Home For The Holidays — Quick Refresh Tips From Mountainwood Homes
With the holiday season fast approaching, homeowners are looking for ways to quickly get their homes in shape to host family and friends and spend more time inside.
The design-build team at Mountainwood Homes says this season is the best time to look at your home with fresh eyes and reframe how you use it to fit your lifestyle.
Here are six ways to get your home guest-ready:
1. Improve the curb appeal
One way to enhance the appearance of your home is to start from the outside and see how it appears to a brand-new visitor.
First, take care of routine home maintenance before the weather takes a turn to winter. Clean the yard, sweep the entryway, clear the gutters, and caulk around windows and doors if needed. Welcome visitors with a fresh coat of paint on the front door, swap out your porch light with a more updated fixture and bulb, and add a new welcome mat to enhance your entry.
The entrance to this West Linn custom home is ready for the changing seasons. The wrap-around covered porch shields guests from the rain.
2. Create a mudroom area
Designate a transition area for wet coats, boots, and other gear. Whether you make a space with a bench and coat hooks or have a separate room off the garage or laundry room, create a system to contain the clutter and drop your bags when you enter the home. Don’t forget to make room in the coat closet for guests’ jackets.
In this Lake Oswego custom home, the homeowners can walk from the garage into the mudroom, drop keys, coats, and bags, and enter the kitchen to store fresh foods.
3. Focus on the fireplace
Fireplaces are often the focal point of the living area, so make sure yours is clean and inviting. Not only do they add ambiance, but they can also provide heat, so it’s a natural gathering spot.
Rearrange your furniture to promote conversation and add additional seating if needed. For a memorable touch, set out a puzzle or board game for guests to jump into, turn on the tunes, and divert their attention from the television.
The fireplace wall is a great spot to sprinkle in seasonal décor and display your favorite collectibles.
Mixing new wood with reclaimed wood, stone, and steel makes this great room a cozy gathering spot.
Image: David Papazian Photography
4. Create kitchen zones
The kitchen is the hardest-working room in the home, especially around the holidays. Since guests tend to congregate there, creating a functional and beautiful space is a priority. If it feels cramped and flow is a problem, find ways to pull guests out of the kitchen, such as creating a defined beverage station, especially during gatherings.
This Oregon City home remodel added a beverage center out of the main work zone. Bonus: The two big drawers in the beverage station are concealed Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer drawers.
"My husband has a fancy espresso maker, and he loves to make people coffee, but he’s not the first one up,” says Angela Dechard, a Designer with Mountainwood Homes. “So, I create a little coffee station and set out our regular coffee maker, nice coffee and teas on the counter, and stock up on creamer, so if someone wakes up first, they can go into the kitchen and make a coffee without waking anyone up.”
5. Layer lighting
It gets darker earlier in the evening in fall and winter. Use a mix of ambient, task, and accent lighting to create multiple light sources to balance the light in your home. Tip: Be sure to use light bulbs with a similar color temperature. Your choice of lightbulbs is a personal one that can completely change the look and feel of your home.
Aside from the bulbs, you can adjust the light’s settings with light controls and dimmers for ultimate flexibility.
Don’t forget to leave a night light in the hallway or kitchen.
“You know your home, but your guests don’t,” Dechard adds. “Plus, they don’t know where the switches are.”
6. Create a guest experience
Do you have a guest room to accommodate overnight guests? To make it more welcoming, ensure the linens are comfortable there is good lighting, and add small touches to make it feel like an upscale hotel, such as extra blankets, fresh towels, and spare toiletries. Add a new hand towel, bathmat, and counter accessories in the bathroom to soften the space and make guests feel at home.
The lower-level guest bedroom in Northwest Portland feels special with the addition of a millwork feature wall behind the bed. Additional lighting and a refreshed bathroom add to the experience.
The holidays are a great motivator and deadline to get our homes in order. While there are simple fixes to get your home guest-ready, you may need more extensive solutions.
In the new year, changing the kitchen layout, updating the guest bathroom, or adding additional lighting throughout would make the whole house more functional, so keep that in mind when the holidays are over, and you can plan for more significant upgrades.
For more information on Mountainwood Homes, visit www.mountainwoodhomes.com or call (503) 746-7338. Their award-winning design/build team would love to work with you to realize the potential of your home and tailor it to your lifestyle.
