Interior designers dish out advice on prepping your home for entertaining. Create Multiple Seating Areas "The way to make a room comfortable for those who entertain or simply for when there are two people in the room is to make it feel quaint," says Richard Mishaan, who is known for this artfully crafted, spirited spaces. To achieve the cozy effect Mishaan strives for, he "creates multiple, smaller eating areas. You need to be able to hear a person when they speak to you."

"Having released his second monograph, 'Artfully Modern' (The Monacelli Press), this fall, Colombian-born, New York-based designer Richard Mishaan is now busier than ever, working on houses around the world; creating table-top lines for Lenox and Dansk; and looking after Homer, his Greenwich Village shop. A recent project was his own family's residence in his seaside hometown of Cartagena, where he's also currently designing a hotel. His scheme for its beachy, light-filled

"If you ask Richard Mishaan what's new, don't expect him to answer 'not much.' Instead, you'll hear a litany of design projects he's involved with: a hotel in Cartagena (he was born and raised in Colombia), four apartments in Manhattan and homes in Sag Harborn and London. Then there are table-top lines he's designing for Lenox and Dansk. And he's forever researching and curating the roster of artisans he showcases at Homer, his Greenwich Village shop. Yep, Mishaan's a bu