How To Make Your Home The Social Hub Of The Season

None of us is really at our best in the winter months. The cold and dark weather combined with the pervasive sense of pessimism (not to mention all those unwelcome winter bugs) can combine to give us a serious case of Seasonal Affective Disorder. But as the seasons change, and the sun decides to show its face a little more, our psychology changes with them. We suddenly no longer want to head straight home after work, dive under the duvet and binge on carbs, fats and Netflix until sleep takes us grudgingly into the next day. Instead, we emerge every morning like a butterfly emerging from her chrysalis. We’re suddenly struck with a sincere and earnest desire to be as social as possible. Our thoughts turn to picnics, dinner parties, cocktail soirees, and barbecues. Suddenly it’s no longer enough to be more sociable, you home simply must become the hub of all social activity within your friendship group over the coming months.


But how can you make sure that your home brings guests back time after time to drink in the charm and ambience of your home along with the selection of fine wines they’ll no doubt also be quaffing? How can you make sure that your home is a welcoming yet subtly aspirational paragon of domestic bliss that they’ll want to come back to again and again? Here we’ll look into some of the ways in which you can keep guests coming back for more over and over again as the sun shines, the wine flows and facebook pics accumulate. Follow the following guidelines and people will scroll through your social media feed agape with envy and hoping that they’ll be invited next time…

If you haven’t already… Now’s the time to spring clean

Most of the time, deep cleaning the whole house is a gruelling chore, but for some reason, even the most housework shy of us can get behind the idea of a good spring clean. Perhaps this is because the notion of getting our house in order is a time honored tradition that speaks to an innate instinct that pops up in numerous different nations and cultures across the globe and transcends barriers of history and culture. It’s not only the foundation upon which you’ll build your home’s fresh new aesthetic before the guests come knocking, it’s a psychologically liberating process that will likely make you fall in love with your home all over again, causing you to see potential in every nook and cranny that was once filled with boxes of old junk. Speaking of which…

Clear out the clutter

Clutter is like smoking. We tell ourselves that we like it, we convince ourselves that we enjoy it… but it’s only after we well and truly cut it out of our lives that we realize how much it’s been holding you back all of these years. As you move from room to room you may well spot a few examples of what we tell ourselves are things that lend the home its idiosyncratic charm but that deep down we know are just junk and clutter that are taking up much needed space. Not only is clutter visually distracting, with the ability to cheapen even the most finely tuned aesthetic, it can actually take a surprising psychological toll not only on you but on all who visit your home.

Throw a yard sale, put your stuff on eBay or if you truly can’t bear to part with it, put it all in a chest and push it under the bed.  

Even the air needs to be perfect!

In anticipation of your guests, prior to your first big social event of the year, you’ll likely be dashing around ensuring that every surface in your home is spotless. But even the cleanest of homes can be plagued by dirty air. Not only can this potentially damage your guests’ (and your family’s) health, it can cause moldy, dank or rotten smells to permeate in the household which can outlast any scented candle or diffuser.

Get a specialist like ABC Home & Commercial AC Repair to take a look at your AC unit to ensure that it’s well cleaned and running properly. Not only can a poorly maintained AC unit cost you a fortune with months of inefficient running, if left uncleaned its inner workings can form a perfect breeding ground for harmful bacteria which become distributed around your home by the unit itself. It doesn’t matter how much thought and effort you put into the canapes if your guests all come down with a nasty case of legionnaires disease.  

While you’re at it, ensure that every room has a diffuser full of essential oils to ensure that the air has a subtly pleasant aroma that complements the room.

Make sure every room has a talking point

When you invite different groups of friends into your home, you take on a certain responsibility. You become more than just a friend, you become a social alchemist, and it’s your responsibility to ensure that conversation flows and that interactions are free of awkward pauses or (Heaven forbid) rooms full of people glued to their phones. Thus, you should ensure that every room has a talking point. It’s up to you what form this takes and it will likely vary depending on the needs of each room, nonetheless here are some suggestions;

  • A piece of statement art
  • A bookcase full of carefully chosen titles
  • An ornate or statement piece of furniture

Failing any of the above, a well placed plate of canapes and nibbles will usually help to facilitate the flow of conversation and keep people’s hands busy so that they won’t feel the need to fish in their pockets for phones.

Paint your house happy

As well as giving your house a good spring clean, you may feel that now is the time to revive your house with a lick of paint here or there. An interior designer will be able to help you to really maximise the potential in any given room, but the following staples will allow you to fill your entire home with spring cheer. Soft yet bold gelato colors are very much in this season, with yellows, pinks, greens and purples giving rooms pop especially when combined with the rosy tint of a spring sunset shining through the open window. If this is a little too bold for you, you may have more fun embracing the blues and indigoes that are also going to play a big part in the home decor scene this spring. If repainting your walls requires a little more time or expense than you’re prepared to part with, you can just as easily bring these colors into your soft furnishings, cushions, vases and ornaments. Make sure that your vases are overflowing with spring flowers, too. Which brings us to…

Bring some cheer into your garden

Even if it’s not quite time to bring the barbecue out of hiding yet, it’s likely that the action will spill out into the garden, so it’s important to ensure that your garden bears the same seasonal sense of cheer and goodwill as your home. A garden bursting with color from the following is bound to be a smash hit;

  • Daffodils-  What else says spring better than the vivid burst of yellow that they provide?
  • Anemones- Shapely and bold in color, they can either brighten up your garden lend a room cheer along with a certain sensuality, if cut and placed in a vase.
  • Carnations- They’re not only hardy and  long lasting, they come in a huge variety of colors to make your garden lively and bright

Master these decorative and home maintenance flourishes and you’ll find that your home is the most talked about place of the season.

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