8 Ways to Get Your Home Hosting-ready
It’s finally holiday season – the festive plans are well underway and you’re frantically getting your home ready for when the guests come around 👨👨👧👧 
This upcycled drinks cabinet is ready to serve drinks all evening, with some help from FOLD 🥂
Preparing your home for the festive season is a must every year. When your loved ones are popping around for festive meals and neighbours are bringing you Christmas cards, it’s normal to want your home in tip-top shape. With a quick home refresh, you’ll keep the in-laws impressed and become the talk of the town 🏡
If you’re buying gifts, shopping hefty grocery lists and covering sky-high heating bills, there may be little room for splurging on seasonal decor. Our solution? Doing small jobs around the house, with just your tool box and a bit of creativity. You'll be surprised how little you'll spend if you just try second-hand shopping and curating just the bits you need.
Whether you're hosting in celebration of Christmas, Diwali or Hannukah, these tips will help get your home guest-ready. Here are 8 easy ways to get your home hosting-ready, all whilst sparing your wallet.
1. Deep clean & declutter
You can’t be having those bits n’ bobs cluttering the living room, or the touchpoints around your home looking grubby. Give your social spaces a deep clean, covering all the nooks and crannies. Use soap and water to clean your brass hardware, and dust between open shelves and around radiators 🧹Now it’s time to declutter and reorganise your spaces. Rid of that dated throw on your sofa, and give away those books that’ve been gathering dust on your coffee table. Colourful crates can help tuck away small bits n’ bobs, even doubling up as a playful design feature. With your open shelves now dust-free, create a fresh look by thoughtfully displaying your favourite trinkets and framed prints 🖼2. Organise your hallway
As the place your guests first step in to, your hallway should make a good impression. Organising your space is key, with hooks to hang up coats and keep your floor clutter-free. Our PULLMAN Hooks are the perfect size to hang up the odd coat or two that your current hooks can’t handle. If you’re starting from scratch, a larger hook that can hold multiple items may be best for you. We recommend LEVI, which extends outwards at both the top and bottom so you can support two items at the same time 💪 
If you want an all-out hallway makeover, then you might want to look into adding some shiplap panelling, a bench and some wicker baskets. Take a look at Charlotte of @holman.home’s project – she created a practical hallway with some LEVIs, panelling and paint. Directly opposite, she made a mini-version for her kids. Clever, right? 🧒
Whether festive holiday you're hosting for, your loved ones will be amazed as soon as they step into your doorway 🚪 3. Hang holiday decorations
With tables reserved for food, and floors for walking space, the only place that’s left to display your holiday decorations is your walls. You’ll need hardware to help hang your decorations. This is where our hooks range comes in handy 👋
With Christmas around the corner, what better way to decorate your space than by hanging up those Christmas stockings? Why not tackle two birds with one stone, and deck out your hallway with some of our CAREY Hooks. That’ll make for a welcoming display of some well-stuffed stockings during Christmas time, as well as a practical hallway after festivities end.4. Level up your kitchen
DIY the heart of your home, to leave friends and family in awe this festive season. We’re talking a kitchen refresh – whether that’s means upcycling your kitchen cabinets or a matter of installing new hardware 💥Elevating kitchen cabinets is easy when you let the hardware do the talking. We recommend choosing from our newest designs, like our ALVA Collection with a trend-inspired tubular silhouette. Is your interior style more modern? You may prefer the dynamic profile of our matte black KING Ring Pull Handle and matching KNIGHT Handle.
Our ARMSTRONG Tap and ALVA Handle make a contrasting duo 🤝
Luxe cabinetry hardware calls for equally luxe taps. With details to match your chosen hardware designs, taps can make your kitchen scheme feel more cohesive than ever 😌 Make the most out of the space by hanging up items you’re happy to display. Get hooks that match your knobs, such as as our SWIFT Hook or FELIX Hook. Made for hanging up kitchen must-haves, now is your chance to display your holiday inspired tea towels and oven mitts.
5. Refresh internal doors
If your internal doors are looking dingy, it’s time to give them some TLC. Especially if you want your guests feeling impressed when walking from room-to-room. You can easily revive your internal doors with the help of our newest range of door lever handles. The intricate swirling detail of our SEARLE Swirled Door Lever Handle will make a real statement ✨ If you’ve got some time on your hands, why not re-paint the door, too? All you’ll have to do is sand down the door, apply primer and a couple coats of paint. You’ll be surprised by how refreshed your space will look. 6. DIY a serving tray
As serving starters becomes regular practice, having a reliable tray at hand can be a great help. Why not upcycle a drinks tray with a splash of paint, patterned wallpaper and sturdy new handles? If you prefer a more versatile look, just secure knobs beneath each corner of your tray, and let your DIY take centre-stage on your dining table 👏
Wood is perfect for the base of a serving tray, just give it a trusty stain and you're good to go. You can get straight to screwing in some statement SQUIGGLE Handles, or personalise it further with some hand-painted strips 🖌
7. Set up a bar area 🍸
If you’ve got quite the collection of drinks to display, a cocktail cabinet makeover may work well for you. Keep the exterior bright and eye-catching, and why not add wallpaper to the inside, for a touch of intrigue? Top off your drinks cabinet upcycle with some new, trend-led hardware designs, such as our BOBBIN Handle or FOLD Front Mounted Pull. Step back and admire your masterpiece – your cabinet is now ready to be the life of your holiday party 🍹 
8. Upholster soft furnishings
Got a sewing machine and a bit of spare time? It’s time to revive your cushions and hang up fresh curtains. Pop to the local fabric store to pick up a material with a pattern or colour that reflects the season. Go for a rich seasonal burgundy, or try a striped white and cherry red print 🍒A ruffled cushion cover will elevate your living room sofa. Use leftover fabric to sew a quick café curtain. That’ll not only help disguise non-aesthetically pleasing appliances, but give your kitchen that trending old-school look. Worried about your dining table chairs looking a little rough around the edges? Upholster the cushions to keep your dinner party guests comfortable and conversing about your impressive, new-found skills 🧵
Gift cards
With your home now ready for guests, it's time to finally decide on those last-minute gifts. Looking for a gift for someone that is working on a home project? You can help out by gifting them one of our gift cards. Whether it’s an upcycler, DIY enthusiast or home renovator, we’ve got the gift card to help out with their pending project. Not sure about how much help they’d need for their project? Don’t worry – we’ve done the hard work for you. We’ve allocated the perfect amount of money per person, so you can be sure you’re providing a worthwhile gift to help them secure the hardware they need for their project 🎁 
Which project will you tackle to prepare your home for the holiday season? We’d love to see what you get up to. Be sure to share your festive makeover by tagging us at @plankhardware 🎄
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