Grade-II listed Grange Farm in Oxfordshire dates from the 1500s and is on the market through Butler Sherborn. Photo: I'd love to live here & James Goodman Photography
If you love having a houseful of guests, it helps to live in a home that lends itself to entertaining, with large, flexible rooms where friends and family can eat, drink, chat and make merry.
From bars and games rooms to a DJ deck and dance floor, all these properties incorporate highly sociable spaces.
1. Grand Union, Wembley, London HA0, from £470,000
An on-site bowling alley will make you the envy of your friends. Photo: Tony Hussey
These new one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments overlooking the Grand Union Canal benefit from impressive onsite amenities as well as great views.
Amenities include a residents’ lounge, an entertainment room that can be booked for karaoke and film screenings and a 10 pin bowling alley where you can compete with your neighbours in monthly league matches. By St George.
2. Laurencekirk, Kincardineshire, offers over £575,000
While away winter nights in this cosy games room. Photo: Niall Hastie ·Niall Hastie
Brigton House is a much extended five bedroom family house which dates back to the 1860s.
It includes a large kitchen/diner with a central island and four reception rooms — a formal dining room, a sitting room, a south-facing timber-framed garden room and a cosy games room with a built-in bar. Further information is available from Galbraith.
You'll be able to host your own dance nights in this striking former pub. Photo: Savills
In 2013 The Cubitt Arms, previously a Victorian pub, was converted into two apartments. This one, encompassing the lower ground and ground floors, consists of 2,400 square feet of light-filled loft-style accommodation.
It has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a courtyard garden and a huge double-height living and entertaining area.
A sleek kitchen/breakfast room is on the upper floor, and a glass staircase leads down to a large open plan living area which has been used as an art gallery and music studio. Here you’ll find a hanging DJ deck — something the selling agent has never seen before. Contact Savills.
4. Little Ouseburn, York, £1.5m
This sizeable open-plan room can cater for large numbers of guests. Photo: Strutt & Parker
A huge L-shaped all in one living, kitchen and dining area acts as the hub of this modern, five-bedroom house.
It features a Sonos sound system, navy hand-painted wall and base units, an island, marble worktops, a concealed bar, and a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams in the living area. There’s also a good-sized drawing room and an outdoor kitchen and sunken seating area. Via Strutt & Parker
The timber beams and vaulted ceiling make great conversation pieces. Photo: Cheffins
You’re guaranteed to impress your guests if you snap up this substantial, four-bedroom converted barn.
It boasts a wow-factor 47-foot long open plan kitchen, living and dining room with a double-height vaulted ceiling, timber beams and log burner, a contemporary sitting room and a study, and a beautifully maintained garden.
A two-bedroom annex provides further accommodation. Through Cheffins.
6. Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, £1.925m
Who wouldn't want to serve up Christmas dinner in here? Photo: I'd love to live here & James Goodman Photography
With four reception rooms and an abundance of character and charm, Grade II-listed Grange Farm comes into its own during the festive season.
The five-bedroom former monastic grange, which sits in nearly three acres of grounds. is believed to date from the 16th century and has been lovingly restored by the current owners. Stone walls, timber beams and flagstone floors are among its many notable features. Via Butler Sherborn.
Sliding doors seamlessly link indoor and outdoor areas. Photo: JLL
Ultra-modern Oakside sits within a private clifftop estate and enjoys unobstructed sea views.
A double-height entrance hall takes you into a vast, full-width multi-functional kitchen, living and dining space, with an island breakfast bar, and three sets of sliding doors opening on to a patio, and outdoor kitchen and dining areas.
A cinema room — complete with built-in screen — and study are also on the ground floor, and one of the five bedrooms incorporates an ingeniously-designed sleeping platform. Divided into double and single beds, it can sleep up to eight people. From JLL.
8. Yielden, Bedfordshire, £2.75m
The games room and bar is one of six reception rooms. Photo: Fitzjohn Estates
Following extensive refurbishment, The Old Rectory is geared up for all-year-round entertaining.
This fabulous family home lies in 10 acres of gardens and grounds and has six bedrooms and six reception rooms. These include a generously-sized bar and games room, a panelled formal sitting room with an open fire and window seats and a recently-added orangery.
New, too, are the outdoor heated swimming pool and custom-built pergola with electrically-operated shading. Contact Fitzjohn Estates.
9. Kingswood, Surrey, £2.8m
There's a nightclub vibe in the basement. Photo: Fine & Country
Welcome to Crazes, a fully-refurbished six-bedroom house with a two-bedroom annex, where entertainment and relaxation take centre stage.
The ground floor comprises a contemporary kitchen, a double aspect drawing room, an ensuite bedroom currently used as a hobby room, a snooker room, a shower room, cloakroom and a swimming pool. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a studio room occupy the first floor.
However the highlight for party animals has to be the basement, featuring a mirrored dance floor, a high-spec lighting system, a stage with a drop-down cinema screen and a music room. Available from Fine & Country.
