One of the concerns I hear is that “I don’t have enough room to have all the family over to my house.” Or I hear the flip side of the coin from the tired mother, grandmother, or sister who has the biggest house – “No one else has enough room so I have to have everything. I wish we could share the load.” Or, “We don’t have room for the bachelor uncle or friend who doesn’t have family in town. I guess we’ll need to build an addition.” My experience suggests a different approach.

My parents died when I was young and my aunt, uncle, and seven cousins made room for my in a very small house. I was amazed that I could even fit in. I was even more amazed when the holidays came. My relatives did not have much money, but they had big hearts.

My aunt could make food multiply and stretch a budget a long way. My uncle could make a dining room table grow. An extra piece of wood covered by a towel and hidden by a tablecloth made a lovely larger table with little expense. They expanded that table to include fifteen to twenty people. Card tables supplemented the seating.

I put that experience into practice in my own way as described in Home – Inspired by Love and Beauty. We have about 850 square feet on our first floor and the dining room is about 12' x 12'. The table fits eight people if seen through the lens of “How big is the table?” My lens is “What can I change to serve food to all those I love?” My top number inside the house is about sixty, if we have finger food. When weather allows us to expand to the yard in an open house format, we’ve managed a hundred-and-twenty-five. It takes desire, creativity, and a willingness to move furniture and even put some of it in the basement or garage for a day. Space is for people first, not things. Many of these suggestions are just common sense once we ask the right question.