Entertaining-Friendly Style (on a budget)

My (Kari's) husband and I love to entertain. The only problem is that our home is not really a great open floor plan for entertaining. We don't have the space to do huge dinner parties or to have all the relatives over for a holiday. We have done a lot of considering as to how we can open up our space, but there is a tricky load-bearing wall smack dab in the middle of the space. Another issue is that we know our house won't be our home forever, so we don't want to dump a whole lot of cash into those kinds of major renovations---we know we wouldn't see those dollars returned in a sale. We still entertain, but usually it's an open house kind of thing with cocktails and mingling. (This has actually worked out fine for us.) During our first couple of "mingly" parties, we noticed that everyone's favorite spot to congregate was the kitchen (If you are a hostess with the mostess, you know that this is not such an odd thing---kitchens are magnets to guests at all parties in all homes!) Our house has a little breakfast nook that was not being used to its full potential. Of course, a table and chairs usually goes in a breakfast nook---and that would have been the simple answer, wouldn't it? As I began to think about our love of entertaining and how we live our lives, I began to imagine a space that would be cozy and welcoming to guests. You can see in the picture above that I opted for a seating area in this nook. (So, yes, I am one of the only people on the planet with an apple green velvet fainting couch in their kitchen!)

I have come to love this little nook! I curl up here in the morning with a bowl of oatmeal and a magazine or the paper. My husband and I head to this little couch when he comes home at the end of the day so we can chat and recap the day's events with each other. AND, just as suspected, when we have a party and people congregate in the kitchen, this little nook is now full of people sitting on the sofa or perched on one of the arms. It really was the right decision for how we use our house! 

Read below for where I found the ingredients for this little nook, on a budget.

The green sofa came from Urban Outfitters. It was on sale at the time---I wouldn't pay full price for it if I were you. I'd wait for another sale! (By the way, when I purchased this, the green was the best color option. Now, Urban Outfitters has more colors and I kind of wish I had this one.)

The table was an ebay find, but it's this one from Brocade Home.

The pillows are Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon, and they came from Designer Cushions on Etsy.

The vase came from ebay (the flowers came from the grocery store!)

The rug is comprised of leftover carpet tiles I had in my garage from another project.  They came from Flor.  (I'd actually like to add a large round rug in a fun print here, but I haven't found the right thing at the right price yet.  Anyone have any suggestions?)

The wall was bare and I needed something to fill it, so I used some leftover antique gesso frames that I had in my garage (both from ebay) and filled them with a few random plates that I also had stored away in a cupboard.

If you are looking to do more hostessing in your home, look around and consider what will make your guests comfortable.  Adding little seating vignettes in areas of your home where you know people will congregate will help facilitate conversation and make your party that much better.  Of course, you don't need to purchase furniture to do this!  Sometimes, though, you should consider moving your pre-existing furniture around to make your home more guest-friendly.  :)