Home Is Our Sanctuary

When I started this subject of the home as a sanctuary my intention was to share what my feelings are about a home and how meantingful a home is.  A home is not a house.  A house is a frame and walls and stairs and wood and metal and plastic.  A home is love and a place filled with meaningful artifacts.  A home is where your heart is as we have heard many times over.  It is where there is love and where there are children laughing and parents loving their children.  It is where we celebrate life and events of every kind: birthdays, anniversaries, Chirstmas, New Years, baptisms and dinners with our good friends.  A house is just the shell without any feeling and without any energy.  A home is an energy that lives inside of it because the objects in it come from different parts of the world and the choices of furnishings made a difference.  For example, some of us like soft coloration and others love vibrant colors.  In either case each person creates an energy with the colors they use in their home.  Vibrant colors may create a joy and laughter for the people living in the home.  Soft colors may create a tranquil energy that some of us prefer.  No color is wrong because as my grandmother said "for this reason colors were invented" because every person is not the same.  

I would like to talk about the guest bedroom today.  For me that room has always been a place to receive people in our home.  It is a room that we want to be comfortable for others.  The sheets should be of a nice quality and the bedding attractive and soft.  I love cottons and linens and stay away from fabrics that are not natural like poly.  I love the way that cotton feels on the skin and I always place the flat sheet under the comforter so that the comforter is protected and does not have to be cleaned as often since what hits the skin is the sheet.  Every time one has a guest it is time to wash the sheets and spruce up the bed.  I like matching shams and comforters and then I add at least two decorative pillows and two regular pillows.  White sheets are my first choice as they look crisp and clean and can be spot cleaned easier.  The bed is an inviting element in a guest room and the matress should be comfy.  A cheap matress will go bad in a short time so it is best to spend the money up front for a matress that will last for ten years or more.  I have had the one in my guest bed for over ten years and people make comments on how comfy it is.  I like to hear those positive comments because that is what a guest bedroom is for, to make others feel special and comfortable.  I like a duvet cover and a comforter inside of it.  Down comforters are fluff but some are allergic so there are ones that don't have feathers that work just as well.  

In the guest room there needs to be a lamp or two.  One or both should be good for reading.  I have a floor lamp and a table lamp in the room and the floor lamp is perfect for reading and has a dimmer attached to it.  Dimmer cords turn any lamp into one that you can reduce or increase the light on.  One one side of the bed instead of a night stand (so many better options) there is a desk.  It is a desk from Pier 1 and is somewhat ethnic and speaks of India which is why I loved it.  There is a lamp on it and I have a female Buhhda that holds a tea light in from of her hands.  Then to the side I have placed two magazines: one home and one fashion.  When I am going to have a guest over I also put out a book to read that I think that person might like to read.  I also put paper and pen nearby in case they need it.  I place their towels on the bed tied in a silk like ribbon in a bow.  A bath, hand and wash cloth are tied together.  I then put a note card on it and say something welcoming to my guest/s.  At times I have typed their name on the card on one side.  I place robes either in the closet or on the bed i white linen or cotton.  Every detail is thought out and the person's personality is considered in chosing the details.  If that person likes the scent of lilac and I know it I might place some flowers with that scent or a linen spray on the bed with that scent.  I always check with people about sprays of any type because some don't like it.  In some cases I put down the bed for my guests preparing them for sleep.  I love my guest bedroom because it has all the things one needs inside of it.  A Bose speaker system to listen to music on an iPod and a flat screen with a DVD player in the back of it.  I like my guests to feel at home and as it they are in a luxury hotel.  In some cases friends will say that this is how the room feels and it makes me happy that they feel like they are in a lux environment.  That should be our objective with our guests, making them feel enveloped in comfort and luxury.  It is interesting to me that we don't have to have the most expensive bedding or furniture in a room to make it beautiful and luxurious looking.  Places like Home Goods are great stores to find some truly beautiful things for a franction of the price.  For me the guest room can be as beautiful or almost as beautiful as the master bedroom.  Taking into account every detail is something that I do because I love people who I invite to be in my home, especially to stay in my home.  Setting the tone of love and of comfort tells them how much I love them.  Interestingly enough I have had guests cry when they see their room because in many cases they have not had anyone take that kind of care in receiving them as a guest.  For me it's an honor even though there are others who have made comments that I am "overdoing it".  It only mattters to me that I do what I think is honoring my people and receiving them in a loving way.  The only way I know how.