* I grew up in a tiny house with one bathroom (upstairs), no dishwasher, very little counter space, and a dining room so small that every person at the table could touch the wall with their hands.   Yet, somehow, with all these limitations, my parents entertained literally all the time. They managed to fit  more people in that house, the grownups standing around laughing and chatting or in a big circle of folding chairs in the tiny backyard, the kitchen table piled high with food, and the kids upstairs shoulder-to-shoulder on the shag rug in my brother’s room playing that board game, Sorry, or running around outside playing flashlight tag. So I laugh a bit when I hear myself saying I don’t have room to entertain.  (I know for sure it doesn’t take much room.  All it takes is my mother’s lasagna.)  I don’t need special accommodations to entertain, but it would be nice.  I’d start with a terrific kitchen with a  bar at which folks sit and exchange witty asides as I toss the home-grown salad and slide Mom’s lasagna into the oven.  Something like the kitchen pictured above.  (Do these people look witty?)

* And then, of course, there’s the whole Game Room thing.  I’d like one that’s big enough where the pool sticks don’t go through the wall when you use them (as they did in my basement growing up).  Doesn’t this pool table make you almost want to convert the garage?  By the way, here are some quick suggestions for how to decorate a game room with a pool table.

* Heading outside on a warm spring day? Sure, you could reweb your old lawn chairs, the way my dad did (find rewebbing materials here).  Then, you could have a backyard party gathering that looks like they did at my childhood home–with the added joy of being a stylish  recycler (there are many webbing colors–the combos are limitless).  Or, you could aspire to something like the outdoor entertaining area pictured below. (I found the photo here.)

Yeah, that would be nice.  As for my brother’s small room, where you couldn’t even open the door if more than three people were in it at a time?  This would be better (photo from a site named Homedug.com).  Floor space.  It’s all about the floor space with kids.

No, you don’t need all this.  But some of it wouldn’t hurt. Check out Kudzu for kitchen remodelers, outdoor living designers, and interior decorators.  Now, please pass the lasagna.