Luxury Design for Hosting in Style

By Jane Lockhart, Jane Lockhart Designs

With any custom build, it is essential homeowners establish their goals and desires before shovels hit the ground or design work begins. Ask yourself what your goal is: Is it a family-friendly space with unique features for younger members? Or a cozy, secluded getaway for quiet retirement?  Or a modern style that includes top-of-the-line appliances and spaces ideal for gatherings?

Committing to a custom build comes with many advantages. It’s an opportunity to start fresh, prioritizing spaces based on your way of living. It offers the chance to future-proof your home, keeping in mind potential growing families, while still suiting the needs of today. And it fosters self-expression, letting you bring your home to life in a way that is uniquely you.

Jane Lockhart Design recently had the pleasure of working with East-Caledon based homeowners that knew exactly what they wanted – a luxurious home exuding grandeur in every detail, prioritizing comfortable gathering spaces and unique features ideal for hosting and entertaining.

This project involved an existing luxury estate spanning 11,000 square feet of thoughtfully designed space resting on 55 acres of immaculate grounds. We rose to the challenge of renovating the pre-existing property to keep elements
from the initial foundation, while creating an entirely custom home that offers indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces ideal for all types of hosting.

The homeowners’ primary goals included transforming the existing land into a sweeping backyard, ideal for summer night celebrations. Their vision was to highlight the uninterrupted views of the property’s landscape to create a breathtaking backdrop for entertaining, with unique features designed to delight their guests. They also desired to maintain the building’s legacy character while seamlessly integrating modern elements that allow for the large-scale serving of guests.

To achieve this, we took a modern and unique interior design approach that enhanced the property’s entertaining opportunities in key areas of the home, while maintaining the character of the existing property. The result is a custom-build that has become a true entertainer’s haven.

Regardless of scale or scope, if you’re looking to incorporate some new design elements to your own residence, here are insights that will foster entertaining opportunities:

Designing for Your Style of Entertaining

It’s important to ensure your home’s design reflects your personal entertaining style. To create this environment, consider which areas of the home are most likely to be used by guests. For these homeowners, it was important that each room was designed to offer a unique, intimate experience, while creating an open flow that allowed guests to take a journey from room to room. This is perfectly captured in the design of the dining room and living room, where high-vaulted ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows create an elegant, open space for pre or post dinner entertaining. The living room offers a sense of quiet luxury with comfortable seating, a stunning double-sided fireplace, and a wall-mounted television. Moving seamlessly into the dining room through the open space on either side of the fireplace, an expansive table offers awe-inspiring views of the grounds while dining. Gold detailing on the walls, fixtures and gorgeous chandeliers, each with an entirely distinctive look and feel, adds a sense of enchanting luxury.

The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home

The kitchen is the true heart of any home and an essential component for homeowners that prioritize entertaining. To create a kitchen that lends itself to hosting, it’s important to understand the role the kitchen plays in reflecting what your guests can expect. To capture the elegance and splendour of this home’s entertaining spaces, this kitchen was designed with culinary excellence in mind. A grand space equipped with the finest amenities and best-in-class appliances, it promises to delight even the most discerning dinner party guests.

Creating an Outdoor Oasis

While it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of the interior design, it’s important to focus on the outdoor space as much as the indoor, especially with a home intended for hosting. Don’t forget about your outdoor areas, as this allows for a natural extension of your indoor entertaining space. Creatively integrating nature into your design also becomes more possible when attention is given to the outdoors. In the case of these homeowners, it was important that the stone-walled gardens and outdoor pool offered a view of the sloping lawn, complemented by the property’s natural forestry and greenery.

Inject Personality with Niche Spaces

Don’t forget to have fun! There is a real opportunity for homeowners to get creative by building custom spaces that create a unique look and feel. With this home, we created a balance between elegant luxury and playful décor through the creation of a quaint yet functional ice cream bar. Equipped with all the ice cream sundae essentials, and cheeky additions such as ice cream cone lights and themed accessories, this room is ideal for younger guests (or those young at heart).

If hosting is a priority for you and your family, recognizing your unique entertainment style while emphasizing your kitchen, outdoors and niche spaces, is a great approach to ensuring your home reflects your needs, goals, and personal style.