Creative interior design for party room layouts is easy when you define how your family will be using the room on a daily basis.
Definition Of A Party Room
Many people are building and remodeling their homes to include a party room. Some elect to make this the dining room, while others create a gathering room, living room, or additional den. Whatever room you designate as the official party room in your home, there are certain criteria you'll want to consider.
- Versatile enough to accommodate any kind of party or party theme
- Location:
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- Decide if you want to locate your party room close to the kitchen
- Upstairs or downstairs
- Easy access to a bathroom
- Good traffic flow in and out of the party room
- Relationship of room to entry and exit of your home
- You can easily greet arriving guests and direct them to the room
- Large enough to comfortably seat all of your guests
- Small enough so your guests can have individual or conversation groups
Great Party Room Design Elements
Whether you're building or remodeling your home, be sure to include some important design elements in your party room.Include:
- Patio, porch or deck off of the party room so the party can naturally overflow outside during good weather
- Ceiling Height - Avoid standard or low ceilings since a low ceiling height makes a crowded room feel small and your guests claustrophobic. Cathedral, sloped, tray (also called trey) ceilings work best and have the added benefit of aiding air circulation.
- Windows - The ideal design is to have lots of windows.
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- Floor to ceiling
- Walls of windows
- Glass doors that lead out onto a patio, porch or deck
- Environmental control - You want to be able to keep your guests either cool or warm depending on the time of year.
Flooring, Furniture and Placement
The floor, furniture and placement of furniture are three of the most important design aspects of your room. Pay extra attention to make the right selections for your lifestyle. Many party rooms also function as dens, dining rooms, gathering rooms, recreation rooms, or some other function for the family's day-to-day living. Make sure your room can serve your family when not being used to host a party.
- Flooring - You should select a floor that will hold up under spills and traffic. While carpet may provide soundproofing and warmth, consider using either wood or tile flooring that will clean up easily and fast. You can always soften the hard surface with an area rug or two.
- Furniture - You'll want to select furniture that is easy to clean due to food and drink spills. Leather furniture is always a favorite choice, especially if you have house pets that shed. Dark colors will show wear less than light colored furniture. Don't forget about the outdoor furniture and seating needed for those warm summer nights of entertaining. Comfort and low-maintenance are the two foremost considerations in patio or porch furniture.
- Don't make it difficult for your guests to move about the room by having to dodge awkward furniture placements. Select furniture that you can move when necessary to provide greater floor space for your guests.
- End tables and coffee tables should not have sharp corners that guests might bump into.
- Dining Tables - If you have a large dining room and have dinner parties, make sure your table has enough leaves to seat guests comfortably or you have room enough for more than one table.
Elements: Interior Design For Party Room
- Lighting - A real mood setter, lighting can make or break the overall ambiance of your party. Consider recessed ceiling lights with dimmers. Use cozy table lamps and torchiere floor lamps that reflect the light to the ceiling. Provide lighting for your deck, porch or patio area. Landscape lights can be placed to shine up through trees and shrubbery. If you enjoy using gas torches, install them so you can easily use them whenever the party demands.
- Gas logs - Whether it's the den fireplace or a fire pit on the patio, a log fire can add romance and provide warmth to a party.
- Colors - Don't forget to choose a color that will blend and not compete with various party themes and colors. The color choices you make for furniture, pillows, pictures, accessories, flooring, rugs, and draperies will impact the mood of your party.
- Entertainment - Most modern dens are complete with an entertainment center. You may choose one that is housed in an armoire or select a built-in that supports a TV as well as stereo equipment and speakers. Consider what kind of parties you'll be having and whether or not you'll be utilizing these conveniences. If you host sporting event parties, you'll definitely want to invest in a wide screen TV. If your parties are mainly dinner parties, then you may want to install hidden speakers to provide background music while you dine.
- Butt Bucket - Even if you are a non-smoker, not all of your guests will be. It's easy to provide them a place outside to put the used cigarette butts. Buy a colorful metal container or pottery urn and fill with sand.
- Trash - Provide conveniently located trash receptacles for your guests to use throughout the party. This will keep your party room looking nice and cut down on clean up time.
- Food Buffets and Drink Stations - Plan your room so you can easily set up one or more buffet lines and drink stations either by using existing counter space or furniture.
Lifestyle Makes A Difference
If your family is casual and your entertaining tends to be casual, your approach to interior design for party room planning will be different from someone who has a formal lifestyle.
