How to Be the Perfect Host: Creating a Gracious Guest Room Part I

One of the benefits of the holiday season is the opportunity to open your home to visitors you may not have seen all year. If you have guests in your home for the holidays, don’t skimp on the essentials. Hotels make their clients feel special and welcome by bringing elegance to basic necessities. You too can make visitors feel like they’ve stepped into a boutique hotel, all within the comforts of your guest room. Here are a few suggestions to ensure guests will be snug in their beds while visions of sugar plums dance in their heads. Starting with Holiday Hostess Etiquette Part I today, and concluding with Part II on Thursday. Enjoy.

Keep it Fresh
Clean guest rooms often, as you never know when you will have unexpected company. Fill a basket with laundered blankets and pillows, and provide a spotless waste basket. Nothing is more inviting than crisp and clean bed linens and towels. Curtains ironed with lavender or orange water add a touch of luxury.

The Scent of Wonder
Do a sniff test of the closet, drawers, towels and blankets, ensuring that they are not musty or mildewed. Place scented sachets in strategic locations to ensure a pleasant fragrance. Save torn, ripped, or stained linens to use as rags instead. If guests want to change the sheets before they leave, let them. Provide an extra set of linens, ironed and folded in a spare drawer.

Quality Matters
Guests will feel like they are in a five-star hotel with a few simple luxuries. Invest in the best mattress you can afford, and add soft, solid colored sheets, a warm blanket, and a pretty duvet. Plush toilet paper and tissues for the bathroom and bedside table are sure to be appreciated.

Details Matter
Set out basic amenities such as a toothbrush and sample sizes of toiletries in a decorative bin. Makeup remover pads, disposable razors and shaving cream are items guests often forget. Provide a blow dryer and bottles of good quality shampoo and conditioner in the shower or bath.

Less Is More
Don’t overload the guest room with furniture, decor or pictures, and keep the floor clear. Give visitors plenty of space to place their personal items. Lay out a beautiful tray where guests can put small essentials such as keys, receipts and jewelry. Set out a small vase of fall florals, like Goldenrods or Sage, and decorative pillows in warm neutrals. Remember that these items are accents, not focal points.