15 Ways to Make your Houseguests Feel at Home

15 Ways to Make your Houseguests Feel at Home

I personally feel that being a great host is a spiritual gift.  But no, really.  Opening up your home and making others feel welcome is not an easy thing for every personality type to do.  So regardless of if you’re a natural hostess or not, I’m here to give you some of my best tips and tricks.  Because, let’s be honest, I have a houseguest every time I blink.

Above are photos of our guest room that we recently threw together.  We’re waiting on our new headboard to arrive and I still need to order a bed skirt.  I love the way it turned out!

15 hosting tips

1. Keep a clean house.  This one is a no-brainer.  Or, at least, it should be.  No one wants to stay in a dirty house.
2. Put away the clutter.  Clutter may be the norm for you, but it may not be for your guests.  Clean off your counters and table tops to make everything feel organized and chaos-free.
3. Fresh bed linens.  Another no-brainer.  I’m big on having all white beds in our home because they A) make you feel like you’re sleeping in a cloud and B) feel like a luxurious hotel experience.  These are my favorite sheets and they are beyond budget-friendly.
4. Stock the bathroom.  I always make sure to stock my guest bathroom with a new bar of soap, shampoo, conditioner, hair dryer and extra towels.  Make sure to have extra toilet paper in the bathroom to avoid an awkward request for TP at an inopportune time.?
5. Keep extra necessities on hand.  An extra toothbrush, toothpaste or deodorant can be such a comfort when your guests realize that they forgot to pack theirs.  Bonus points: stocking the guest bathroom medicine cabinet with sometimes needed items like Advil, Pepto, tampons, etc.
6. Charge it up.  Having an extra phone charger will also save the day if your guest forgot theirs.
7. Make it smell good.  I like to make sure that I have freshly washed linens and towels that smell amazing as well as candles, room spray and diffusers out to make sure our home and our guest room smell extra welcoming.
8. Bottled water.  I like to throw a couple bottles of water into our guest room basket just as a nice little welcome.
9. Extra blankets and pillows.  I like my guests to feel as at home as possible.  Having access to extra pillows, bed blankets and throw blankets is a great way to amp up the cozy in their room.
10. Provide entertainment.  I like to have smart tv’s in my guest rooms.  If that’s not an option, consider a record player and some interesting books or magazines.
11. Added luxuries.  I make sure that my guest room has a super comfy bathrobe ready for use.  A couple other nice touches: sleep masks, slippers, a fan for white noise…
12. Choose calm colors.  This one shouldn’t require an explanation.  Calm space = calm moods.
13. Be temperature considerate.  Find out if your guests like to sleep in cooler temperatures than you do and find a way to make both of you comfortable.
14. Greenery.  I have tried to add live plants to every room in our house.  Why?  Because it breathes life into a space.  And it cleans the air, making for a healthier home.
15. Add fresh flowers.  Chances are, if you walk into my home at any given moment, you will find fresh cut flowers arranged in my kitchen.  I also love to create small arrangements for the bedside table in our guest room.  I love seeing fresh flowers when I open my eyes in the morning.

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