Designing Modern Outdoor Rooms For Entertaining

14th November 2022

If you absolutely love hosting, then you’ll know that more important than the food you cook or the wine you serve is the space you have to entertain in. However, most of us don’t have the luxury of the large, open plan kitchen diners you often see in glossy interiors magazines. With property prices climbing steeply over the past decade and space at a premium, many of us don’t have any kind of dedicated dining spaces at all in our homes. But this shouldn’t stop you from indulging your love of entertaining. If your space at home is limited, modern outdoor rooms can be the perfect solution.

Guests can look out onto your garden, whilst keeping any noise or mess contained in that one room.

Modern Outdoor Rooms For Entertaining

If you have space in your garden to spare, then modern outdoor rooms can be built fairly quickly and a lot more cheaply than a large extension. They offer insulated, year-round comfort for you and your guests and can be decorated any style you wish!

Here are some things you might want to consider when designing modern outdoor rooms for entertaining.

Opt For Electricity

You will want to run electricity to your entertaining space which you can discuss when you enquire about the new room build. Although not everyone opts for electricity, if you don’t have lights then you will be restricted to using your space only in daylight hours, and without music you will be a very poor host indeed!

When thinking about lighting, it’s good to add some additional lamps with lower wattage (or dimmable) bulbs which aren’t as harsh as overhead lighting solutions, to give a more welcoming and cosy vibe.

Think About The Size

Modern outdoor rooms can be built to almost any size; what you choose will be dependent on the space you have available to you and your budget. If you are creating a space for entertaining, think about how many guests you would usually invite. It’s nice to have a cosy space, but you, but make sure the area will be comfortable and not too cramped to fit everybody in which could make your dinner parties very awkward indeed!

Add a Lit Pathway

If you’re bringing food from the kitchen, you need to have a distinct, well-lit pathway to your entertaining space so that you won’t trip over (and neither will your guests if they pop in to use the toilet. Of course, you can get a kitchen and toilet plumbed into the build, but this will add significantly to the cost.

Consider Your Furniture

If dinner parties are your thing, a large dining table is the first and most obvious thing you’ll need to shop for, along with matching chairs – eight is usually good number to start with, but if you regularly entertain more guests, then get more that match rather than hoping they’re still available when you need them. An alternative is to get a bench, which will hold as few or as many guests as will fit.

However, a table and chairs alone would make for a very bare and uninviting room. You might want to have a nice sideboard to hold speakers, or place your wine while people eat.

If you want to entertain late into the evening, then you might want to consider some more comfortable seating as well; modern outdoor rooms can be an entirely flexible space so think about what is important to you.

What About a Bar?

Modern outdoor rooms are the perfect place to set up your own home bar, with a well-stocked fridge and all the cocktail ingredients you need to make perfect after dinner drinks. Your friends will never want to leave.

Pick Décor Which Makes You Happy

Because it isn’t your main living space, you can pick whatever outlandish, bright, bold or patterned décor you wish. Although laminate flooring is the standard finish, you could choose a lush carpet, or settle for a glorious rug, Modern outdoor rooms come plastered ready to paint, and you can add your own artwork on the walls easily. Choose things that make you feel happy!

Finishing touches

Add little touches which make you smile; silverware, placemats, napkins, candlesticks, vases, tablecloths, table runners, house plants can all dress up your dining space. It’s your chance to really put your stamp on the space.