When you love to entertain, you’ll go the extra mile to have plenty of room for big gatherings of visitors. This dramatic dining and entertainment area is in the center of a large home and it easily provides great casual snacking and relaxed dining both indoors and out for 10 or more guests. Come on over and and visit!
As you enter you’re immediately in the middle of it all! If you want to mingle and talk there is a great seating area to the left. Then, scanning to the right, comfortable dining for ten, storage for all the table and decoration needs, seating for ten casual diners and the indoor kitchen. And there’s a little spot to put your goodies as you shed your coats.
One secret to entertaining a lof lot of people at one time is to have everything you need close by. In this plan view you’ll notice how the entertainment and preparation areas are all centralized with important support rooms around the edges.
The entryway leads visitors past lots of glass doors so they can be in the mood for fun from the start. A coat room and rack are located right as you enter. Two big restrooms across the way include a privacy alcove with a seating area with a relaxing view of the reflecting pool.
For preparing, serving and cleaning up after the festivities, a large pantry is close by and a laundry is just down the hall for all the required towels, tablecloths, napkins and other cleaning materials. These supporting rooms make it easier for both the hosts and the guests to have a great time.
For social gathering and catching up with what everyone has been up to there is a bright seating area with plenty of soft chairs and sofas in large and small, more intimate groupings. A “wall” of windows helps separate the talking from the eating.
With the home’s open spaces, it’s inevitable that the aromas of cooking will keep everyone aware of what’s going on in the kitchen. The welcome call that dinner is ready can be answered quickly by just popping around the wall and claiming a seat.
Sometimes the noise and activity can get to be a bit much. It’s nice to have this small alcove to relax in and enjoy the reflecting pool. It also helps give a little privacy to those using the bathrooms. It’s a little touch, but it can make a big difference.
The kitchen is ready to prepare full dinners or scrumptious hors d’oeuvres and smaller meals. The entire back wall is devoted to the required equipment and tools – including two stoves to keep up with all the hungry people. The islands provide more working space and a place for guests to mingle with the hosts without being in the way.
An outdoor meal or relaxing with a glass of wine is fabulous on a warm breezy day or a starry night with both fireplaces crackling away and the intoxicating smell of a wood fire making everything so much better. The natural warmth of wood and a restrained palette of earth tones add to an atmosphere of relaxation and mellow good spirits.
Another long table will keep as many as 16 diners happy. Those two monster stoves will be kept busy to provide for outdoor meals and can also be pressed into service for indoor needs as well.
The real charm of this entertainment oasis is that guests can choose from so many different environments and find the ones that suit them best. Or they can wander from one to the other and enjoy them all. And the hosts have all the things they need to help!
Now it’s your turn!