The holidays are right around the corner. While the season that sparkles goes hand in hand with entertaining, space shortages can end up cramping your style—both literally and figuratively.
The good news? There are some things you can do to create, claim, or reclaim space in your home for everything from dinner parties to overnight guests.
Read on to learn more about five ways to expand your space for holiday hosting duties.
1. Enclose your patio or porch
Patios and porches are wonderful when the summertime sun is shining. However, winter weather often forces people back inside. The result? Unused space that could do double duty as a dining room, entertainment room, spare bedroom, or other space.
While adding on a spare room can be expensive and time-consuming, enclosing your patio or porch with an Eze-Breeze porch enclosure system offers the same benefits without the downsides. Customizable for any opening, these versatile indoor-outdoor solutions offer homeowners access to the outdoors in warm weather, along with newfound livable space for when a chill (or rain) sets in.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to how to use your new room, but cozying it up for the season is a must. Graceful furniture, blankets and throws, fairy lights, and festive greenery can all turn a sterile space into an inviting environment.
2. Transform your garage
When you think of holiday gatherings and celebrations, garages may not be the first venue type to come to mind. However, it may be time for a rethink. Because while garages provide excellent storage for vehicles, they have potential to do much more than that.
As with patio and porch enclosures, garage side sliders are a game-changer when it comes to finding extra room at home. Comprising side-to-side vinyl-glazed panels, garage side sliders make it easy to make the most of your garage while also offering abundant natural light and beautiful views.
Expecting many guests for dinner? A well-bedecked enclosed garage has the potential to be a stunning setting for a holiday dinner, breakfast or brunch—no matter how frightful the weather outside gets.
If you’re short on space in your home, meanwhile, consider putting your tree in your enclosed garage (or porch) instead. In addition to freeing up square footage, you’ll also be cultivating curb appeal for your family members, visitors, and passersby.
And don’t underestimate the value of porch screens and patio screens. These popular garage door screens offer adjustable protection from harsh sun, bugs, and other issues often associated with indoor-outdoor living.
3. Make your guest room do double-duty
Guest rooms are nice to have, but they also sit empty for much of the year. Viewed through this lens, maintaining a spare guest room is not exactly an economical approach to space planning at home. On the flip side, having a guest room at the ready can be very convenient. By designing a room that can do double-duty as sleeping quarters or for any other desired purpose, you can easily amplify the space in your home.
Swapping out conventional furniture for convertible options like Murphy beds or daybeds gives you the option to use your guest room as overnight quarters when needed or for an alternate purpose—such as a home office, home gym, or playroom—when you aren’t expecting visitors.
4. Think outside the box
As the other suggestions on this list demonstrate, expanding your space doesn’t necessarily mean expanding your home’s footprint. Sometimes, it means thinking differently about your existing space and how you use them.
For example, a large living room may be a better location for setting up a long table for a large holiday dinner than a traditional dining room. In turn, your dining room may be repurposed into a complementary space, such as a mini-bar or buffet station.
Even rearranging your furniture can have a powerful impact on usable square footage. One trick for saving both floor space and wall space? “Floating” your furniture. And don’t be afraid to play with different configurations and placements either. For example, setting your dining table on the diagonal can help you get a few more guests around the table.
Speaking of furniture….is yours working as hard for you as it should? When shopping for new furniture, look for items that can do double-duty, such as turning a kitchen counter into a bar or using an ottoman for both storage and seating.
And be sure to spend a few moments considering your existing furniture—specifically, which pieces can be used to do something else?
If you love to entertain every year but find yourself suffering from a frustrating space shortage, you’re not without options. From sliding door screens to doubly-duty guest bedrooms, there are many easy and affordable ways to elevate your environment while expanding your space—both during the holiday season and always.
