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LIVING ROOM | Most of us, when we're decorating, envision the living room as the primary entertaining space, taking great care to hang the pictures just so, scatter pretty candles liberally. It's where the stereo is set up, and the comfy seating can be found.  Generally, it's also the easiest room in the house to rearrange in order to get some extra floor space -- most of the space-hogging stuff (couches, tables) is relatively mobile. So why is that nine times out of time, the party still gravitates to the kitchen instead? 

The answer is simple: guests will migrate towards wherever the food and drinks can be found, and the kitchen is the first place most people think to set up both bar and edibles. Convenient though that location may be, why not lure the party into the living room -- undoubtedly a cozier hang out, particularly if you've taken the time to light a few candles and select some tunes -- by placing either the main food spread or the bar, but preferably not both (unless you want to restrict the guests to the living room), in this portion of the house. You can use bookshelves, end tables, the coffee table, even a cleaned-out closet with a side table set up inside, to display edibles or potables.  

Oh, and regarding the comfy seating factor ... Bear in mind, that while a sofa or two is good, the more seating you provide, the more likely people are to permanently park their butts for the duration of the evening – hardly conducive to mingling. You may want to get rid of the sofas altogether, if you're actually entertaining hopes of getting some dancing going.

Click on another room in the image above, or continue on with the tour by clicking the link below ...

on to the kitchen  

---------------------------> lounge . nourish . host . laze . home .