Guest Post: Entertaining in a Small Space with Claire of Livia
Today on 600sqft we have a very special guest post from Claire of Livia (one of Vancouver’s best cafe’s/restaurants). Claire is also a bright light, stripe-loving style inspiration and community builder . She recently created a Substack focused on entertaining large groups in small spaces with ease and joy. We ourselves just hosted 13 guests in our small space and then another dinner the next evening! We love hosting in our small space and agree with so many of Claire’s ideas below. I have never mastered hosting 25 with ease, I am always stressing about the timing of the dishes. I have much to learn from Claire. Read her wise words below and after you can find her HERE and HERE…
Claire:
My absolute favourite thing in the world is to fill up my apartment with people and keep them at my table for hours. I don’t care if you call it hosting or dinner parties or sunday lunches or entertaining, I love it. I really really love it.
I’ve realized my love of entertaining is partly inherited, my mom was an excellent hostess, but also a byproduct of my career. Cooking in professional kitchens has meant cooking for dozens or hundreds of people a night, which makes having a handful (or two handfuls) of people over not so scary.
My house is not big. It’s two floors, which feels extremely adult, but the main floor is all tiny rooms, in the way big houses often are when they’ve been converted into multiple units. You definitely don’t walk in and think “this house could host a 25 person sit down dinner.” But with a little fussing about I do host that many people regularly. Here’s how:
Seating solutions:
Seating can mean many things. I’m a big advocate for getting people sitting around a table. Conversations last longer at tables, and that’s what I’m always hoping for. But do I have 25 seats in my small apartment? Absolutely not. Here’s what I do have.
Eight dining chairs (six are kept at our table most of the time, two are elsewhere in the house)
Two stools that double as sidetables. (thank you Sunday Furniture! One is in my living area, one is stone and lives on my patio) ed note. Same! This stool is the best, I have 2 as well.
A credenza with a handmade pillow top, that I make our two strongest looking guests move when needed. It’s too tall for adults but kids can sit on it just fine.
A small bench generally kept by the window in my son's room, that gets brought down for events.
Two folding chairs in my closet
A small beautiful inherited antique accent chair that happens to be table height.
4 patio table chairs that we bring in for parties.
It’s actually a lot of seating!
Dishes in Abundance:
One of the biggest differences between cooking in a restaurant and cooking at home is abundance. Cooking in a restaurant you always have more: more plates, more glasses, more butter, more cutlery. At home, there is a cap on those things, which means you’re often washing dishes as people lose a wine glass.
I have more glassware and plates than the average person. If you have a storage area and entertain enough, grabbing a case or two of cheap wine glasses is an excellent idea. But I have also rented glassware and plates and was shocked by how easy it was. An enormous bonus: you don't have to wash the dishes!
Ice Buckets:
No one has enough ice buckets. It would be weird to, honestly. But anything can be an ice bucket, I’ve always thought bathtubs were a very chic option. Flower planters, stock pots, ice cream buckets, or storage totes are all good options. Bonus: buy some flowers and pop them in the ice amidst the bottles, it makes anything look prettier. When guests ask what to bring I always say ice.
Get creative on the layout:
Folding tables are your friend. They are cheap and fold up tight, and can be configured in many ways. Many moons ago, in another apartment, I used some folding tables (I own a couple, and I borrowed a couple) and made a huge U shaped table. It was the only way I could fit everyone in the room. I loved it.
Give Up on Perfection:
The most important thing is that you have to give up the idea that it’s going to be perfect. Inviting people you love over isn’t about perfection. Not a perfect tablescape, not a perfect roll out of the dinner, not a perfect guest list. It’s about warmth, and generosity, and people being so happy to be in your home. People won’t remember being a bit squished next to someone, they’ll remember the pasta, the conversation, and the glow of candlelight. They’ll remember that they were invited. So invite them already!
Thank you Claire for this beautiful post. Pop over to her substack for elevated but still accessible recipes and her formula for hosting large parties. I can’t wait to try the Leeks with Pinenuts and Crispy breadcrumbs and even more importantly her ideas for easy to serve colder dishes. personally I find the most stressful part of hosting larger parties in a small space is the timing of all the dishes! Thank you Claire!! And don’t you think she should do a small home tour ? And speaking of small home tours, all the gorgeous photos in the post are by Eva whose Small Home Tour you can find HERE.
Some other posts about entertaining in small spaces through various stages of life HERE and HERE.