Start with a Token of Appreciation

The one thing that can start the whole experience off right is your guests feeling welcome in your home. After all, they are the ones who are giving up the comforts of home to travel to you. A quick way to offer your appreciation is with a welcome basket of sorts. Fill a gift bag with some yummy treats. Salty and sweet snacks, trail mix, a few bottles of water, gum, mints...an assortment of goodies left on their nightstand will give off positive vibes from the start.

Preparing the Guest Room

This is where the real work begins. The guest room is their "home away from home" while they're with you, so it needs to be capable of comfort, relaxation and a good night's sleep. We've got 5 tips:

• Extra Pillows: Typically, you'd offer one pillow per guest, but in an effort to help them feel comfortable, provide a couple more. This lets them customize the way they sleep a little bit more.
• Blankets: Everyone has a different level of comfort when it comes to how many blankets they need. A couple of extra blankets means they can wrap up as much as they want to cozy in for restful sleep.
• The Fan: Whether it's a ceiling fan, or a table side fan, increasing air flow can be helpful for good sleep. Fans are a great "white noise" option, as well. As the host, your job is to make sure they know how to work the controls.
• Lighting: It's nice for guests to have at least two levels of lighting so they can either feel productive and energized, or relax and unwind. An overhead light and a table side lamp are two essentials. But, don't forget about offering an optional nightlight. Some guests, especially with children, value the importance of a nightlight.
• Room Darkening: Your guest room should offer window coverings that block the light. Traveling can be exhausting, and some guests are on a different time schedule than you. Let them sleep in as long as they want, or put the baby down for a nap in the middle of the day, with room darkening window shades.

What About the Bathroom?

When hosting guests in your home, don't forget about the bathroom. To begin with, make sure they have access to all the basic essentials in your home, like extra towels and wash cloths. If you don't have a basket featuring other bathroom essentials, now is the time to create one! This is a simple kit to put together and make known to guests who come to stay. Fill it with all of those little toiletries that are easy to forget: toothbrushes, toothpaste, chapstick, floss, nail polish remover, disposable razors...the list goes on. Chances are, they'll only need 1-2 items. That means, each time a guest comes to stay, you only have to replenish a small portion, but it's a huge time saver and stress reliever for your wayward travelers who may just want to freshen up after a long journey.

The Window Coverings

At Seeview Blinds, we are your local Halifax source for custom shades, blinds and shutters. But more than anything, we want your family to be able to create a home that's comfortable, relaxing and safe. When thinking about the guest room–or any of the spaces in your home–the window coverings can play an important role. We mentioned room darkening features above. That's an important factor for anyone wanting a good night of sleep.

With guests coming to stay, don't forget about child safety. We focused on child safety features in a recent post. And while blind cords are currently banned from sale here, we want you to understand that older blinds and shades might not have today's safety standards. If you have older blinds in your home, please know the risks they create for small children, and take measures to either make them safer, or reach out to our team to find out about replacing them with cordless shades. Get in touch with our team for your free window treatment consultation. Happy hosting!