Do’s and Don’ts of Hosting a Dinner Party in a Small Apartment

Dinner parties aren’t just reserved for people with large living spaces. Our New York and London foodies especially know this! Don’t think that you can’t host a dinner party just because you have a small flat. We’ve put together a list of 5 do’s and don’ts of hosting a dinner party in a small apartment to help you organize! We have put together a list of 5 do’s and don’ts of hosting a dinner party in a small apartment to help you organize! 

Let’s get started!

Do’s and Don’ts of Hosting a Dinner Party in a Small Apartment

1.     Rearrange the furniture and keep the décor simple.

Do: Do experiment by rearranging your furniture in your apartment to optimize your entertaining space. If it’s not essential, move it to another room! Try decorating a few empty wine bottles and placing candles in them! This will also create soft mood lighting.

Don’t: Do not use large centrepieces or floral arrangements, the will exacerbate the feeling of being in a small space.

2.     Use mood lighting.

Do: Do use soft lighting to enhance the ambience of the dining space.

Don’t: Do not use bright overhead lighting. It will create a less cosy environment.

3.     Use your wall space.

Do: Do use wall space for posting the menu, or hanging some extra mood lighting, etc.

Don’t: Don’t waste the wall space by posters that you either don’t need or doesn’t go with the theme.

4.     Get creative with seating.

Do: Do use a bench for one (or both) side(s) of the table instead of chairs. More people can comfortably squeeze in that way.

Don’t: Do not make things congested, feel free to take out the furniture and make floor sitting by placing some mats and pillows.

5.     Maximize your space by the strategically serving/presenting the food.

Do: Do create the illusion of more space by utilizing varying serving heights (you have more than just the surface area of your dining table). Serving food on a cake stand, or placing a platter on a few stacked books will create depth and dimension. Other creative ways of serving bites are using Asian soup spoons, demitasse, or verrines.

Don’t: Do not lay everything out flat on the table; it will look cluttered and won’t be an effective use of your space.