HOME LIFE
In an era of selfies, traditional hospitality and graciousness are worth preserving. Entertaining guests means choosing how best to execute your generosity — often starting with your guest room. How many bed pillows? Should you leave instruction notes for
How to prepare your guest room
Q Our guest room overlooks a beautiful forested area. We don’t want to cover the windows. I’m pretty sure guests who are not early risers won’t appreciate that, even though the morning sun doesn’t directly hit that side of the house. Any suggestions?
A Guests won’t appreciate the rays of dawn hitting their faces when they really want to sleep until 9 a.m. Although it wouldn’t be cheap, would you consider installing blinds that fold up into a very small size at the top of the window? Honeycomb blinds are a good choice. That way, you would not need to use them unless a guest is there. Otherwise, you could put up a slim curtain rod and just stick up some fabric panels when a guest is in residence. They will appreciate it.
Q We have a small TV in our master bedroom. Should I transfer it into the guest room when we have visitors, at least for the people who I know have TVs in their own guest rooms? My husband balks at the transfer, because he falls asleep to TV. But I’m assuming many guests do, too.
A Definitely not. I would say that your guests are there to relax, and they can read a book before bed. Leave them some nice current magazines on the bedside table.
Q Is it okay to ask your guests to remove the sheets from the bed and then put the comforter/ quilt back on?
A Yes, totally. My husband and I usually ask the host whether they would prefer that we remove the sheets or just make the bed. Usually, they are very grateful. Then we put the comforter, bedspread or coverlet and pillows back on the bed and make it look as nice as possible before we leave the room. We also take our towels and sheets into the laundry area before we depart. We empty our guest room and guest bath trash into the kitchen trash can or the bin outdoors.
Q How many pillows should I provide on the bed for my guests? Should they match or have coordinating pillow slips on them?
A Some people hate it when there is a mountain of pillows on a bed. There is often little space to put them when you sleep. Sometimes hosts put four full-size pillows on a bed and maybe one smaller pillow. They don’t have to have coordinating slips at all. Mix it up.
Q Our guest room is a spare room, and we are not very organized. (There are still boxes from a move last summer.) It’s supposed to be an office someday, but the whole house needs a makeover. I know that’s bad, but what’s your best decluttering recommendation?
A It sounds as though you don’t have a lot of storage room. Any chance you could install some under-bed storage boxes to keep stuff out of sight? A couple of filing cabinets could hold office stuff and serve as nightstands. Do the best you can, and if possible don’t have cardboard boxes visible in there. Maybe you could hide them under a skirted table.
Q Sometimes when I’m a house guest, the temperature of the room I’m in is less than comfortable. I struggle with how to bring this to the attention of the homeowner. I’ve found that in a lot of cases, there is a problem the homeowner is unaware of (the vents to the room have been closed off, for example). In other cases, it’s just a preference issue. In an ideal world, the host would ask about my comfort the next morning. But if they don’t, and I was too hot or too cold, is it terribly rude to bring it up?
A As a host, I would want to know if my guest was too hot or too cold. But some people would say you should be grateful to have a nice room to sleep in and that you shouldn’t complain about anything! It’s a good idea for hosts to provide extra blankets in the closet and a portable fan so guests could come to the rescue themselves if they are not comfortable. I think at a close friend’s home, you should definitely mention if you are really uncomfortable.
Q What do you think about a host (close friend), who leaves instructions posted around the bathroom? (For example, “Hang the bath mat on this towel bar,” “Wipe the sink down with rag,” “Afterward put it here,” etc.) I find it really annoying! Meanwhile, when this friend visits me, he leaves dishes wherever they are when he’s done with them and doesn’t return my sink scrubber to its caddy, leaving it wet in the sink. I’ve never said anything to him about it. Should I? He’s very perceptive about everything else. Maybe I should let it go.
A Yikes. I don’t think leaving notes around is a good idea. If there is a particular problem with the bathroom, such as the shower leaking if you turn it up too high or if you don’t close the shower curtain fully, then you should mention these things to your guest. But don’t write them down. I might make a crack about leaving the dishes around if this friend is a frequent guest. But I think you should suck it up about the sink scrubber.
Q Pillows, especially the ones you sleep on, seem to get really gross really quickly. I’ve used pillow covers in addition to pillow cases, but that doesn’t seem to make them last much longer. What’s the normal time frame for replacing pillows?
A Because decent pillows can be bought fairly cheaply, I would say replace them every year or two.
Q My beach house has a small laundry room, so there isn’t a lot of room for dirty sheets. When we have guests, they all want to strip the beds when they leave, which is considerate of them, except that I don’t have a good place to stash the dirty sheets if I’m not planning on spending the next few hours doing laundry. I’ve suggested they leave the sheets on the bed to be changed later by me, but I feel as if that casts doubt on the cleanliness of my guest room. I don’t want guests wondering when they arrive whether I really did change the sheets after the last guest. Suggestions for what to do?
A Honesty is the best policy. I would mention on the last day of each guest’s stay that although you know they would be happy to strip the bed, you would appreciate it if they wouldn’t because of the lack of space in your laundry room. You can say that you will do it the next day to indicate that you have it on your radar.