Decorating for the Holidays: Transform Your Home into a Welcoming Inn
Convert Your Home Into A Place For Visitors While Decorating For The Holidays
If you’re hosting family for the holidays, you know all about the challenge of finding a place for everyone to sleep, young and old. Whether you know exactly how many will be coming (and staying the night) or may have a surprise guest or two, we have a handful of tips to help you transform your home for the holidays so you’re prepared for any situation that might arise.
Being a great host doesn’t mean you need to express an overwhelming sense of formality. One of the best ways to handle holiday hosting is to imagine your house as a warm, welcoming inn. Seek out the nooks and crannies while decorating for the holidays. These can provide every guest space while recognizing a need for community gatherings.
Where Is Everyone Going To Sleep?
A quick way to transform your home and add an extra guest room to your “inn” is to place a twin-size daybed in a room currently used as a den or office. The unique feature of a daybed is its ability to serve as a sofa-like space during waking hours and provide an extra bed when needed for overnight guests. You can even add an extra sleeping space by purchasing a trundle. A trundle is a bed frame with wheels and casters that can hold a mattress while staying in storage below the daybed.
Trundle and Daybed
You can not only create a two-person sleeping arrangement by adding a trundle but adding pillows and mattress covers can transform your daybed into an attractive (and hidden) feature in any room.
The attic can often provide another fun space for adding sleeping quarters to your home. Even a somewhat unfinished attic space can become a cozy spot for a guest if decorated well. Remember, you don’t need to commit to a total renovation to make it usable. Sometimes, simple flowers or books are enough to make an otherwise space inviting for your guests. Likewise, an area rug can provide warmth (both psychological and physical) to an attic space.
Use The Attic
You don’t need a full frame and box springs in your attic. If the space will be used only rarely, a simple mattress on top of the carpet is enough for a comfortable resting spot. We recommend you use an actual mattress or futon—not a less comfortable, inflatable option. To add a fuller sense of the bed, use additional pillows and blankets to create a faux headboard. Include a decorative bedspread to add visual pop to the space.
The Floor Can Work
Find low-end tables to provide beside space for your guests, as they’ll be closer to the floor than they otherwise would. Even a suitcase can provide a stand-in bedside table and keep the cozy charm of the space intact. Remaking your home in this way can be a fun part of decorating for the holidays! Stop focusing on creating a fully functional bedroom and take advantage of the unique spaces in which your guests will sleep. This will help them feel special and appreciate your effort to provide a home away from home.
Few design opportunities offer so much creative freedom to remake your home, so this is your chance to take risks and try out new ideas. As for the success of those designs, it makes for an excellent dinner-time conversation starter for the whole family to enjoy.
About Debbe Daley
Debbe Daley is New England’s leading interior design expert in the fields of design, decorating, and styling of interior spaces. She is a professional speaker, educator, influencer, and business coach in interior design. She also teaches creative interior design and change-of-career-minded individuals at her School of Interiors. These courses provide mentoring and hands-on training. Debbe is currently an installed Design Services member for the Boston Design Center. She also is an educator and instructor at Middlesex Community College in the field of interior design.
Contact Debbe at ddaley@daleydesigns.com or (978) 697-0288.
