What are the Best Floor Plans for Entertaining?

Choosing the right floor plan is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make when buying a new construction home. A well-designed floor plan is essential for comfort and flow throughout a home, which is even more important if you plan to entertain often. What is the best floor plan for entertaining?  What design choices are best suited to enhance comfort, style and functionality for guests, and for your daily living at home?   

If you are hosting a holiday function this year or beyond, here is what to look for, inside and outside your home to have a home built for entertaining. 

Open-Concept Floor Plans are the Best Choice for Entertaining Guests 

The popular open-concept floor plan is a must for homeowners who host. In addition to wide sightlines, abundant natural light, and a sensible layout that accommodates traffic flow, the open floor plan lets hosts remain connected with guests from various vantage points.  

Usually an open-concept floor plan is a series of connected spaces, including living, dining and kitchen areas. Homeowners should create zones to communicate purpose and to create focal points.  

Focal points are important in contributing to the overall style statement but also give cues to guests on where to gather. For example, a striking fireplace nearby will naturally draw the eye and will encourage guests to linger there.  

Define zones that foster conversation, by clustering furniture in cozy seating arrangements, while leaving enough space for guests to pass comfortably. 

The Open Floor Plan is Evolving 

While the open-concept floor plan is by far the most popular design for new builds, homeowners are looking to balance the beauty of openness with the functionality of closed spaces for prep. 

“Open floor plans are ideal for entertaining,” says designer Heather Jennings with Blackwell & Jennings, but are evolving from a “typical layout."

Common variations include “longer, railroad-style living and dining areas that have an overall elongated feel and combine a kitchen, dining area and scullery,” says Jennings.   

Increasingly, homeowners want to keep their kitchens show-ready for guests, as the anchor in their open floor plans.  

Auxiliary spaces located near the kitchen such as messy kitchens (a closed-off area near the main kitchen, where dishwashing and the ‘dirty’ part of food prep happens), butler pantries and wet bars give homeowners a way to keep their open entertaining spaces in the kitchen inviting and clutter free.  

The Best Parties Happen Around the Kitchen Island 

The kitchen island continues to be a must-have on homeowners’ wish lists, but island design too, is evolving to support family living, as well as being a multi-purpose supportive tool for entertaining. 

Home cooks are looking for additional prep space, and the island is a good spot for a second sink, so more than one cook can move freely through the kitchen. 

Small, functional touches in island design improve the overall experience, including built-in chargers, perfect for phones and tablets for reference while cooking, as well as being able to run your playlist from party central for your guests. 

Placing small appliances right in the island saves space and puts them within easy reach when entertaining. Popular are built-in beverage fridges and microwaves. 

Islands not only remain one of the most popular features in the kitchen for entertaining, but they are also getting bigger. If space allows, homeowners are seeking larger islands with more built-in seating space, so that guests can linger while the host is cooking. Similarly, where the design supports, homeowners are choosing to have two islands: one for prep, and one for seating. Designs favor perpendicular or parallel kitchen island placement.  

Must-Haves in a New Home Built for Entertaining 

Beyond the kitchen and the main floor open-concept floor plan, what room-by-room features should house hunters have on their radar if entertaining is a high priority?  

“There are several things to consider if looking for a space that is great for entertaining,” says Lee Crowder, senior director, national design and model operations with Taylor Morrison.   

According to Crowder, some key factors include:  

Private Bedrooms, Removed from Public Spaces 

Growing in popularity is the Ranch-style home, but ensure that in the floor plan that you choose, bedrooms are tucked in a wing away from the main, public gathering spaces. Overnight guests will appreciate the privacy. 

Tuck Your Home Office Away From Social Spaces 

To facilitate work from home, having a home office is a bonus, but ideally, choose a floor plan where the space isn’t right off the front door, or open to your social spaces if entertaining is a priority. Having a workspace that is private from the main living areas means that you do not have to constantly clean off your desk or store private documents when guest arrive.   

Gracious Hallways and Transition Spaces 

When hosting guests, you don’t want them to feel cramped moving from room to room. Wide hallways, with oversize doorways are preferable.

Formal Dining Room 

In keeping with the trend of balancing open concept with closed-in spaces, a formal dining room, with pocket or French doors is elegant, and signals an elevated celebration. 

Seamless Indoor/Outdoor Space 

Having a social area that opens to the yard/outdoors provides more flexibility when hosting parties.   

A Stylish Powder Room 

This bathroom should be located away from any social spaces so guests can have their privacy.   

Combining Outdoor Space with an Open-Concept Floor Plan  

Homeowners can extend their available entertainment area by fusing an indoor/outdoor connection.  

To extend sightlines, increase usable entertaining space and support seamless transitions. “I love the idea of glass sliding doors to outdoor spaces off the living room,” says Jennings.   

Outside, “a fire pit and outdoor kitchen are must-have essentials. These versatile spaces are perfect for entertaining and large gatherings but can also be utilized as a comforting area to relax by the fire at sundown,” according to the designers at Toll Brothers.  

When the temperature dips, you don’t necessarily have to move the party indoors.  

“Outdoor heaters are a fantastic investment if you want to entertain outdoors during colder seasons. Make sure you have somewhere to store them in the summer, unless you don’t mind them as a year-round accessory,” says Cate Singleton, director of design with landscape company Bower & Branch. 

Other Kitchen Features That Help With Entertaining 

Homeowners can prioritize kitchen features and upgrades based on what type of entertaining they might do most often.  

For example, are you likely to have formal dinner parties? Do you have a large family/group of friends that you like to gather for informal celebrations?  Are you a make-from-scratch cook or do you purchase platters or have catering help? Are you likely to often have overnight guests, where a leisurely, casual brunch will be the main event?  

If you intend to have sit-down meals often, you’ll need ample seating. Designing a kitchen with built-in banquettes means that there is additional seating at the ready.  

Home cooks will need lots of prep space and should be mindful of the kitchen triangle design, where the main workstations (sink, oven/ and or cooktop, refrigerator) are all located in a triangular pattern, with a few steps between each. This is even more important if you are likely to have multiple cooks in the kitchen at once.  

Those who like to outsource platters may need more counter space or additional refrigeration, which is where a built-in serving station is ideal.    

Other kitchen features that homeowner hosts may want to consider are double wall ovens to cook and heat multiple dishes simultaneously, refrigerated or heated drawers, a coffee bar or a second dishwasher for easier cleanup.  

What Floor Plans are Best to Accommodate Overnight Guests? 

Floor plans with flex rooms are perfect for accommodating overnight guests. Homeowners may be reluctant to give dedicated space to guests who may only stay for a few nights out of the year, but a flex room gives homeowners the best of both worlds.  

Furnish a flex room with a Murphy bed or a day bed that can easily convert to a regular bed as needed. Make sure the flex room has storage that can be dedicated to guests only, and that there is a mix of lighting to support different needs.   

For example, you might want an overhead light fixture or pot lights for daily/task use, but want soft lighting within easy reach, such as a table lamp on a side table, or a nearby wall sconce for a guest reading in bed.