Bailey & Company Blog

Preparing Your Home for Summer Guests or Renters


Posted: May 23, 2017 by Bailey Gordon

If you’re preparing your home for summer guests or renters, there are definitely a few things you shouldn’t overlook in order to ensure your guests have a welcoming and relaxing stay! It’s easy to get caught up in the basic guest-related “to-do” list, like washing the linens, grocery shopping and cleaning your home, that we forget to pay attention to the details that really make a guest feel relaxed!


We think there are 5 ways to go above and beyond for your summer guests/renters and we’re going to share them with you!

 
1. House Plants
 Even if you don't have a green thumb, there are several house plants that will add detail, color and comfort to your indoor living space, that don’t require a lot of attention! Simple asparagus ferns, fig trees, succulents, etc. require little to no maintenance, but they go a long way in making your home feel welcoming.


 2. Porch Details
Front or back, most people end up using their porches more and more when guests are around and nothing says, “Welcome to our home” like a few ferns on the front porch or some colorful new outdoor accent pillows on the seating areas of your outdoor spaces. When summer visitors arrive, the weather is usually ideal porch weather, so as much as you pay attention to making sure your home’s interior is in tip-top shape for guests, it’s also very important to not forget about your outdoor living spaces! Adding a few updates to your porch will make your guest’s morning coffees and evening cocktails a little bit more enjoyable and most outdoor spaces, when planted and maintained properly, can also stand as a conversation piece among your guests as they relax!

3. Bathroom Upgrades
  While you’re always going to freshen up your bathroom linens for guests to feel comfortable and clean, you may want to think about investing in crisp, white towels and a new shower curtain liner. When you travel, don’t you enjoy the spa-like feel of clean, white towels that you would expect at a resort or a tropical paradise? Translate that feeling into your bathrooms for your guests to experience. There’s something extremely resort-like about crisp white linens in a bathroom and shower curtain liners are one of the least expensive bathroom investments that make the largest impact when presenting a clean space.

4. Cloth Napkins
You know that set of gorgeous cloth napkins you probably have in your kitchen that you very rarely, if ever, pull out for dinner guests, because hey, who wants to do extra laundry….ever? Go ahead and pull those bad boys out for your summer guests. There’s something very special, but still casual, about having your dinner guests use cloth napkins. This feeling of elegance in such a simple gesture will relate back to that resort-like vacation experience. Even if it means an extra trip in the laundry room after dinner, it’s the impact that you’re striving for and any good impact usually means a little more work involved afterward!

5. Local Magazines/Books
 Perhaps one of the most overlooked treats for guests or summer renters is reading material. A lot of travelers pack only the necessities and unless they are already invested in a novel that they just can’t put down, most will bypass reading materials and fill that extra luggage space with something else. Why not add some of your favorite local magazines to the coffee table, night stands, porch or poolside. Add in a few easy reading books that ranked high on summer reading lists and your guests will be able to take these to the beach for a light read, enjoy them after they shower in the evenings or while they relax in their downtime. Providing local magazines not only gives your guests a little extra knowledge of the area they are visiting, but the ads or articles may spark their interest in a local shop they’d like to visit or one of the area’s sought after attractions they would like to experience. We already know you’ll be making a trip to the grocery store to stock up the fridge and bar for your guests, so take a minute to browse the magazine rack and the free local magazines at the entry/exit to pick up a few local reads. You may want to throw in a few real estate brochures that are next to the local magazine sections in order to provide your guests with insight into the local market if you think they would be interested!


Paying attention the these small details and others like them, will definitely add a little something extra to your home that will make your guests or renters feel more welcomed, more relaxed and definitely ready to return in the future! Sometimes it's the little things that leave the longest, lasting impression!

 

Loading Comments