In a world where everyone from Martha Stewart to the “Queer Eye” guys to Target insists style now must be had at every turn, that old metal card table just isn’t going to cut it for your extra Thanksgiving guests.
Here are some ideas to expand your dining space and make a statement guests will remember:
Expand your tabletop.
Kathy Wilson, editor of decorating and thebudget , suggests buying a large, round wooden tabletop, then placing it over your regular dining table. “A round table seats a lot more people than a square or rectangle. So I pick up those wooden rounds from the home improvement stores,” she says. To add a table, Wilson says, “you can enlarge a coffee table easily by using a large piece of plywood … One time, I actually had a sheet of plywood that I put over four barstools with a floor-length table cloth. I put pretty cording all the way around the table, and I layered on linens and dressed it up. Nobody could tell what was underneath.”
Bring in help from outside.
“Don’t just be focused on what you have in your house,” says Karen McAloon, host of HGTV’s “Find Your Style” and “Design Remix.” With a bit of creativity, she says, you easily can tackle the challenge of seating a large holiday crowd.
“A patio table from your porch or balcony, it may be wet and kind of a mess. But you dry it off and put a red table cloth on it with some white plates, it looks totally festive.”
Use your sofa.
If you’ve got enough table space but too few chairs, Wilson suggests reorganizing your dining and living room areas to use a love seat or sofa as table seating.
Another creative option: McAloon once bought a set of eight inexpensive, wooden folding chairs. Paint them to suit any holiday. For the cost of a few cans of paint, you can change the color scheme all year.
Opt for a buffet.
“My first rule is, ‘if you don’t have enough seats for everyone, don’t give a seat to anyone,’ ” says McAloon. She suggests moving all of your chairs away from every table. If the room’s perimeter isn’t easily accessible or it won’t look attractive to line it with chairs, Tammy Jo Schoppet, founder and editor of the online magazine Rental Decorating Digest, suggests arranging seating niches, but says “remember the traffic flow, how people will get through from place to place” and access the food and drinks.
Don’t forget the floor.
“In lieu of setting up an alternate table, move the party to the floor,” says Michael Grozik, associate editor at Dwell magazine. “Most kids under a certain age prefer a pillow on the floor to a stiff-backed, confining chair. To define the eating area, pretend it’s an indoor picnic: put down a blanket, add a basket, and make the kids feel like they’re getting to do something special.”
If you’d rather not place kids directly on the floor, Grozik also suggests arranging a few poufs, ottomans, or similar small eating surfaces that allow groups of kids to eat pod-style.
