Give your guests a place to dine, drink and mingle with new uses for your space and furniture

Thanksgiving is days away. You’ve decided on your tablescape, the menu is set and you know what you’re going to wear. Now where are you going to put all of your guests? Whether you live in a spacious dwelling or a small city apartment, it’s time to space plan. But don’t stress: This task just requires a careful observation of your space, so you can utilize what you have, whether it means simply moving some furniture or getting a bit more creative. Read on to learn how to maximize your entertaining space.

More: Thanksgiving tabletops and decorating

We all wish we had spacious dining rooms with long, accommodating tables like this one. If you’ve got one, you’re all set. If not, there’s still hope. Read on, party planners.

Adding a leaf to the dining table is old news. But what about adding a table to your kitchen island? The centerpiece of this kitchen is its custom island and drop-leaf table that converts from a casual family dining area to seating for 10 to 12. You can plan a feature like this for your next kitchen and, for this year, bring a counter-height table up to your island for a similar effect.

Here’s a shot of the table with the drop leaf in action.

For many of us, especially city dwellers, our kitchen and dining areas are much smaller than our living rooms. Take advantage of that living-room space by moving your dining table to the living room for the occasion. Maybe there is space behind the couch, or maybe you need to remove a few chairs. Using the largest room in your home for a sit-down dinner will give everyone breathing room — and open up your dining area for the buffet.

You’ve moved the table to the living room and realized you don’t have enough chairs for the masses about to arrive. Easy solution: Incorporate your living-room furniture. As long as everything is a comfortable height, your guests will love your creative, eclectic vibe.

Look around the house to see what other nooks and crannies you can put to use. Have a window seat? Pull up a coffee table (maybe the one you had to remove from the living room) and flank it with a few extra chairs. Voila, the kids’ table!

Is your dining room credenza too small to hold the entire buffet? Instead of piling it all on haphazardly, create your own buffet table using sawhorses and a large plank of wood. Perhaps it’s an old door that’s not being used, or something you find at a flea market or wreck yard for cheap. If it’s unsightly, cover it with a tablecloth.

Set up a bar somewhere other than the kitchen. This will alleviate overcrowding one space with thirsty guests. Don’t put it near the front door: You don’t want to have a bottleneck situation as soon as people arrive.

Make your bar even more self-sufficient by placing it near shelving. Replace your knickknacks or books with martini glasses and cocktail accessories. If you have a built-in desk, even better: The desk can act as the bar.

While you’re at it, look around your house to see what else can be repurposed for the evening. A table behind a couch could become a holding ground for hors d’oeuvres.

Once you know where people will sit for dinner and the other places you’ll use for extra bar or appetizer spots, observe the space as a whole to be sure it allows for a good traffic flow. When there are a lot of people in one place, you want them to be able to move freely about. If it’s still feeling cramped, remove unnecessary furniture.

In your family or living room, arrange the furniture so it accommodates groups of people for conversation. If you’ve got the space and enough pieces, create several different seating areas to keep everyone engaged.

Before everyone arrives, do a final swoop to be sure you got rid of all clutter. With that many bodies in one home, extra stuff will make the space feel that much more constricted.

It’s likely there are areas in your home that you don’t want your curious guests to wander into, like a private office or the upstairs. It’s unlikely you have a door blocking your staircase like this example does, but you can still politely direct traffic elsewhere by placing the buffet table in front of a closed office door or creating beautiful flower vignettes on the stair landing to prevent access.

Remember all that furniture we’ve been talking about moving away? All this time you’ve probably been wondering where the heck you’d put it. Here’s a suggestion: the garage. Not only does it make room inside, but it also creates an additional furnished space. You’ll have a spacious interior and a space for the kids to hang.

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Special Thanks to Shawn Gauthier a HOUZZ Contributor