10 THINGS TO DO TO YOUR HOME WHEN INVITING YOUR FAMILIES OVER.

Having a home that is inviting — that beckons to visitors and lingers in the minds of guests — makes for both an enjoyable and memorable place. And there’s a bonus benefit to creating a home that is inviting to guests and families: It’s often more inviting to you, too! As a professional interior designer I’ve gotten tips for you, that will help you craft a home that welcomes everyone who walks through its doors — though warning, it may make them never want to leave!

1. Cleanliness counts.

The old adage which says that you only get one shot at a first impression is true. So, make the interior of your home shine from the moment someone walks through the door. Hire a cleaning service for a thorough top-to-bottom scrubbing. Even if you clean your home regularly, there are nooks and crannies that you may miss or overlook. Let a cleaning service do the dirty work to really make your home sparkle. And then you can start up with the interior decoration.

2. Update your home’s entrance.

The look of your front door and entrance play heavily into the overall curb appeal of your home. The front door serves as the transition into your home and is part of their first impression. Entry doors are architectural components that should complement your home’s overall design, not detract from it. If your existing front door isn’t attractive enough, contact a top 10 interior designing company in Lagos Nigeria like (Simplinteriors and Décor) for a more energy-efficient and attractive replacement. Whether you choose a solid wood door or one with decorative stained or cut glass panels, a welcoming entrance will definitely increase your home’s bottom line. When guests walk in your home they should get a sense of your style instantly.

3. Make your seating arrangement around your furniture easy
   You might not mind moving a chair out of the way to get behind the dining table, but guests don’t normally feel comfortable in spaces they don’t understand how to traverse. Small homes especially, need to be on the lookout for this un-inviting culprit. The idea is to make moving through your home — getting from the front door to comfy seating areas, the kitchen, the bathroom and less obstacle. Don’t squish over-sized furniture so closely that no one can squeeze through, and don’t put so many floor pillows on the ground guests have to crawl through them like an obstacle-course. And, this is of course tough for parents, but try as much as possible to consult an expert in interior design for the best advice.

 4) Decorate your bathroom with outdoor inspiration: Use decorative items in your bathroom that will make your families want to shower for a whole day. Inspire your bathroom with subtle colors. Include decorative item like; fluffy towels and also place pampering bath gels, soaps and sponges on your vanity fair surface to give it a luxury look.

5. Use natural ingredients for an eye catching centerpiece: Lots of plants just bring life into a space, and make it feel like the kind of welcoming place and also to add color to your home. You can DIY the centerpiece using colours like; lemons, limes, apples, oranges to make a great centerpieces in a beautiful vase.
6. Brighten up with new lighting.

A bright way to increase the value of your home is to lighten up. As an interior designer I always emphasize on the importance of lighting to my students because “adequate lighting in a home makes a big difference. Not only does a bright, well-lit room feel more cheerful but it also makes spaces feel larger and cleaner. A well-lit room also shows that you have nothing to hide, so should you decide to invite your families, they will always feel at ease when touring your home. You’ll enjoy the bright effect now and your home will feel more welcoming to quest.

7. Paint a room or accent wall with a bold color: Paint is the most attractive interior decorating tool you have, so go for it! Paint an accent wall in a contrasting or complementing color to your furniture.  Don’t know how to decide on colors? Ask an expert in interior design or better still go to a well-known interior designing company in Lagos Nigeria (Simplinteriors &Decor) and consult an interior designer to mix quart or sample sizes for you.

8. Improve the air quality inside your home.

Air quality isn’t just about the conditions outdoors. If you have older carpets in your home, they might be hiding contaminants and allergens. The first step to determine if these need replacing is to hire a professional company (Simplinteriors and Décor) to test your indoor air quality. If the results prove that your carpets should be replaced, choose environmentally friendly natural products like tile or laminate floors. Hard-surface floors are much easier to keep clean, don’t hold odours, give your home an updated look and, in general, are more appealing to your families.

9. Design a Gallery: This in fact can make your home more beautiful and colourful than you can imagine. Use what makes you feel happy in your space, but make each gallery feel unified by sticking to a single theme. For example: display cooking tools such as antique egg beaters, a frying pan, cookie cutters or whisks on the kitchen wall. Tack up a few pretty but never-used placemats one under another in a column to span a vertical space. Space them equally to make them look neat and attractive.

10. Refresh the exterior paint.

As a Professional in interior design, when teaching my student at Simplinteriors School of Interior Design And Entrepreneurship I always tell them that “the condition of your home exterior is the key to the overall curb appeal”, so refresh that facade with a coat of paint. Fresh exterior paint will not only preserve and protect your home’s exterior siding — the right paint colour can make a dull home dazzling. By the same token, a house painted with less bright or overly bland colour will make a house less appealing and hurt the value, so choose your colours wisely. Should you decide to invite your families and the exterior paint looks bad, they will assume that the interior of the home has been neglected too and won’t like to visit your home the next time you invite them. To avoid this contact an expert in interior design in Lagos Nigeria.