I’ve been hosting for more than 40 years, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the easier you make the process, the more likely you are to open your door and invite people in.
Recently, I’ve been listening to women talk about what keeps them from hosting more often. What I’m hearing isn’t that they don’t want to gather people together. They do. They want to invite friends over, set a pretty table, make memories, and create the kind of home where people feel welcome. But somewhere between wanting to host and actually sending the invitation, it starts to feel like a lot.
What will I serve? Do I have enough plates? Where did I put that platter? Do I have cloth napkins? Is my house ready? Do I have everything I need?
Before you know it, something that should feel joyful starts to feel overwhelming.
This is one of the reasons I believe so strongly in creating a dedicated “hosting space” in your home.
In my home, I have a Hosting Closet where I keep many of the things I reach for when I’m entertaining. But I know not everyone has an entire closet they can dedicate to hosting, and you certainly don’t need one. Your hosting space might be a shelf in a linen closet, a dining room buffet, a kitchen cabinet, a vintage armoire, a rolling cart, or even a few pretty baskets tucked onto a bookshelf.
It’s less about how much space you have and more about being intentional with the space you do have.
When your favorite napkins, serving pieces, candlesticks, platters, and other hosting essentials have a home, getting ready for guests becomes easier. Instead of searching through cabinets and closets, you know where to go. You can see what you already own, use the things you love more often, and slowly build a collection that reflects you and the way you like to welcome people into your home.
And I want to emphasize the word slowly.
You do not need a fancy wedding registry or twelve matching place settings to set a lovely table. Some of my favorite pieces have been collected over time. They have stories. They belonged to someone I love, were discovered at an estate sale, or simply caught my eye because I knew I would enjoy using them. A beautiful table can be a wonderful mix of old and new, inherited and found, matching and mismatched.
The goal isn’t to collect more things just for the sake of having them. It’s to thoughtfully curate a collection of things you truly love and will actually use.
Click the pic to download the printable
That’s why I created my guide to Creating a Hosting Closet. It will help you look at your home with fresh eyes, identify a space you might not have considered, and begin gathering a few basic pieces that will make setting a lovely table and welcoming guests feel easier. I’ve also included ideas for what to look for at estate sales, because building a hosting collection can be just as much about the treasure hunt as the finished table.
I’m also starting a new weekly series on Instagram called “The Thursday Closet,” and I can’t wait to invite you inside my own Hosting Closet.
Each Thursday, I’ll meet you there and pull out one item from my collection. I’ll show you how I use it, tell you its story and how it came to be mine, share why it’s special to me, and give you ideas for how you might use something similar in your own hosting.
Because I believe the things in our homes should be used. The silver platter, the pretty glasses, your grandmother’s dishes, the linen napkins you’ve been saving for “someday”—these are the things that can become part of the stories we’re creating right now.
My hope is that The Thursday Closet inspires you to take inventory of what you already have, uncover a few forgotten treasures, and perhaps add something special to your collection along the way.
You don’t need a bigger home, a bigger budget, or a perfectly matched set of anything to be a wonderful host. You just need a little intention, a space that helps you feel prepared, and the willingness to open your door.
Download my free guide to Creating a Hosting Closet and start reimagining a space in your own home. Then join me every Thursday on Instagram for The Thursday Closet, where we’ll talk about the things we use to gather, the stories they carry, and how something as simple as knowing where you keep the good napkins can make hosting feel a whole lot easier.
Host with intention, not perfection.
Hospitality is in my DNA. I founded Home with a Twist, a daughter’s twist on her mother’s traditions, in memory of my mother to celebrate her life and the gifts she shared with me. Mother loved to celebrate life’s occasions – big and small.
