Welcoming Home Atmosphere

Would you love to have a welcoming home all the time? Doesn’t it sound like a dream to have a peaceful and picked up home? As we begin to see the light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, we can start to dream of a time when we can welcome friends into our homes again. 

I’d like you to take a moment and envision what a welcoming home atmosphere would look like in your living space. Close your eyes and picture what your home would look like when you enter it. How would it welcome you?  

This vision will be different for each of us based on our homes and also our stages in life. What works for my family to welcome friends inside may not work well for you right now.  

No matter what stage you are in your life, it is possible to have a welcoming atmosphere in your living space. I’m excited to share some of my ideas which I hope can help you establish a welcoming home atmosphere that will work for you!

My Challenge: Teaching Flute Lessons at Home 

For many years, I have taught flute lessons in my home during the afternoons. I wanted to create a welcoming, professional, and warm environment for my flute students and their parents.

 This meant that I would need to stop what I was doing during the afternoon to get my living room and downstairs bathroom presentable. In my old home, this also meant that I needed to get the schoolroom and laundry hallway picked up as well because to get to the bathroom, my student would need to walk through those rooms. 

On some days, the downstairs would get so messy that I would need to spend half an hour picking up so that I could teach a half an hour flute lesson. I started looking at the time involved and realized that because my home wasn’t picked up, I was actually losing money. My lack of preparation meant that I was doing an hour of work for half an hour of pay. Plus, I would need to stop working or playing with the boys earlier to make the home ready for a lesson.

I needed to figure out a new plan!  

Creating the Atmosphere 

How could I create a welcoming atmosphere in my home, which would allow me to gently move from homeschooling to teaching flute lessons?

I decided to think about how I kept the common areas ready for a student all the time. What habits would I need to develop so that I could be ready to teach in just a few minutes, instead of half an hour?

This was especially important because I liked to spread my flute students out throughout the week. It made it easier for me to manage my home responsibilities while still teaching.  

What I needed to do was figure out the most important areas to keep picked up, and then develop family habits so that these areas stayed picked up.  

I didn’t want to be constantly cleaning up, so that meant that I needed easy strategies that I could employ to maintain that welcoming home atmosphere.

Here are a few ways that we can approach homemaking so that we can enjoy the company of our friends without stressing out when they knock on our door.

Entry

Your entryway is the first thing a guest sees when they enter your home. You might have a formal entryway that is separated from the living space of the home. If this is the case, then it will be easier for you to keep this area picked up and ready. If your front door opens up right into the family room, then you might have more of a challenge.  

This was the case in our old home. We would open the front door right into the family room. I had no place to hide all the legos and the toys! This was the room we relaxed in, and it was also the room I taught my flute lessons in. I was in for a challenge!

Take a look at your home and evaluate the entry situation. What are the rooms that are immediately visible to a guest? Let your eyes take a brief scan, pretending that you are just seeing the space for the first time. Notice the areas of clutter. What looks the dirtiest to you? 

Seating Area

If you are receiving guests, or students, in my case, you will have a target seating area for them. In my previous home, this was the family room. We didn’t have a formal living room in that home. That room also flowed into the dining room. I would pull a few dining chairs out for my students, and then the parents would be able to sit on the couch if they would like during the lessons.

Due to the architecture of the home, I needed to keep my family room and dining room ready for my students. This meant that my dining room table would need to be clear of papers, dishes, and homeschool projects. Thankfully, we had a kitchen table in the other room where the schooling took place.

Take a look at your home and identify the ideal seating area for your guests. In our current home, we have a formal living room. I have designed that room with two chairs that can be arranged for flute lessons. We also have two loveseats which are available to the parents if they would like to stay and watch the lesson. This room doesn’t get used regularly in our home so it is easier for us to keep it picked up.  

Every home and situation is different. Perhaps you are a parent of young children and you are used to hosting other moms with young children. You could customize your space so that is easy. You might have a comfortable seating area with toys available in easy to access bins. 

In my husband’s parent’s home, they had the toys for the grandkids arranged in decorative baskets in the family room. When there were no grandkids over, the toys were hidden. But, when we arrived, the boys knew exactly where to get the toys. Before we left, the kids were always instructed to put the toys away.

It is possible to find storage baskets and bins which blend in nicely with your existing decor. For example, I had an antique hope chest in our old family room. We put some safety hinges on it, and that chest became the lego bin. The kids could open up the bin and easily make a creative mess with the legos. They were easy to access, especially if they had friends over. It was easy for the moms to supervise the play and still have a conversation.

The seating area and the play area were located on the same floor so that we could keep an eye and ear out for any problems.  

Think about the guests you have in your home. What would make it easy for you to welcome them? This will change over the years. When your kids are young, you might prioritize safety and fun in the sitting area. If you are teaching or tutoring others in your home, then having an area to do that which is ready for the students will make it easy for you to transition to that role without much downtime.

Bathroom

Sometimes your guests will need to use the bathroom. I know this is an obvious thing to say. Of course, someone might need to use a bathroom, especially nowadays to wash hands! But, it is something important to prepare for.

I’d like you to think about the bathroom which would be easiest for your guests to use. In our previous home, we had one downstairs powder room. But, this was the main bathroom used by our family throughout the day, and it was right next to the schoolroom.  

If one of my students needed to use the restroom, she would be walking through the schoolroom.  

So, I needed to develop a few habits which would make things easier when I was teaching lessons.  

First, the schoolroom needed to be mostly picked up. This doesn’t mean perfect! If my kids were still working on a project, that could stay out. But, I tried to give it a once over of paper trash and broken crayons out on the tables.

Then, I needed to keep my laundry hallway picked up. The laundry hall was right across from the bathroom. So, dirty clothes couldn’t be all over the floor. The kitchen laundry couldn’t be “ripening” in the bins. I needed to have more decorative solutions to hiding the laundry. I ended up using some cloth-lined baskets to hold the darks and lights. Then, I had hooks available to hand up the wet washcloths and towels so that they wouldn’t be smelly.

And, lastly, I needed to keep that bathroom presentable. I had a habit of giving it a quick wipe down with a disinfecting wipe each day. I would usually do this right before my student arrived.

Kitchen

If your kitchen is located in the back of your home, away from the guest seating area, then this room doesn’t need to be as high of a priority as the other areas with regards to guest preparation. However, many times our guests end up drifting into the kitchen to get a drink, or to chat while we are preparing a snack.

So, I would encourage you to think about habits that will help you keep your kitchen picked up. If you haven’t read my kitchen tricks post yet, that is a good place to start.

Personalize your Home

As we work towards creating a welcoming atmosphere in our homes, the last thing I would like to encourage you to think about is to personalize your home so that it is a reflection of you and your family. When we create a personalized and beautiful space, it is easier to motivate ourselves to keep it picked up.

Our living room and dining room have a more formal atmosphere. The furniture in the living room isn’t very comfortable, but every time I walk into the room I get a warm feeling. I have paintings of Paris on the wall and I love the way that the mirrored furniture glimmers in the light.  

Taking the time to think about your personal decorating style can be very fulfilling. We have the opportunity to share pieces of ourselves in our decor.  

For example, on the mantle in our living room is a model of the Queen Mary. It was built by my husband’s late grandfather, Ken. Dave proposed to me on the deck of that ship.  We didn’t know until a few years later, that his grandfather had also proposed on the deck of the Queen Mary. Grandpa Ken made us that model, and we cherish it. It is a conversation piece in our living room.

I encourage you to think about ways you might personalize your home as you create a welcoming atmosphere.  Your home decorations can reflect things you love and offer your guests the opportunity to learn more about you as they enjoy your home.

I would love to know how you create a welcoming atmosphere in your home. What tips do you have to share?