Three Principles:
* We can enhance or diminish quality connections with others with good or poor design
* Comfortable seating is necessary
* Create little “rooms” or pockets within a room both inside and out to facilitate socialising
Checklist:
1) Does your home need a few tweaks to make it work better when inviting people over?
2) Do you need more seating?
3) Do you need different seating styles?
4) Do you need more coffee tables, side tables, or an occasional chair?
5) Consider how you like to interact with others. Do you want to encourage people to pop in or by arrangement? This might mean you prefer to have a public area always ready to welcome guests into you home. What would that look like for you; everything very tidy and put away and clean, or
take you just as you are on any day at any time?
6) Create a welcoming entrance area, whether it is spacious or tiny. display shelf. Create an entrance that feels welcoming, calm, tidy, peaceful, and feels like you, like home. Use the wall for displaying photos, art, or install a display shelf. Use potted plants to add a calming, natural element.
7) Consider creating little conversation areas that encourage sharing and chatting. The placement of seating can either encourage conversation or restrict it.Think about how far the chairs are from
each other, can you see each other’s faces when talking without needing to turn in an uncomfortable
position, can you hear each other or are you seated too far away?
8) Do you have a seating area outside, such as on your front porch or balcony or verandah that means you can easily “bump” into neighbours for a quick chat? Do you have high fences that restrict connections with your neighbours, or do you have fencing that allows for some interaction?
9) Do you need to create a guest room or include a sofa bed in your living room so you can offer a bed to overnight guests?
10) Do you need a bigger dining table or an extendable dining table so you can have all the
family or a large group of friends over for a few laughs and to enjoy a meal together?
11) Do you enjoy cooking outdoors? Would it be useful to incorporate a BBQ, a pizza oven, or a fire pit?
12) Consider which direction the sun sets and ensure you have adequate shading.
13) What kind of seating needs to be incorporated? Perhaps a garden love seat, a swinging chair, little conversation areas, a snug, places to sit and enjoy a cuppa inside and outside.
14) Do you think an area of grass would be the perfect spot to play a game of Boules, Pétanque, or Finska?
Kindly, Debra X
