Creating an Inviting Home for Guests and Loved Ones

Having the sort of home that guests want to return to again and again can be extremely gratifying. Creating an inviting home for your guests means that they will feel comfortable, making the process of hosting easier on you. At the same time, a cozy home means some thoughtful designs, as well as a little regular cleaning and maintenance.

There are some qualities in a house that tend to deter guests, making it difficult to host or keep people around, such as untidiness, clutter, or a stark atmosphere. However, there are a few tricks that will help to make any space inviting and cozy.

Keep in mind that every element of a home helps to form an impression. This process begins the moment that they enter the house. While first impressions, such as an inviting entrance mat and a drop zone for your guests’ outerwear and bags, can help to solidify a first impression, there are a lot of measures that you can take throughout your home to make it a warmer, cozier place for guests to feel at home.

This article will discuss basic design and room by room considerations to help you make a cozy house, not only for your guests but for yourself and your family as well.

The Benefits of Creating an Inviting Home

Depending on your lifestyle, a warm and cozy home can be important for your social and family life. The home offers a gathering and living place where your friends and family will spend their time. This allows you the opportunity to host parties and holidays, and it is also likely to reduce stress when it comes time to host.

An inviting home also helps to communicate and foster your unique personality and tastes. As important as it is to present a nice home to your guests, it’s also important that you enjoy living in your home. In other words, one key to a cozy home is that you would want to spend time in it.

The Importance of Regular Cleaning Sprees

A clean and uncluttered home is one of the key aspects that will allow your guests to feel comfortable in your home. People tend to feel uncomfortable around other people’s messes, and they can be influenced by unpleasant odors and dirty conditions. If you want people to feel at home in your place, it’s important to keep up on your cleaning so that when you have someone pop over, it’s easy to put everything in place.

• Consistent cleaning keeps your home smelling great. One thing that has an undeniable influence on how guests feel about your home is the way that it smells. Regular cleaning will help you get rid of anything likely to cause recurrent odors. It offers the perfect time for you to open the windows and air out your home. It’s also important to introduce new better smells and fragrances as you clean.
• When you clean frequently, you can go beyond the obvious. When guests are about to come over, you’re most likely to do a surface cleaning by vacuuming, putting away dishes and cleaning the sink, cleaning the toilet, and tidying small clutter areas. For most homes, though, this isn’t enough. Regular cleaning allows you the opportunity to achieve a deeper clean so that you can make better first impressions. This might mean setting up a chore rotation or scheduling a time each week to tidy, scrub, and eliminate clutter.
• You will feel comfortable in your clean home every day. A clean and comfortable home is not just for your guests to enjoy, but it’s also a necessity for you to appreciate your home. If you’re comfortable and happy in your own space, it’s likely that others will catch on too. You deserve a clean space as much as anyone coming to visit, and regular cleaning can help you keep it nice and tidy.

Using Color Properly Throughout the House

Colors and textures have a powerful effect on mood, atmosphere, and light distribution. Your paint color plays a large part in making your home appear warmer and more cared for.

Here are a few tips for choosing colors and color schemes around your home:

• Use the 60-30-10 Rule. This is a technique in decorating that calls for using 60 percent of a dominant color, which is normally also the wall color, 30 percent of a secondary color, most often also used in the upholstery, and ten percent for an accent color developed by the accessories. The 60-30-10 rule applies from room to room, so not all the rooms of your home need the same color scheme.
• For a dull room, try contrasting warm and cool tones. Using muted colors, contrast warm and cool tones to offer just enough interest to lessen a dulled or boring room.
• Dramatize a small room with monochromatic color. This is a great option for a bathroom, small sunroom, small kitchen, or even a smaller guest room. When you go for a monochromatic look, you can pull off just about any color, vibrant or muted. In this case,  be thoughtful about choosing a complimentary neutral. While a bright white can be a good option for making a bathroom look clean, you might want a softer gray or beige in a more lived-in room.
• Use colors to create calm spaces. Softer colors, including browns, lighter neutrals, and pale blues can make a space feel calm and friendly.
• Go for a light-colored paint when trying to reflect light. Light-toned and vibrant paint colors can make a room appear warmer and more inviting. They are also better at reflecting light. Opt for these over darker colors, which can make a room appear smaller and less inviting.
• Use fabrics and textiles to add color as well as texture. Your upholstery and textiles are an important part of introducing color into your home. Different fabric materials have different associations and textures, so be sure that you’re giving off the right vibe. For example, faux fur and suedes will make a space feel warmer, while light and breezy cottons help to make an area feel light and open.
• Paint an accent wall to create a focal point. Accent walls give you a powerful pop of color that draws in guests, focuses their attention, and allows the space to feel more coherent. Keep in mind that “far walls” make the best accent walls. Using a “near wall,” on the other hand, could contribute to making the space look cluttered or busy.
• Add in touches of black to ground the space. If you’re finding that your room is lacking clarity, it can be helpful to add some black furniture or accessories. These can be simple accents, such as a black vase, lamp, or bookshelf.

Use Lights to Your Advantage

Lighting is one of the most important parts of helping your home to feel calming and cozy. Your home should be well-lit since your guests will always gravitate toward the brighter areas of the home.

However, it’s important to also be aware of the temperature of your lighting. Bright shouldn’t equate to lighting that is clinically cold. There are many lightbulbs that offer a warm or natural spectrum atmosphere.

To consider how you can improve the lighting in your home, consider:

• How many light sources are there in the room? Having more than one source of light in any room is important to help the light illuminate the corners of the room and create a cozy feeling. If you have too few light sources, use task lighting, including lamps, candles, and even string lights to create ambiance.
• Is the light coming from different levels? Using primarily overhead lighting isn’t flattering for anyone. You can fix this by varying the height and levels of your lighting.
• How do you feel about the lighting fixtures themselves? Light is only one aspect of a lighting fixture. Sometimes we need the light but dislike the appearance of the fixture that holds it. Or, you may really enjoy a certain fixture but it’s the wrong fit for the area.
• Do you have focal lighting? Clustering some of your lighting together can help to direct your guests to focal points and points of interest, particularly as it starts to get dark.
• Are you using cool-tone or warm-tone light bulbs? Lighting that is too cool-toned can appear clinical and unflattering. While we recommend natural spectrum or cool white lights throughout most of your home to keep things level, if there’s an area that you want to feel cozier, opt for a warm-toned bulb. To tell whether your lights are cooler or warmer toned, check their kelvin rating. The higher the number, the cooler the lighting is. The average cool white bulb is 5000k and warmer lights tend to be around 3000k.
• Could you use a few night lights? Nightlights are a low-impact addition that will make your guests feel right at home. They can be very helpful to help navigate an unfamiliar house. Guest and hall bathrooms are one of the best spots for a night light.
• Have you considered smart lights? Smart lights allow you to change the color and temperature of your lights depending on mood and time of day. They easily dim, giving you full control over the atmosphere set by your lighting. Many connect with voice controller applications and timers.

Beautifying Your Home Room by Room

When it comes to creating a cozy home, each room may take on a different tone and purpose, depending on how you use and decorate it. Some rooms are for vibrant entertainment, and other rooms, such as a study or office can offer a space for quieter moments. The idea is to identify how you use each room and arrange it to match this purpose. This harmony between space and purpose will help your guests orient themselves in your home.

Living Room

The living room tends to be the second heart of the home, after the kitchen. This is where most people do the majority of their entertaining, as well as their day-to-day unwinding. When putting together an inviting living room, it’s good to remember to make it a comfortable living space.

Choosing Living Room Furniture

In most cases acquiring furniture is best done in person. This gives you the opportunity to see the actual size and colors of the materials, while also trying it out for yourself. Particularly with seating, your guests will thank you for providing comfortable seats around your home. 

Ultimately, it’s important to pick furniture that suits your needs. For example, If you often host large groups, you might consider furniture that can accommodate many people. However, if you often have overnight or weekend house guests, you might prefer to offer relatively secluded seating away from other entertainment, such as a reading chair. To determine what you need, keep an eye on how you and your guests use the space, then adapt the furniture to fill in the gaps.

• Design around the focal point. Most living rooms have a focal point, so one key is to find the focal point and design your furniture around it. At the same time, consider color and the vibe that you want your living room to give off.
• Size and fit matter. It’s important that your furniture fits the space you have. Guests will feel better with less furniture in cramped spaces than cramming everything in despite the size. At the same time, having very small furniture that does not fill out a larger space can make a space feel uncomfortably empty.
• Think about how you will arrange it. Feng Shui and furniture harmony play a large part in how your home looks and feels. To achieve a balance, try not to overcomplicate your designs. Furniture should have room to navigate around without too much difficulty. Use open designs when setting up furniture to keep things from feeling cramped.
• Look for higher quality furniture that won’t fall apart after a year or two. Higher quality furniture will have a sturdy wooden frame. This also means choosing materials that are durable and won’t wear out on you too quickly. Microfiber and leather both offer better stain resistance that you will not get with cotton.

The Ideal Color Palettes for Your Living Room

Fortunately, there’s no one ideal color palette for every living room. This gives you the freedom to choose the colors that most appeal to you, as you adapt the living room to your style and tastes.

• Playful Elegance – If you keep your color palette in the charcoals and grays, you can get away with very lovely pops of color. Keep them in the blue or teal range to keep the peaceful tone in the home, or a warm red-orange to keep the energy up.
• Soft Neutrals – Neutrals offer a clean warm background for everything that takes place in your living room. Try pairing it with soft shades of brown, and if you need to breathe some extra life into it, go for terracotta colors. Gray, for example, is a very versatile neutral that allows any vibrant to pop.
• Deep Colors – You by all means don’t have to shy away from deep or saturated shades. This style helps to make a statement, but to keep everything on the side of cozy, we recommend sticking to warmer hues, such as deep rust, chocolate brown, and opt for light-hued flooring.
• Hang art on the walls to add color variety. The right wall art can change up the colors in a particular room, adding extra colors and a fresh focal point.

DIY Projects for a Cozy Living Room

• Use faux greenery to create atmosphere. High-quality faux flowers are great to decorate with since they won’t die and still give off feelings of warmth and coziness.
• Add texture with interesting bookshelves. Use bookshelves for storage, displaying accessories, and books of course. The display of your bookshelf can offer a sense of balance and texture. However, it’s important to make sure not to clutter them.
• Make your own custom window treatments. Custom window treatments can completely transform the appearance of a room while also offering you more privacy and control over the interior lighting.
• Use optical illusions to make a small space appear larger. One of the most important optical illusions you can put in your home is a mirror. Not only does it help to give the illusion of expanding a cramped space, but it also helps to reflect and redistribute lighting.
• Create unique or signature furniture. Reupholster and personalize a signature piece of furniture to add your own personality into your home. This will help the home feel more one of a kind.
• Don’t be afraid to hang your photos. Seeing photographs around a home can be comforting for guests. It helps them gain insight into the people who live in the house while offering a point of interest to spark conversation. It also demonstrates care and concern for your loved ones.

Bathroom

A clean and nice bathroom is a necessity for hosting any guest who will be visiting for more than an hour or two, particularly if you intend to feed them. However there are many styles for a bathroom, and no one will fault you for opting for your own. The key is to keep it clean, hide away anything unsavory, and provide a few amenities that will help your guests feel right at home.

Don’t shy away from using rugs to warm up the bathroom, and we’re not just talking about bath mats. Instead, many people are using decorative and Persian rugs to decorate their bathrooms.

How to Keep Your Bathroom Smelling Nice

Frequent cleaning is non-negotiable for a fresh-smelling bathroom. No matter what fragrances you layer over an odor, the smell will continue to show up if the bathroom is unclean. If you can’t tell where the phantom smells are coming from, make sure to clean out drains, as well as places where odors might linger, such as floor mats.

• Use an automatic air freshener, odor absorber, or scented candle. These fresheners will puff out fragrance at regular intervals. Try not to choose an overly floral scent, instead opting for something that smells like clean linens or spices.
• Ensure your bathroom has good ventilation. If it doesn’t have a good vent and fan, it may risk growing mold. This is worth installing and making it easy to turn on with a quick switch.
• Luxury soaps offer an opportunity for guests to indulge. Additionally, their subtle scents can help contribute to a good overall atmosphere in your bathroom.

DIY Projects For an Organized Bathroom

• When something feels off in the bathroom, it’s probably the lighting. Good bathroom lighting is very important for helping guests to relax, groom themselves in the mirror, and even use the mirror as a vanity to put on makeup. If your bathroom lighting is too low-intensity or oddly colored, this can be a problem. If you notice that the lighting in your bathroom is less than welcoming, you might make a DIY change, to both add some style into the fixtures and make sure they help your guests to relax and ready themselves.
• Make your own over-the-toilet storage and shelving, using an old wooden ladder. This can be a good place to hang towels while also creating a shelf for toiletries.
• Install hooks on the wall. Extra hooks can give you a lot of use and flexibility, including hanging towels, steaming out clothes, hanging a dopp kit, or whatever else your guests may need.
• Install floating shelves for bathroom amenities. Most bathrooms don’t have a lot of cabinet or storage space, so installing a few floating shelves can solve many of your storage problems.
• Install a great shower head and shower filter. Bathing is one of those frequent luxuries that everyone can feel good about. Many people leave the shower in a good mood, and with a top-notch shower head, you can help make their mood even better.

Important Toiletries for Hosting Overnight Visitors

Everybody loves amenities that help us feel provided for, especially your house guests. One of the best ways to let someone know that they’re welcome in your home is to offer them the necessities they use or would like in their own home.

• Always have extra rolls of toilet paper where they can easily be found. No one wants to have to ask or go searching through all of your cabinets for that.
• Extra toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste are amazing for when your guests are in a pinch or might have forgotten their own.
• Keep a toilet brush in each bathroom. You’ll never know when your guests need it, because they probably won’t say anything.
• Make sure that the bath towels are available, clean and easy to access.
• Keep a first aid box with bandages and medicine to treat allergies, headaches, and heartburn.
• Have grooming essentials on hand, such as shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and even lotion.
• Keep the bathroom stocked with basic toiletries, such as cotton swabs and tissues.
• Shaving cream and disposable razor blades will come in handy for guests who might have forgotten these underrated tools.
• Keep a sample of feminine products in the cabinets just in case.

A Welcoming Kitchen

Hosting guests in your kitchen can be tricky. Unless you have long-term houseguests, many guests will hesitate to cook something without you there with them. Nonetheless, the kitchen is the heart of the home, and you can still make it a thoroughly welcoming space by providing a few necessary tools.

To begin with, it’s always nice to have coffee and tea available. The coffee aroma helps to fill your home with a fragrance that many find to be comforting, especially in the morning.

Essential Tools Any Good Host Should Have in Their Kitchen

• A corkscrew and bottle opener
• A coffee maker and tea infuser
• Basic cooking utensils
• Silverware in an easy-to-access drawer
• Serving plates
• Dishes, cups, bowls, and mugs
• Clean sponges
• A stocked cookie jar

Picking a Color Palette For Your Kitchen

Most colors can easily belong in the kitchen, making this color scheme truly up to you. While many people like a kitchen made of warm and restful neutrals, kitchens are one of the few places in the home that can easily sport the most vibrant color, such as bright reds, blues, or greens.

At the same time, you want to be sure that your kitchen color palette still follows the usual rule of picking colors, so it doesn’t look too chaotic. Stick with the two main colors and add in a useful neutral.

DIY Projects For an Organized Kitchen

• Make a subway tile backsplash. If you have a large kitchen this can fall into more of a renovation. Never fear though, subway tiling doesn’t go out of style, offers customizable colors, and it’s easy to install as a DIY project. Or, if you are having trouble with the traditional tiling, you might opt to use stick-on tiles for your backsplash.
• Install hanging pot and pan storage. Once you get used to hanging storage for your pots and pans in your kitchen, you’ll never want to go back. You can easily DIY hanging your pots and pans from a wall rack, or by installing a hanging rack from the ceiling of the kitchen.
• Organize and label your spices out in the open. If you have guests cooking at your home, one of the best gifts you can give them is the ability to spice their food without having to dig through your cabinets to find your spice collection. Well organized spices, whether you’re using magnetic tins or an aesthetic wrack, can appear attractive, while also showing off a few of your own spice preferences.

Dining Room

Some hosts use their dining room frequently when entertaining guests and others won’t spend a lot of time in it. It all depends on the kind of events and guests that you intend and enjoy hosting. For example, those who host dinner parties might put a lot of time into making their dining room inviting.

The old notion of a stuffy dining room with its china cabinet and infrequently used finery, however, is not always necessary. With the right styling and furniture, you can make your dining room as cozy a space as any of the others in your home, so that when you invite guests to wine and dine, they’ll want to stay awhile.

Choosing a Dining Table

Picking your dining room furniture is all about picking a table. The rest, such as a small bar, or dish cabinet, will follow.

Your dining table should fit in your space. Allow room for guests to be able to scoot their chairs in and out without worrying about banging up your furniture. It’s commonly recommended that you should have three feet of breathing room on all sides of your table. 

Additionally, a table that is too large will dwarf a room, making it feel stuffy, which will have an effect on making larger meals feel uncomfortable. Also, consider the shape of the room. A round table fits nicely into a square room, whereas an oval table might be better for a more rectangular room.

Pick a table that is built to last. The average dining table should last about ten years if not more. This means that you may not want to choose the trendiest table you see, as it may become dated before its lifespan is up. The best dining tables are simple, stable, and sturdy.

The Ideal Color Palettes For Your Dining Room

• Soft neutrals won’t let you down. If you’re nervous about putting intense colors in your dining room, go for a lighter neutral, such as a soft gray, beige, or white.
• Make a deep accent-wall focal point. For a smaller space, it can be helpful to go deep with one of your walls, such as with brilliant navy, lush brown, or rich terracotta. Just make sure that you have adequate lighting so that your dining room doesn’t appear too dark.
• Use vibrant pastels. You can’t go wrong with a lighter or pastel version of your favorite color. This is common with lighter gray-pinks and soft jade shades.
• Metallics touches bring the right timeless elegance. Pop in some metallics, particularly gold to warm up a stuffy dining room.

DIY Projects for the Perfect Dining Room

• Keep fresh flowers in the dining room. Fresh flowers offer a beautiful and timeless touch to any area, and they are particularly beloved on the dining room table. Make sure to change the water and continue clipping the stems to help your fresh flowers last as long as possible. Rather than concentrating all your flowers in one spot, consider splitting the bouquet to make multiple smaller arrangements that you can distribute throughout the house.
• Create a Dining Table Centerpiece for Each Season. Centerpieces on a table help to add charm and intentionally use empty space. When in doubt, opt for fresh flowers. Or, DIY your centerpieces with seasonal and holiday-inspired arrangements.

Guest Bedroom

For overnight guests, your guest bedroom is a crucial part of helping your visitors feel at home in a safe space. At the same time, since this space isn’t constantly in use, it offers a good place to discreetly store odds and ends that don’t belong elsewhere in your home, using chests and even more permanent bedroom furniture.

How to Arrange a Bedroom

To begin with, your guest bedroom needs a bed. The bed doesn’t have to be huge. Instead, it should properly fit the room, and keep in mind that guest rooms tend to be a bit smaller than rooms designed for permanent living.

One of the keys to a good looking bedroom is the bedding. High-quality sheets, a nice comforter, and ornamental pillows to fill out the space help to tie a guest room together. Additionally, keeping a throw blanket on the bed not only adds additional texture and interest, but it also helps to encourage guests to feel more comfortable.

When arranging the guest room make sure that there is appropriate space for a suitcase and a little unpacking from your guest. Additionally, it’s helpful if you don’t fill up all the space with your own storage, or display all of your own favorite things on the top of furniture, as your guests should feel free to use that space as they need during their stay.

When picking out colors for your bedroom, it can be helpful to consult a color wheel. Since the bedroom is meant to be a casual and relaxing space, it’s best to choose colors that are near to each other on the color wheel, such as blues and greens.

If your guests are children or have children, you may also wish to make sure the space is safe for them.

Tips on Guest Bedroom Furniture

• Give yourself some discrete storage. Since guest rooms aren’t constantly in use, it can be a good idea to make sure that all furniture doubles as storage space. This can include a bedside table with drawers and amenities for guests, or a blanket ladder to hang throws that your guests can use during their stay. Whatever you do with the storage though, make sure it’s nothing that would embarrass your guest to see and make sure to leave some space to invite them to place their own things.
• Offer your guests a comfy seat. In most cases, this would be an armchair right in the room. If there’s space you can also give a small pedestal table and lamp. This will offer the guests a place to sit, aside from the bed, any time that they retreat to the room.

DIY Projects for a Cozy Bedroom

• Add house plants. House plants play an important part in making a guest bedroom feel lived in without causing the guest to believe that they are intruding on someone else’s space. They are an easy way to make a space cozy without over-decorating a space that might see limited use.
• Offer them a clothes hamper. When traveling hampers help to keep clean clothes organized and away from the more stale clothes. It also gives guests a place to discard used towels or linens if they decide to change the sheets.
• Install a floating shelf to act as an end table. If you don’t have space or the furniture for a guest bed end table, don’t sweat it. Make your own shelf with enough space for a small bedside lamp and other bedside necessities.

Entertainment Room

Your entertainment room will likely be another space frequently traveled by both short-term and longer-term guests. This is a good place for playing games, enjoying a movie, and keeping it casual while spending time with your guests.

It’s important to know the potential uses of your entertainment room. Film buffs might want to set up a home theater, while others might be looking for a more family-friendly entertainment room. The best way to go about it is to plan out what you want to use the space for.

How to Equip Your Entertainment Room

• A reliable television is useful. Whether you spend some of your time watching television, or just on the odd occasion, a reliable television offers you the chance to host movie nights and game watching with your friends.
• A Bluetooth speaker gives you and your guests the opportunity to put on shared music. While most entertainment rooms don’t need the theater-quality surround sound systems so often advertised with televisions, it is absolutely useful to have something that will play music on demand.
• Stock the room with a variety of games for more active entertainment. It’s up to you to pick your poison, from gaming consoles to board and card games, and more kinetic indoor games, such as darts. You know best what your family and friends are likely to play and enjoy.

The Best Party Games to Get

• Always have at least two packs of cards and some poker chips. A regular deck of cards is one of the most versatile and budget-friendly gaming sets in your arsenal. Cards cover poker nights, trick-taking games, solitary games, and many child-friendly games as well.
• Classic board games offer nostalgia for the adults and something new for the kids. Keep around some of your favorite classic games that you might have played when you were younger, such as Monopoly, Risk, Life, or Settlers of Catan. These can be enjoyed by a large age range, though they do tend to inspire competition.
• Pick up a few house party games. House party games tend to be more social than they are competitive. This means that they can help you break the ice and get to know your guests. These games can be classics, such as Pictionary or Charades, as well as new favorites, such as Cards Against Humanity.

Outdoor Spaces

When you have outdoor space at your home, it’s a shame not to use it. However, many guests won’t stray into these spaces unless you make them purposefully inviting. Here are a few tips to make sure your outdoor spaces are just as beloved by your guests as those indoors.

Front Yard

Your front yard offers the first impression that guests will see when they visit your home, making this your first opportunity to welcome your guests. This often includes walking up to the house through the yard on some path or another.

While there’s a lot of factors with the outdoors that you may not have direct control over, such as the weather, there’s still a lot that you can do to make your home appear hospitable from the outside.

To Make an Inviting Front Yard

• Create sheltered seating, such as an entry bench.
• Keep the front yard tidy and uncluttered.
• Use open fencing, so that you don’t appear to be secluding yourself.
• Decorate your doorstep seasonally.
• Make pathways and keep them clear.
• Use lighting to direct the path of guests after dark.
• Use trees to create natural shade and privacy.

DIY Projects for an Inviting Front Yard

• Landscaping offers some of the best DIY opportunities for welcoming someone to your home through the front yard. It shows that the yard and home have been cared for, while also offering an opportunity to show your own special style.
• Use trellises to decorate with the natural greenery. If you have a large front yard, you might even consider a pergola to create front yard shade for your guests.
• Give your mailbox a makeover with flowers around it and a nice paint job.

Backyard

Creating an outdoor hangout space is one way of inviting guests to enjoy the outdoor spaces that your home has to offer. With the right preparations and furniture, your backyard space can be the life of the party.

Tips for Creating a Cozy Backyard

• Don’t forget that the outside of your home needs lighting too. Backyard lighting will help your guests feel oriented in the space and comfortable spending time outside. Keep in mind that for the most part your guests will only spend time in areas that are lit after the sun goes down, so if you have an unlit path leading to your lounge area or an unlit lounge area, expect it to go underutilized.
• Make stone pathways to connect the different parts of your backyard. Your guests will be more likely to walk throughout your backyard and from one space to another if there are clear paths for them. This also helps you to keep your grass or groundcover healthy and in place.
• Keep it clean back there. Perhaps it goes without saying, but a clean backyard is much more inviting. And we’re not just talking about cleaning up after your pets. Also make sure that there isn’t too much brush, large branches, or potholes, as well as anything that would make journeying through the backyard difficult or dangerous.
• Pick a lawn game to keep around. Barbeques can take some time to get everything just right, and lawn games are an excellent way 
  to start breaking the ice between your guests and keep them occupied. In most cases, they won’t even ask before they pick up a game if you set it on a nice day.

Designing the Lounge area

• Comfortable outdoor chairs are a must. It’s all too easy to find uncomfortable outdoor chairs, but they aren’t likely to entice your guests to stay and spend some time. It’s worth it to spend a little more to make sure your lounge and patio furniture is very comfortable.
• Make a warm center. Whether you live in a colder climate or a relatively warm one, there is nothing cozier for outdoor hangouts than sitting around a fire pit. Fire pits can be used during fair weather seasons and can take the chill outs of a later evening.
• Use an outdoor rug. You can imbue your outdoor seating area with a sense of style, just as you would with a living room indoors by using an outdoor rug. This is a great way to add color or elegance to your outdoor space, while also making it cozier.

Outdoor Entertainment Solutions for Different Weather Conditions

• Use area heaters to keep guests warm. If you intend to dine outside on a colder evening or live in a climate where it often gets uncomfortably cold after sunset, you might invest in area heaters for your outdoor dining spaces to keep guests warm.
• Set up awnings to keep your guests out of the rain. There are many kinds of waterproof awnings that you can install over your outdoor space to keep your guests from having to sit in the elements, particularly when a passing rain disturbs your outdoor dinner. Consider a retractable awning which would give you the best of both worlds.
• Use umbrellas to offer shade in the summer. Harsh sunlight can make it difficult to enjoy a meal. While shading your lawn is often a matter of planting trees, shading your patio for outdoor dining can be accomplished with a wide umbrella.

Decorating the Outdoor Dining Area

• Use string lights to create mood lighting. If you’re dining outdoors past noon, you’re going to want some extra lighting, and there is nothing more ethereal than a few string lights outdoors.
• Get cushions for your outdoor seating. No one wants to sit on cold metal or hardwood slats, after all. Cushions and a few outdoor pillows will help to make sure that your guests want to sit on the seats.
• Set up a trolley bar for outdoor events. Having drinks with your guests outside? Make it easy and inviting for them to pour themselves one without having to go in and out of the house by using an outdoor drink trolley as a pouring and mixing station.

Making an Impressive Barbeque Area

One way to make outdoor cooking a bigger part of your own routine, spend some time outside, and dazzle your guests, is to create a full kitchen to work on. You can do this by turning your barbeque area into a polished outdoor kitchen.

Not only does this cut down on traveling between an indoor prep table and the outdoor grilling space, but it also helps to centralize the party and make it so that the chef is a part of the action. You can do this by embedding your barbeque into stone countertops or building outdoor-worthy cabinetry around your grills.

Conclusion

Putting together an inviting and welcoming home is one of the best ways to ensure that your friends and guests keep coming back to visit you time and time again. There’s a lot you can do to make your home inviting. The best way to go about this is to know what kind of events you want to host so that you can plan what spaces your home will need to bring this about. Then, once you know what you want, you can begin working room by room to design a home that makes everyone feel welcome.