You want to have an Inviting home, no matter if it’s a small apartment, townhouse or single-family house. When your home is welcoming, your guests will love to be there and they’ll keep coming back. And there’s an added bonus to that, too: You get to live in and love your home. With the tips we’re offering below, your guests may never want to go back to their own homes, so proceed with caution:

Your Front Door Should Be the Gateway to the Inviting Tone

Your guests enter your residence through the front Door, and you want them to feel at ease when they show up. It doesn’t take much to make your front door appealing. Set out a nice welcome mat and give your front stoop a quick clean. Some people even opt for signs that say “hello” or wreaths. Your personal style and taste is on display here first.

Carefully Choose Warm Colors and Use Design Tricks

Using design tricks and selecting the right color palate for your front room really helps in creating an inviting atmosphere. Consider a guest’s line of sight when they enter and pay attention to the wall farthest from the door. You might want to paint that wall a bold color to accent it or hang some fun art or lighting, basically you want that wall to capture your guests’ attention. This will draw people into your home and create a feeling that they want to stay for a while and get to know the space.

Your Furniture Arrangement Should Be Easy to Navigate

You don’t want your guests to trip over your seating. If they have to move chairs out of the way to get to your kitchen they may not feel comfortable because they don’t know how to traverse your house. If you live in a smaller home, you should be especially aware of this, because it can make people feel uneasy. You want to make it simple for people to move through your home and not have your guests feel like they’re running through an obstacle course. Parents should also take note: Keep your kids’ toys put away when you have house guests because those building blocks and stuffed animals are tripping hazards.

If You’ve Got Harsh Lines, Soften them Up

Rigid, harsh lines can look unpleasant to your invitees and actually counteract what you’re trying to accomplish. Use tricks like integrating round rugs, pillows and blankets to your decor. That can break straight lines and give a nice roundness to sharp corners.

Eliminate Clutter and Stacks

Piles of bills and tall stacks of magazines are stressful to look at for you, and also for your guests. Sometimes it’s impossible for space to be free of clutter 100 percent of the time, but you should always be sure to hide those stacks before you have company.

Aromatherapy for Your Home

Have some pleasant smells floating around. (Or, at the minimum, don’t have any foul smells in the air.) If you’re unsure how your house smells, step away for a while. Spend a day or two somewhere else and assess how it smells when you go back. If it’s bad, remove the odor. Then add some nice-smelling plants to create aroma excellence.

Your home can be an inviting place for you to have company. If it looks warm and inviting, they’ll want to stay and have a good time with you.

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