Guest Ready

I love the run up to Christmas and the prospect of decorating the house for the festive season. I’m sure like many, this doesn’t stop at choosing a beautiful tree and adorning it with sparkle and glee, but also ensuring the house is guest ready. We all strive to have our homes looking their best as we open our doors to friends and family.
This year I was eager to put the finishing touches to our guest room which had been freshly painted during the summer months. Unfortunately, I had had a minor accident at the time which prevented me from finishing what I had started. Now, fully recovered, and energised by the onset of the festivities I set aside a weekend to make the curtains which, by now, were long overdue.
I had bought a new duvet cover and matching pillow cases as well as curtain fabric from the Laura Ashley Runswick Seaspray range. The bed linen is a crisp, white cotton, embroidered with an oversized floral motif in shades of seaspray and yellow. By contrast the curtain fabric is a soft, off-white material with a subtle blue and yellow floral pattern, which hangs beautifully once made up. I retained the valances that I had made previously.
All of the pine furniture in the room has had an Annie Sloan makeover as featured in my blog of 14 March. The final addition to this light and airy seaspray room was a painting by Haidee-Jo Summer. I’m sure I can hear the waves gently breaking on the shore and smell the sea air as I peer at the view of the Cornish coastline from the window of the fisherman’s shelter. Cheerily decorated with bunting and sunflowers it evokes memories of summer by the seaside at an otherwise dreary time of year.
A string of fairy lights gently illuminates the bedstead and an Anthropologie Aloha Orchid candle adds a subtle aroma. Lastly, I love to make up small gift bags as a special treat. Filled with goodies such as lip balm and bath bombs, note books and pencils, and perhaps a handmade chocolate and indoor sparkler. I find these go a long way to making our house guests feel really welcome.
Now that the house is guest ready I am really looking forward to their arrival. Happy Christmas everyone. x