India, Sept. 23 -- There is a point during festive preparation when someone looks at the dining table and starts counting chairs.

Four seats are fine on most days. Then the guest list grows, relatives confirm their plans and suddenly a chair from the study and another from the bedroom are being considered as backup. It happens in plenty of homes because dining spaces are usually arranged for the people who live there, not for the busiest evening of the year.

With the festive season approaching, homeowners are paying more attention to these everyday dining areas. The reason is not difficult to understand. Festivals bring people together over food, and a dining space that works perfectly well through the week can feel very different once ...