Smart Design With Suzette: Getting Your Home Ready For Holiday Guests

A welcoming entrance. Courtesy photo
 
Guest bedroom. Courtesy photo

 

Smart Design With Suzette
By Suzette Fox
 
Getting Your Home Ready For Holiday Guests
 
The holidays are upon us, and with them holiday guests. Here are a few tips for getting your home ready for guests with affordable ideas to refresh and organize your home.

The focus is on a few areas of your home – the entrance hall or foyer, the guest bedroom and guest bath.

Entrance Hall/Foyer

This is the first space your guests see as they enter your home. Give a great first impression while making them feel welcome.

  • Add coat hooks. This provides a place for your guests to hang coats with easy access when needed.
  • Clear your hall closet of family’s coats before a large gathering. Put your own coats somewhere else so there’s ample room for guests to store their outerwear.
  • Provide a basket for keys, gloves and hats. Providing a large basket at the front door for them to leave their cold weather items and a smaller basket for keys helps ensure no one forgets or loses anything they arrived with.

Guest Bedroom

Despite staying up all hours chatting and laughing with you, holiday guests still need a comfortable place to rest each night.

  • Make Space. It’s important to make space for your guest’s belongings. Even, if they are only staying a night or two, clear space in the closet for them to hang items. Empty a few drawers for their unmentionables. 
  • Clean linens. Launder the sheets on all spare beds and provide enough bedding to keep guests warm and comfortable.
  • Set out a bouquet of fresh flowers. Even a single stem on the nightstand, dresser, or bathroom vanity will do. In the winter, clip a branch from an evergreen for holiday cheer. Extra touches like this will make your guests feel special.
  • Let them know the time of day (or night). Hosts often overlook the need for an alarm clock for guests because they haven’t slept in the room themselves.
  • Provide Refreshments. A thoughtful item for the guest room that’s often forgotten are bottles of water. Plus it’s very important to keep your guests hydrated at our high elevation.
  • Provide a comfy spot for reading and lounging. If your guests have a nice spot to retreat to in their rooms, they’ll be more tempted to hang out there a bit and relax.
  • Where to put the luggage? A portable luggage rack is a wonderful touch and makes unpacking so much easier.
  • If my guests are new to the area, I often leave a visitors guide for them so they can get an idea of what they might like to do when visiting. Visitor’s guides are free at your local visitors center.

A visitor’s basket with basic supplies. Courtesy photo

 

Guest Bath

  • Clear the Counter. A clean, uncluttered countertop gives your bathroom an instant facelift and makes your home look organized. A nice liquid soap and hand cream should be the only things on the counter when guests arrive, with the exception of a candle or flowers.
  • Supply bathroom products. Toothpaste, an extra razor, a fresh bar of soap in the shower, Kleenex, shampoo and conditioner are the basics.
  • Don’t be stingy with the towels. Leave each guest two towels and a washcloth. A niche is a perfect spot to keep them handy or rolled up in a basket so it’s easy to access.
  • Be sure to show them everything they need to know – such as how the shower works. More than once I have had to get redressed and find my host to ask how to work the shower. Sometimes they don’t even know themselves because they have never taken a shower in the guest bathroom!
  • If you want to feel like a super host – allow guests to feel as they’re staying at a luxury hotel. Place guest robes and slippers out for your guests – of course then they might never want to leave…

Getting your home ready for holiday guests not only prepares you for a smooth visit, but also makes them feel welcome. Give your guests a relaxing, comfortable place this holiday season and they will surely appreciate the effort.

Feel free to contact Los Alamos Interior Designer Suzette Fox to suggest specific design topics or for help with your home. For more information, find her on Facebook at facebook.com/SuzetteFoxInteriorDesign and on her website www.suzettefoxinteriors.com

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