Creating a space to entertain in five simple steps

As most of you know we have only recently moved into our house and we are still sorting out where everything goes, most of the walls are bare and boxes still line our hallway while we undergo work on the bathroom and bedrooms. We are renovating it to sell next year but that doesn't mean we don't want to make it feel homely and welcoming in the meantime. It's been long overdue that we sort out our little kitchen diner nook, especially in time for summer and this May bank holiday, which we hope to entertain friends.

Our kitchen table has been used as a random storage shelf recently with laptops and laundry taking president but no more. With a little bit of tidying, organising and dressing up the table our little nook has become a place we now love to sit together and eat our family meals.

When creating a space to entertain you want to keep it light, bring in some colour, patterns and a bit of fun. I am a huge fan of fresh flowers and I think they instantly brighten up the table and you don't even need a great vase – you can be creative and use anything you want; I used an old glass jug.

I picked up a lovely denim runner as well as some stripy placemats and to add more colour again I placed the fruit bowl at the centre. I love nothing more than either some fresh fruit or salad on the table – it just screams summer and healthy living.

I really embrace the vintage and retro inspirations coming through at the moment with items like the mason jars and pretty paper straws; these add that special little touch and are always a hit with kids. You can fill them up with colour summer drinks such as pink lemonade or freshly squeezed apple juice 

We also finally got around to putting the other frame up, although will still need to do a few more things to make it feel more ‘us’. At least the space is now usable and, with the doors opening into the garden, it brings in that lovely cool breeze and perfect for kids to run in and out during those hopefully warm summer days.

You really don't need to spend a lot of money and you can use what you have in the house or pop down to shops such as HomeSense to pick up a few unique products which have been sourced from all over the world and with up to 60% off you can still keep under budget.

In association with HomeSense