redswisschard's Profile

Late to the party but have been thinking about this topic a lot recently.

I'm coming to the realization that I should stop trying to host. I've always lived in small, urban places and will continue to live in them for the foreseeable future; one of the reasons I like them is that I know they limit my carbon footprint. Another bedroom increases my impact and, as Heartdepauvera noted, can be expensive. I don't really need the space--I have a nice, private office at work. The other thing is that my life falls apart pretty fast if I'm not getting sleep, exercising, and going about my core routine. This routine is always severely disrupted if I have someone sleeping in the living room with different hours or, like now, sharing my ~360 sq ft studio. It always takes me a while to recover from these visits. No matter how much I love visitors, they take a toll.

For practical and environmental reasons, hotels thus make way more sense. If my sleep needs were flexible and I didn't use my space to restore myself, I might feel differently. And I do see the charm in hosting if you have some big sprawling place with a separate guest wing or bath... where I grew up, our guests always stayed in the pool house... but that's not the sort of world many of us live in any more, and I wouldn't want to. That's a lot of resources to devote to a few friends and family members.

"it's funny to me that on any other post, there would be 50+ comments complaining about your animal skin rugs, but because you happen to have a beautiful home, no one has mentioned it."

I was ready to mention it. Distinctive style, if a bit cluttered for my taste (but I can see how it's the perfect amount for others!). Makes me sad to see so much dead animal around an animal lover. Your dogs are great. I love that you kept the original tile (I'm assuming) in the kitchen. Great plants too.

"Fuschia"? Seriously?

The lack of quality control here can be deeply discomforting.

I really liked the mirror washstand in the silver-themed bathroom. That's a great decision.

Overall, it's too matchy-matchy and slightly BB&B-ish for my tastes. I don't think such a limited color palette is "disciplined," as another commenter mentioned; it always feels too contrived to me. But whatever sells your photos is what works! (As a small tidbit, I was slightly weirded out by the manifestos on the chalkboard paint in the kitchen. What bothered me was that it was all these declarations of family values in the handwriting of just one hypothetical family member--presumably the mom. That might appeal to your clients, but it also seems like an eerie metaphor for the dynamics of the family-photo business. My mom was always way more into family photographs than the rest of the family, to the point where we fought about it, and she would hang photos of me that *she* liked but that I didn't like, etc. It was strangely unilateral and autocratic, which is how the chalkboard wall comes off to me. These might just be my issues coming out.)

"I pray for a life in which folding a fitted sheet is one of the biggest challenges."

My thought too! I kept waiting for a wink. Seriously, who writes this stuff?

"Saunas: During the winter months whenever I start feeling a cold coming on I try to get to a sauna in a gym or a spa as soon as possible to sweat it out. If I'm able to catch it quick enough it works 9 times out of 10."

Please don't do that! If you have a cold coming on, that's exactly how you infect other people (especially people who are trying to stay healthy!).

I would have to rebook after seeing the carpet. Seriously.

I don't think this post is inherently condescending.

Some people are magnitudes more sensitive to their visual environment than others. Preferences differ. Some people get acclimated to their surroundings faster or more thoroughly than others.

I'm one of those people who is immediately cheered when I'm in a beautiful environment. I also have to consciously manage my response when I find an environment ugly. I've been like this since I was a kid. I don't think it's something I can easily change. I'm pretty sure I know people who are the exact opposite from me in this sense, and who seem aesthetically at ease in any environment.

Like other commenters, I've taken photographs before reorganizing decor so that I can put everything back the way I found it upon leaving. When I can't do this, I try to imagine how others view this space. This is an especially useful technique in foreign places, whether Wisconsin or a developing country--they might see beautiful handiwork and fantastic color, while I see overwrought chintz. Reactions are obviously so influenced by what palettes and lines we're accustomed to, what kinds of things are rare versus common and easy to obtain, our particular associations with eras, etc.

I think it's totally fine to cringe at the decor of some vacation rentals. Some people don't want to have to deal semiconsciously with what they perceive as ugly. Indeed, it seems strange to me to vacation in a "beautiful" place and be indifferent to your immediate surroundings.