From the Floors Up

How To Prepare For Guests and Be the Ultimate Hostess Part 2

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Part 2 – Kitchen, Guest Bathroom, Pets

Moving right along let’s continue with more guidelines as to how to be the best possible hostess when guests come to stay in your home. The goal is ensure that they feel appreciated, relaxed, and a little bit at home.

Kitchen

  • Set out everything your guest might need for morning coffee or tea. You’ll get extra points if you arrange it prettily. Fold a napkin, place a spoon on it, and set an empty mug next to it. In the morning set out the cream, sugar, and tea bags.
  • Ensure that your guest is comfortable and well taken care of by also preparing your refrigerator ahead of time. Before their arrival ask what they like to eat. Not just for a formal meal. Ask what they like to snack on. It will be much easier to keep them satisfied and save yourself excessive food prep time if tasty, easy-access food is in the house. Such as fruit, nuts, sandwich ingredients, etc. Plus, nothing says guest of honor like a spread of food that was clearly purchased with your guest in mind. 

Guest Bathroom

  • Prepare the guest bathroom by overstocking it with clean towels. Even if your guest only uses a few of the towels, there is something about extra towels that make a bathroom feel luxurious. Make sure to stock all the necessities of bathing. Even if your guest brings their own, they won’t have to ask for anything they forgot and they’ll realize how thoughtful you are. Things to include are shower gel/soap, razors, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, extra toothbrush, q-tips, cotton balls, and lotion.

Pets

  • If you are allowing pets into your home everyone will have a much better experience if you plan ahead. First, remove or block off anything in the home that absolutely cannot support the presence of an animal. Next, create a space on the floor for the animal’s food and water. By deciding ahead you can avoid the inconvenience of randomly placed pet dishes under foot. Give your guest an extra house key if they will need to leave for a short while to walk the dog when you’re not home. Provide doggy waste bags to ensure your guest doesn’t upset your neighbors. Last, ask you guest to bring along a pet carrier or crate if you aren’t comfortable with the animal running loose in your home when everyone is out for the day or night.

Organizing and Cleaning Your Shower

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14420915_SYou just completed a beautiful remodel of your bathroom. You have heated floors, subway tile, plate glass shower doors, toothbrush holders, towel storage and lots of cabinet space. But your shower floor is littered with shampoo bottles, shaving supplies and body wash. It’s time for a bit of shower organization. And just for good measure we’ll also talk about how to keep your plate glass looking clean and sparkling.

If you were really thinking ahead you would have had shower shelves or niches built into your shower walls. If you’ve already completed your remodel or you have inherited a shower without such features, fear not.

You can use caddies to store everything from shampoo and conditioner bottles to shaving supplies to toothbrushes and bath toys. Look for deep pockets and baskets to keep knickknacks from slipping out of the caddies and getting underfoot. A wire mesh or large drainage holes are required for proper drainage. A number of racks will hold bottles upside-down like ketchup so you can easily get that last squirt of shampoo or conditioner.

There is even a shaving pedestal that can be mounted two feet off the floor of the shower to help women shave their legs. Other products combine mirrors with storage racks for razors and shaving cream. Mounted soft soap and shampoo dispensers put those products at your fingertips, and covered bar soap dishes can keep the bars from melting. Brilliant!

To keep those glass shower doors sparkling clean plan on mixing one cup of white vinegar and one cup of dishwasher soap together. Use a scrubby and wipe down the glass. Rinse with water. This should do the trick but if there are a few stubborn spots use a good glass cleaner.

Now not only do you have a beautifully organized and functional shower but a clean one as well!

Building a House…I Wish I Had Thought of That! (Part Two)

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Screen Shot 2013-05-07 at 10.36.28 AMAs promised we have added more helpful tips that will hopefully keep you from saying “I wish I had thought of that!”

  • Bathroom: I wish I had thought of this one…when designing your cabinets for your bathrooms, think about longer drawers and fewer cabinets. The storage in drawers can be so efficient. Adding draw organizers is sure to make anyone happy!
  • Rounded Corners: Round corners create a smooth custom look throughout your home, which is sometimes easy to miss when you’re thinking about the design of your home.
  • Wall Texture: have you ever noticed the wall texture on homes that you have visited? Some are rough, others a little textured (referred to as knocked down), and then there is smooth. Think about the style of your home and remember there are options when it comes to wall texture.
  • Screen Shot 2013-05-06 at 1.30.12 PMHardwood or Ceramic Floors: You don’t have to pick one or the other, you can have both! Combining wood floors and ceramic adds texture and style to any home. Just remember that the transition from one material to another can make or break a design. Make sure you have a clear-cut line between the two rooms; adding a border in the wood creates a very clean look.
  • Basement Ceiling:  The average basement ceiling is 8 to 9 feet tall. To make your basement feel more open and like the rest of your house consider 10-foot ceilings. You will pay a little more but at the end you will be happy you did it!
  • Interior Doors:  Solid 8-foot wood doors throughout your home will make a statement. Larger doors bring a custom feel to your home that you will enjoy for years to come.

Building a house takes a lot of time and planning. Try to put things in perspective and prioritize what is important to you and your family.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Megan for spending her time and sharing her home building insight!

Building a House…I Wish I Had Thought of That! (Part One)

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Screen Shot 2013-05-07 at 10.37.00 AMWe would like to introduce Megan, one of our readers who has been kind enough to share her story and advice on building a house.

If building a house is in your future there are many things to think about and consider. Below are some helpful tips that will hopefully keep you from saying, “I wish I had thought of that!”

  • Window Shape: When I built my house I was set on having bamboo shades. It wasn’t till after I moved in that I discovered bamboo shades couldn’t be customized to an arched window. This actually made a lot of sense, but I had not thought about it when we were designing the window shapes in the house.
  • Master Shower: This is a brilliant idea instead of installing shelves in the corners of the shower for your shampoo.  You can do pocket shelves on the same wall as the shower knob. This provides a dry area for all your shower essentials and keeps things neat, tidy, handy, and dry!
  • Hallways: For an added touch use arch niches in your hallway. This is great for a picture or plant. Don’t forget the accent light!
  • Screen Shot 2013-05-07 at 10.35.58 AMEntry Area: An insert of tile or slate is the perfect solution for keeping your wood floors from getting moisture from rain and snow. It’s easy to maintain and worry free.
  • Carpet:  Make sure you get a good carpet pad. A good pad will extend the life of your carpet and you’ll be able to feel the difference on your feet!  Also, go one step further and research carpet beyond “base grade”.

You don’t want to miss next week’s post! Megan has even more information she’d like to share.  Stay tuned.

Bathroom Blogfest 2012: Creating a Cottage Style Bathroom

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We wanted to finish up Bathroom Blogfest 2012 with a  traditional, warm bathroom design.  This design can work for both newer and older homes.

Cottage style is a charming choice for the bathroom.  Cottage style can work with traditional and farmhouse architecture as well as cottage homes.  These bathrooms favor traditional elements and surfaces and often reference vintage and antique elements.

This bathroom features one of the timeless classics of bathroom design: the claw-foot tub.  These antiques are classics because of their deep soaks and cast-iron construction that holds the heat. Antique claw foot tubs can be found restored to their original condition, and can also be customized with color on the exterior.

The pedestal sink is a nice vintage touch that fits perfectly with cottage style. While these sinks don’t provide storage, their narrow profile is ideal for a small bathroom. Additional storage can be created with a small vintage cabinet, bookshelf, or hanging cabinet.

You could add penny tiles or hexagonal tiles on the floor for a classic vintage cottage style.  Typically, white and black, today’s penny tiles and hexagonal tiles can be found in an array of colors to suit any taste. A soft throw rug next to the tub is a stylish and smart addition to create a soft place to step out of the tub.

Wainscoting on the walls is a great touch in a cottage bathroom. Subway tiles, in classic white, would work nicely on the walls in a cottage bathroom, as well. Charming vintage art and the simple framed mirror complete the cottage look in this bathroom. The wainscoting dark color framed by the white trim and patterned area rug adds visual interest to this bathroom.

We hope you all enjoyed reading about bathrooms this week as much as we did! We’re so grateful to have participated in Bathroom Blogfest 2012 and cannot wait until next year’s group blogging adventure.  Don’t forget to take a look at the rest of the Bathroom Blogfest writers below:

Name Twitter Username Blog Name Blog URL
Susan Abbott susanabbott theIdeaStudio www.theideastudio.ca
Laurence Borel blogtillyoudrop blog till you drop www.laurenceborel.com
Bill Buyok AventeTile Avente Tile Talk http://www.aventetiletalk.com/
Jeanne Byington jmbyington The Importance of Earnest Service blog.jmbyington.com
Nora DePalma steamtherapy The Mr. Steam SteamTherapy Blog http://blog.mrsteam.com/
Mr. Steam noradepalma OR-DP POV www.oreilly-depalma.com/blog
Stacy Garcia kbtribechat kbtribe http://kbtribe.wordpress.com
Diane Kazan dkazan Public Bathroom Blog http://thekazan.blogspot.com
Arpi Nalbandian Arpi_Nalb Avente Tile Talk http://www.aventetiletalk.com/
Victoria & Shelley Redshaw & Pond scarletopus Scarlet Opus Trends Blog www.scarletopus.com
Sandy Renshaw sandyrenshaw Purple Wren purplewren.com
Bruce D. Sanders rimtailing RIMtailing http://rimtailing.blogspot.com/
Paige Smith none Tile tips from installation professionals http://neusetile.wordpress.com/
Todd Vendituoli TALV58 Thebuildingblox http://www.thebuildingblox.com/
Shannon Vogel cyswebsites From the Floors Up http://fromthefloorsup.com
CB Whittemore cbwhittemore Content Talks Business Blog http://simplemarketingnow.com/content-talks-business-blog/
Irene Williams crossvilleinc Elevate Your Space http://elevateyourspace.wordpress.com/
Linda Wright skiptotheloo Skip to the Loo! http://lindaloo.com/

 

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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