How to be a good Host

I was reading Gala Darling's great post on how to the best houseguest and it got me to thinking about how to be a great host.

image from qoqillie via Flickr

This is actually something I think about a lot. Both sides of the equation actually, but I put more focus on the hosting aspect. My family has been involved in the high-end hospitality industry for my entire life including cruise lines, hotels, travel destinations, so I've traveled a fair amount. I've stayed in everything from 5 diamond hotels to cute bed & breakfasts and have seen great service and horrible horrible places. There are many places that stand out as perfect stays.

And they all had one thing in common... thoughtfulness.

I'm not talking about being waited on hand and foot, rather considerate touches throughout that made it clear that the person or company acting as the host had thought about my needs and how I would be living in the space while I was there.

These are the things I look for when I'm traveling and the things I try to provide for my guests:

1. Empty closet and drawer space

Hey, I know we all have a lot of stuff. Frankly, I think we have too much stuff. (Seriously, if you need a POD or a storage unit and you aren't in some kind a transition, you have too much crap... get rid of it.) At the very least you should be able to carve out a half a closet worth of space and a drawer so that when someone comes to stay they can at least hang up some of their clothes and put a few things away. This may be hard in extreme situations like studio apartments in New York City but generally try and find a little space somewhere. Even a hook over a door or closet door would help.

The same holds true for a bit of space in the bathroom, especially if you don't have 2 bathrooms - a shelf, an area on the counter - something, anything!

2. Decent sheets and pillows

I know we don't usually buy a brand new mattress when setting up a guest room. Yeah, it's usually the hand-me-down mattress from when we upgraded for ourself. But there are a few things we can do to make it seem nicer and be more comfy and plush. Get some crisp new sheets in the best thread-count you can afford and add a "feather" bed mattress topper. I like this option because it doesn't contain down or feathers so not only is it cruelty free but also hypo-allergenic.

Then have at least 2 pillows per person. I'd go new here. No one wants to sleep on your million year old squashed flat pillow. Bonus points if you have different options so people can choose which one they use. Also, have an extra blanket out or available. Your guest could get chilly in the middle of the night and have no way of knowing where to get a blanket. The poor things will be there suffering all night long because the don't want to wake you.

Another caveat - if your guest room mattress is over 20 years, please consider getting a new one. Heck, it's better to get a decent Aerobed than keeping this torture device! Plus, um... gross!

3. For the Bath

It's always nice to have a basket of new little soaps and bath gels, a shower cap and some of those things that everyone forgets, like toothbrushes, toothpaste and maybe a sewing kit. You can buy a few extras to have on hand or pick them up and save them as you travel.

I also like to have two indulgences for guests. The first are bath sheets. No skimpy towels in our house. We want to be wrapped up and covered. The second are robes. We keep two terry robes in the guest room closet, fresh, clean and ready for guests. Personally, I'd live in my robe if I could. I like to lounge around, get ready and then get dressed in my outfit. A robe is comforting and allows your guest to feel more secure when moving around your house or apartment.

4. Suitcase holder

I keep two suitcase holders tucked away until guests come. This is as much for me as it is for them. Not only can your guests get to their luggage easier but this makes sure they don't put their case, bound to be dirty from traveling, on my sheets, furniture, etc. These are easy to find in all kinds of colors, materials and price points, and they can be tucked away easily when not in use.

5. In the Bedroom

It's not just important to have a place for your guests to sleep. It's also nice to make sure the room is comfortable too. Don't have a lot of knicknacks or breakables around. It can be nerve wracking to have furniture covered with things that as a guest you are afraid to move, knock over or break. In this case, simpler and less decorated is better.

Have a table to use as a nightstand and add a small light for reading, an alarm clock and a water carafe with a glass. I also like to add in a small flashlight, a list of the cable channels (if there is a tv in the room), a pen and an alarm clock. Not everyone will use them but it's nice to know they are there.

If you have room for small table or writing desk and a chair, I'm sure your guests would appreciate it when they are putting on make-up, getting dressed and putting on their shoes. I also like to add in a mirror, either hanging on the wall near the door or above the desk. Or you can get one of those inexpensive mirrors that go on the back of the door so people can check themselves before they leave the room.

6. Extra touches

Last but not least, go the extra mile by adding some in-room snacks just in case they are starving. People can feel bad about bugging you between meals, so adding a few savory and sweet snacks can be a quick pick me up. I also like to add a travel candle and a lighter, some magazines and books as well. I also like to give the sheets a quick spritz with lavender linen spray before my guests arrive.

If you know your guests like flowers and don't have any allergies, go for a small vase or cup in an out of the way place. They don't need to be a big deal, even a single bloom is nice.

My best advice, however is the simplest... take the time to sleep where and how your guests will. Nothing makes it more apparent what works and what doesn't when you experience it for yourself. Does the sun hit your eyes at the crack of dawn? Is there weird lump right under your back? Is the light switch 2 inches out of reach? Live it and then fix it.

You don't need to have a fancy overly decorated room or spend a lot of money to outfit it. Simple but thoughtful goes a lot farther in creating a temporary haven for the people you care enough about to welcome into your home.



Extra reading:
Domino Magazine - Guest and Host Etiquette Guide

Come on in!

One of the requests that go around the blog universe is the request to see inside a person's bag. And maybe I'll get around to that, but I wanted to invite you into a bigger world. One of the things I am most passionate about. My home.

When we moved, we moved from a much smaller house that, while nice enough, was pretty generic. Most Florida homes are. So when we moved here we had an opportunity to find a house with some charm and quirks and character. And when we visited this house, on a whim actually, we fell in love with its crazy twists and turns and all the great woodwork and built-ins that are around each corner.

I love my house. Maybe too much. And while it doesn't say everything about me, it does say a lot. And we feel very comfortable here. And very protective of our house and everything with it. I'm going to try and share all the rooms with you and even some of the views from outside because we have a lot of cool trees and a great big yard (we sit on 3 acres here).

What I had first intended to share with you was my closet, but that is going to be a pretty big post so I'm gearing up to it by starting in the even more private room. The master bathroom. This house (at least most of it) is almost 110 years old. So, you can't love this house with out understanding and appreciating the unique features of an old house. And you can't come here expecting to get a big bathroom because you just won't get it.

Some things that are funny about this bathroom are that it sits at the top of our stairs on it's own little level. You have to go up two steps to the level the bedrooms are on. There are two entrances to the bathroom, one on the landing and one going into what was the Master bedroom (although we use it as a guest room).

This picture is taken from the doorway of the bedroom. To the left of the picture is the other door. We painted the bathroom a deep teal color. We have a fair amount of strong colors in the house so this goes along with the other tones, plus it makes the white fixtures and built-ins pop. The tub is an old enamel tub and we added a new shower head and rounded shower curtain bar. Our next step is to rip out the fiberglass stall part and tile in that whole alcove with white subway tile. We also want to add bead-board around the room to about chair rail height. You can enlarge all of these images. And you'll get to see a close-up of that vintage illustration soon!



Our house is decorated in what I call "Streamlined Vintage". What we have done is not period but it's in keeping with the spirit of the age of the house. I don't really like country or Victorian or anything and I really hate to dust. So we try to keep it neat. In the shower we wanted to get a fixture that had more of that English bath/claw-foot tub element to it. And we've always liked the nickel and porcelain fixtures. But we needed to be able to rinse the dogs off during their baths. We were so excited when we found this shower head.



Nothing fancy here. We added new towel bars and ripped out all the old painted over fixtures and hinges and knobs etc. It was a big pain, let me tell you. One thing we are going to leave in are the original honeycomb hex tiles. We have them in the downstairs bath too. You can't find these same ones any more and, although they have some cracks, we just love them.



We recently had to replace the sink that was there, but it was just as well. It was a small wall-mounted one and kind of sucked. Ours is very petite but because of the window and radiator we couldn't get any bigger. So, if you love the house, you have to deal with it. Plus, the radiator is great for warming your towels, especially on a cold snowy day like today (check out the view of the snow on the trees outside! Brrrr!).

The medicine cabinet is original too, we just added new hinges and a latch. We also got a cute goose-neck faucet with the "Hot" and "Cold" x-knobs. I did find a small magnifying mirror to stick on the regular mirror. The lighting isn't that great but most of the time I am using the natural morning light, so it isn't too big of an issue.



What's behind door #1 and door #2?



Lots of stuff apparently! One of the things that is great about this house is the amount of storage from all the built in cabinets that are everywhere (all in various shapes and sizes). We are able to fit all of our bath stuff (and then some) in here. Not only do these go from floor to ceiling but they are really deep too. Because stuff could get buried or lost in the back I have used containers to corral stuff. Sometimes I want to chuck half of it but we actually do use most of this. It's crazy, I know!



So, working our way from top to bottom (is this too much information? Probably, right?) I have some spare towels that I should give away, but they are actually nice. I'll most likely store them for future dog towel needs. The box holds dog supplies like nail clippers and brushes. The electric toothbrush is in here because the bathroom only had a plug on the light fixture (I told you it was old!). We got our awesome electrician to run a line into here which also keeps all this stuff out of sight.

The next shelf down is the "man's shelf" mainly because I'm too short to reach up into it. So, the husband's bin of stuff is there on the right. We also have miscellaneous things like Crest Strips and a small caddy for tweezers, nail files and clippers. Back behind it are band-aids and we actually have the electric screwdriver plugged in there.



The next shelf is mine. I consolidated all my make-up into this case and my bin has my lotions and blow drier and hair stuff. Hey! I just realized I missed a shelf in between there. It has this metal 4 drawer thing that has our cotton balls in one drawer, our q-tips in another. The top right has nail polishes and the top left has stuff like extra razors and sample stuff. Plus it has my soap dish for my Cetaphil face soap. Behind it is my sliver and crystal powder and some bubble baths.

Okay, the next shelf down has bins for general stuff. The left bin has a bunch of travel sized shampoos and shower caps. So if we have to travel or have a guest, we've got plenty of supplies. Oh, yeah, and my pedicure slippers. On the right is a bin for first aid supplies and "extras". Is that a thing of paint in there. I really need to clean this out! Geez!



Bottom shelf is for paper towels, cleanser, a hand-vac and a container of buttons, etc. You can also see our humidifier stored in the back there. That's how deep these things are.



In the right cabinet we have our hampers and keep the towels and sheets. The top shelf has the sheets and the soap we buy from the bee keeper at the farmer's market. That's our stockpile for the winter. The little Waterford clock is the first piece I ever got at 17. I like knowing its there.

The next shelf holds extra TP, as well as lavender delicates detergent and linen water. Plus some of our towels. We bought these huge bath sheets and they are so awesome. Now whenever we go anywhere else those regular towels seem like washcloths.



More towels, and ironstone pitcher/ewer set and a basket for delicates. You'll also see the tissues in there. Our crazy kitten loves to shred any kind of paper like tissues, paper towels or TP. We've had to lock it all up. It's so embarrassing. We have to tell guests that we've locked up the TP so we look like crazy people.



Then the big hamper (Obviously full too! I should be doing laundry instead of goofing off taking pictures all day. Aaack! I know what I'm doing tomorrow.) We also have a really sleek fire extinguisher tucked in the corner. The hamper is sitting on top of a big aluminum bucket which we've used for all sorts of stuff. There is some serious space in here.



But really, what bathroom tour would be complete without a peek inside the medicine cabinet? Until you can stop by to do it for yourself (you know you would, just admit it!), here you go.



Now before I even mention anything in here I'm going to say something you probably are not going to believe. This how it looks all the time. Seriously. I have a thing for organization (a.k.a. anal retentiveness). We have a lot of stuff so it all needs a home and it needs to stay there! Wait until you see the closets. I'm not kidding you. We may have pet hair and some dust but at least it's not on a lot of clutter. Clutter makes me crazy.

Guess which shelf is mine.

Okay, I'll stop teasing you. It's the top one. What do you mean you already knew that? A quick run through, left to right: anti-p, make-up, Prescriptives custom blended base, toothbrush, Proactive 4 pack, Oil of Olay Regenerist serum, Clinique eye make-up remover and eye cream, Burt's Bees Carrot spray, dental floss, Thayers Rose Water witch hazel.

The hubby has so few things he gets stuck with the toothpaste too. But look! He's got Kheils face wash. He's a serious Kheils junkie now. I wash my face with $3 Cetaphil soap and he's using the entire Kheils line. It's so weird.



Were you riveted? Well more to follow soon!