Designing a Home for Effortless Holiday Hosting

A fire roaring in the fireplace. The tree sparkling in front of the window. The smell of baked goods in the air. This is truly the best time of the year, don’t you think? But if you’re hosting a meal or two, you might feel the season is, well, also a little hectic!

To help you find your groove this season—and maybe get into the holiday spirit a bit faster—here are our top 5 tips for designing your new Charleston home with holiday hosting in mind. 

Design With Storage Space In Mind

From the moment people walk through your door you’re going to wish you had 3x the storage space you do now. From hiding junk to putting away toys to holding coats, storage space is invaluable in a home. Coat closets or under-the-stair storage is always a great start. From there, think about hall trees, decorative baskets for shoes, or even a coat rack.

Add a Butler’s Pantry

Extra storage doesn’t stop at the front door. Think about the storage solutions in your home. Is there ample room for spices? Dry goods? Overflow kitchen gadgets and gizmos? Consider a butler’s pantry to solve all of these problems. It gives you plenty of walk-in space to store, organize and find everything you need, without having to dig through cabinets.

Don’t Forget Counter Space

Another great kitchen hack for hosting during the holidays is to ensure you have more than enough counter space. Depending on how much actually cooking you’re responsible for, you will need room for prepping and cooling the food—not to mention the space to actually serve it. A large kitchen island is perfect for entertaining, while a side counter or breakfast bar can also help provide space for serving food without getting in the way of the cooking or socializing.

Consider Your Appliances

When we think of “appliances” for a kitchen, it’s safe to assume the usual suspects: refrigerator, oven, microwave and dishwasher. But when it comes to entertaining in your Charleston home, you might want to upgrade a bit:

• Double Oven: Just one main dish and a few sides can throw an entire timeline off if there’s not enough oven space. Avoid this hassle by installing a secondary oven and warmer.
• Ice Machine: Don’t depend solely on your freezer to take cover all the ice you’ll need all night long. 
• Bonus Sink: Add a utility sink to your kitchen just for washing dishes or rinsing hands so you’re not battling piles of dishes all night while still working hard to get everything done.
• Beer/ Wine Fridge: A built-in beer/ wine fridge is a creative way to have an “adults only” fridge that also helps direct traffic away from the fridge you’re using for food. Design its location to never impede with the flow of your cooking traffic.
• Wet Bar: Take it up a notch and put an ice maker, beer/ wine fridge and utility sink all-in-one in a dedicated wet bar location in your home. 

Have a Guest Bedroom

Finally, you’ll likely have guests from out of town who need to stay the night, right? While we’re sure they’ll appreciate any form of hospitality, there’s a big difference between a sofa bed and having their own guest room. Choose a floor plan that boasts an extra bedroom with a close proximity to a bathroom, so your guests can have privacy even when on the road.

Hosting a holiday party doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With a little bit of planning—and a gorgeous, functional home you love—your guests will quickly consider you the hostess with the mostess every time. For more ways our latest Charleston homes and neighborhoods have been capturing the hearts of buyers, get in touch with us today. With the holidays right around the corner, we can’t think of a better gift than a beautiful new Charleston home.