or oval tables offer a more sociable layout, facilitating conversation with your loved ones. These rounder shapes are also useful in small spaces because their lack of sharp corners allow you to fit a larger table into a tight space (and maybe even more importantly they minimise the risk of bumping your thighs when you’re walking backwards and forwards). The other advantage of this shape is that it takes away the position of head of the table – which maybe some people like but without a head of the table it makes the mealtime less formal and takes the pressure off of whoever ends up in that role.

Round tables can be extended too

Perth Round Extending Dining Table

No more knocking elbows with a round edge

Amalfi Dining Table

If you’ve got the space but just not the cosiness, check out our tips for making your living room or dining room feel warmer this Winter. A simple and cost-effective way to make your home appear cosier and more Christmassy is the reliable sheepskin rug, which is a sustainable and stylish option that insulates your room to keep you warm but also absorbs the heat to stop you from overheating when you’ve got lots of people gathered together. Use plates, bowls, trays, and other unused crockery like cake stands or baskets to display baubles for added festive decoration without taking up too much space. Pop them on a console, lamp, or coffee table depending on whether you want to create a focal point or subtle addition to the edge of a room.

Sheepskin rugs can regulate any room

New Zealand Ivory Sheepskin Rug

Try to get creative with showing off decorations

Our Brewery Square Showroom

Adapting Your Regular Furniture For Guests

There are no bounds when it comes to repurposing furniture for use in different places within your home. Everything in the rooms where you’re hosting should ideally serve a purpose to really maximise the space, and if it doesn’t then consider moving it to another part of the house or using it in a different way to usual. It may be that a side table is more useful in the hallway than the living room where it normally lives and then you can fit your Christmas tree next to the sofa for added cosiness. Turn a coffee table into a mini buffet bar – unless you have dogs of course or your guests might go hungry! – or use the space underneath a dining bench as wine bottle storage, unless you are moving that versatile piece of furniture around for more seating, in which case keep it as mobile as possible!