How To Make Your Home More Inviting

When you own a house, it’s important to make it pleasant for you and anybody else who lives there. However, if you want to host a party or have guests over once in a while, it’s equally crucial to make your house welcoming and inviting. The last thing you want is to invite people over and have them politely refuse or arrive but feel uncomfortable in your house.

So, how might they be made to feel more at ease when they come to visit? There are several possibilities, all of which are entirely possible if you think about them in advance. Making a few minor improvements will also make your house more comfortable for you. Read on to find out more.

Set The Tone

The first thing you should do to make your house more appealing is to set the tone straight away. This includes enhancing the appearance of your foyer, front door, and front yard (if you have one). People will want to come there if it looks nice, and you’ll be able to show them straight away that your house is inviting.

Taking the effort to clean up your front door and possibly arrange some hanging baskets (which can even be purchased pre-filled if you don’t have green fingers) around it, as well as cleaning the front porch and walkways, would make a significant impact.

Strike A Warm Note At The Entrance

The entrance is the first thing people see about your property. Make the entryway well-lit and clutter-free to create a warm and welcome atmosphere. A table lamp could be used to supplement an overhead bulb for more equal illumination and to offer a seat for laying down baggage or taking off shoes.

If this room tends to accumulate clutter and you don’t have a closet, try installing a chest of drawers to store mail, documents, and other necessities. Finally, include a personal touch such as a framed picture, a vase of flowers, or a small artwork to give guests a sense of your decorating style.

Flower Arrangements

The presence of flowers is one of the things that can transform a decent house into an enjoyable one. Arranging one or two vases of flowers in your living room or kitchen, for example, would lighten the space and make it seem fresh and appealing. Flowers can be picked from your own garden if you have one, or purchased from a florist for more elaborate arrangements.

If you are allergic to flowers and must use eye drops or other allergy medication while you are in their presence, don’t despair; today’s fake flowers look just as lovely as the genuine thing and will be an excellent substitute.

Get Some Rugs

One of the quickest and easiest ways to make your home more inviting is to get some rugs, especially if you have tiles and hardwood floors. These subconsciously make a room feel warmer and more inviting, while giving you a comfortable place to put your feet when you’re walking around the room.

The key to this is the right placement. You shouldn’t simply place these anywhere in a room, as they mightn’t make the room appear as inviting as you’d like. Place them near sitting areas or high-traffic places so you can get the maximum amount of use out of them. Doing so not only makes sure they’ll be used, but draws visitors to a specific place in a room.

There are plenty of brands and places to get rugs to choose from, such as Rugstore NE. Getting a rug for each room with tiles or hardwood flooring is recommended to make sure your home is as inviting as possible.

Make It Simple To Get Around

A crowded, hectic environment is not conducive to relaxation. If a visitor needs to navigate over and around furniture, personal possessions, and trinkets just to be seated, they won’t be able to completely relax, and the property won’t seem inviting.

You must ensure that there are free passageways through rooms and around furniture so that no direction is obstructed. This is an excellent time to declutter your house and get rid of everything you no longer need. You can even opt to rearrange your furniture to improve the flow of your house, which will benefit both you and everyone who enters.

Make Use Of Your Smell Sense

The sense of smell is the one that you should actually appeal to in your house, out of all the senses. You can make the place look as appealing as possible, but if there is a bad odour or no odour at all, it will not be as welcoming as it could be.

We’ve mentioned flowers, and these will ensure there is a nice aroma in your house. If you don’t want to use them or are using fake ones, you could burn incense or light scented candles, for example. Alternatively, you might have more natural odours such as fresh coffee, baked bread, or cookies. This will always make a house seem more welcoming.

Put Family Photos On Display

What you choose to hang on your walls tells a story, and although artwork you like has its place, it’s family pictures and kid-made art that will really add a personal touch to your house.

Because it’s easy to pause and take a closer look, hallways and stairwells are great places for family picture galleries. Also, don’t be scared to put some candid and flawed photographs on your picture wall. The emotions and memories evoked by a photograph are more significant than having a perfectly arranged image.

Warm Up Your Kitchen

The kitchen is often the focal point of the house. Fresh flowers on the table, a comfortable spot to sit, colourful tea towels, great coffee machines, and little speakers to stream music will make yours more appealing to both chefs and visitors.

And don’t be afraid to use color: paint the cabinets, walls, or kitchen chairs to liven up the space. Even if people who visit don’t want to go anywhere else in your home, if there is a comfortable kitchen to enjoy, they will enjoy being in your home.

Choose Materials That Improve With Age

Natural materials of high quality, such as leather, solid wood, weaved baskets, and pure wool blankets, age nicely. In fact, the dents and scrapes that occur with regular wear and tear put visitors at ease – instead of fretting about where to sit or where to place a cup, everyone is free to relax. Consider salvaged wood, old leather, or new pieces with that imperfect aesthetic while looking for new furniture.

Create A Warm Glow

If you just change one item in your house to make it warmer and inviting, make it the lighting. Rather than a single bright light source, strive for a variety of soft light sources to create a warm, inviting atmosphere. Dim overhead lighting and complement them with table and floor lamps inside, preferably with at least three light sources per room.

Outdoors, build enchantment with string lights over sitting areas and candles or lanterns on tables – you can’t help but be attracted by this gorgeous light.

Let Natural Light Come In

Would you feel it was homely if you were to enter a dark cave? Most likely not. You would actually probably feel a bit uneasy since you can’t see what’s going on around you due to the darkness.

Guests will have similar feelings. When entering a house, most people like natural light so they can see where they are. It is useful for identifying the bathroom and kitchen, as well as getting a sense of the person’s house they have just entered. It also eliminates the awkwardness of having to inquire where the toilet is and other such things. Natural light has a way of helping people feel more at ease in their surroundings. Not to mention that they can see how clean your house is, so they won’t have to worry about walking on anything or where they’ll sit. So there are several advantages to just pulling back the curtains and letting some light in for your visitors.

Of course, having some shade in the house during the summer months will help you save money on your power bill, and too much sunshine can be uncomfortable in some situations. But as a general rule of thumb, if you know a visitor is coming, open the shades, front door, and curtains to make them feel more at ease in your house.

Disclosure: This is a featured post.