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Alfred Guide: Welcoming Homes that Entice the Senses

One of the most intimate ways to spend time with friends and family is to host them at your home. You can make spending time in your space a high sensory, memorable experience with this fun hack: stimulate the senses!  We’ve collected expert tips on how to create a welcoming experience without breaking a sweat or the bank. 

We turned to experts in smell, taste, touch, sight and sound to find out how each sense can contribute to an inviting space.

SMELL: UrbanStems’ Cameron Hardesty

Floral scents are perfect for hosting or even just lounging at home. Photo credit: UrbanStems, Model: Kim Bryden

To Cameron Hardesty, Head of Product at UrbanStems, an on-demand floral delivery service, her home is a sanctuary that acts as an oasis from the chaos of the city and where she likes to entertain friends and loved ones. Flowers exude calming and enveloping scents that perfume her home.

“I have found that fresh flowers, even with a light scent, will lend a sense of simple luxury to a home -- which is definitely something you want to associate with coming home to everyday,” says Cameron.

To keep her home smelling lovely, she uses gardenia arrangements when entertaining.

Her picks: “Gardenia’s have a heavenly scent,” Cameron explains. “If you can't get your hands on gardenias, try freesia or tuberose.”

TASTE: Brooklyn Brewery’s Head Chef Andrew Gerson

A simple cheese plate serves up flavors and textures. Photo credit: @VegTimes.

Brooklyn Brewery’s Head Chef, Andrew Gerson, has always been fascinated by food.

“Food is so exciting since it hits all the senses. My philosophy when handling food comes from celebrating ingredients and tradition” explains Chef Andrew.

Chef Andrew loves a good cheese plate paired with a great beer from Brooklyn Brewery, of course! A stout, specifically Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout, pairs surprisingly well with the silky, smooth texture of many cheeses and the tartness of dried fruit. To hold the cheese plate together, he recommends rye bread.

He finds that with high quality ingredients you can prepare something simple and delicious that will allow you to enjoy hosting friends and loved ones.

“When you’re hosting people in your home, you want to make sure that what you prepare won’t distract you from your guests” says Chef Andrew.

TOUCH: Hill House Home’s Nell Diamond

Nell Diamond shows off her latest line of Hill House Home pillows.

“Although etiquette books may tell you otherwise  — a well designed and well-loved home will encourage even the most polite guests to reach out and feel everything — pillows, blankets, beds, curtains — whatever’s within arm’s reach!” says Nell Diamond, Founder and CEO of Hill House Home, a high-end bedding and lifestyle company.

Nell’s company aims to celebrate the inherent luxury of beautifully made beds.

“Long-lasting, functional, beautifully designed bedding can help create that sacred space that brings you joy,” explains Nell.

For your home’s sacred spaces, Nell recommends percale and silky soft sateen, though she does find cotton to be her favorite fabric given how versatile it can be. 

SIGHT: Domino Magazine’s Elaina Sullivan

Elaina Sullivan, Domino Magazine’s Market Editor, showcases her living room.

Inspiration is key when putting together a warm, inviting common space. Domino Magazine’s Elaina Sullivan begins every project by seeking inspiration from different images that resonate with her and using them as a starting point.

“I tend to pull what may seem like a million images just to get the ideas flowing,” she explains. “The photos you pull will set the tone for the room.”

“It's about designing a space that's unabashedly, unmistakably your own,” affirms Elaina. “Don't be afraid to pair your grandmother's dresser with a more modern piece from IKEA.”

SOUND: Noon Pacific’s Clark Dinnison

Music sets the mood and can drive an entire experience. Photo credit: @noonpacific.

“Music is everything,” says Clark Dinnison, Founder of Noon Pacific, a weekly mixtape company that delivers hand picked music to subscribers’ inbox every Monday at noon, pacific time (naturally).

When entertaining guests, music is a quintessential element of the gathering that ties everything together. It is the magic that harmonizes all the moving parts of a get together and elevates everyone through this intangible medium.

“I’ve come to realize its not about the quality of the sound system, how it’s played or any of that — it’s the bond people make when overcome with joy and the satisfaction that comes from listening to a good song,” explains Clark.

Check out this music aficionado's 5 favorite songs to play when surrounded by family and friends:

Tilted (Paradis remix) by Christine and the Queens

Get Your Love by Leo Kaylan

Good This Time by Sunstack Jones

Haunted by You by Future Islands

Eye to Eye by Astronauts, etc.

Happy Sensing. Come Hope Happy.

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Alfred Guide: 5-Part Anatomy of Optimized Workspaces

Many of us spend much of our day in the same 2x2 space at work - so why not turn that workspace into something that makes us feel good every day of the week?

Studies have found that an organized desk can lead to real increases in productivity. The famous psychologist B.F. Skinner made constructing the perfect space a subject of lifelong study. He believed that our behavior is a function of stimuli around us. His notorious “Skinner Box” presented a controlled and organized environment geared towards influencing behavior and enhancing productivity. 

Skinner even had his own box, a perfectly constructed workspace in which he would wake up at 1a.m. to pen a few hours of research on his Behaviorism theories.  

Your desk doesn’t have to be a Skinner Box for you to stay focused. Our members are movers and shakers in their respective fields so we asked them to snap their best desk picture, tell us their tips and send them to us. 

Here are 5 tips you can put work. 

Tip #1: Add Some Plants 

Photo credit: Em Toshack

Business Operations Manager of Snapchat, Em Toshack, (literally) stepped up to the challenge and showcased her crisp, clean desk.

Adding plants to your desk is a great way to liven up your workspace ambiance.

Tip #2: Give Your Desk Some Personality

Photo credit: Vanessa Cagno

Vanessa Cagno, Community Manager at The Barbarian Group, likes to keep small trinkets on her desk and bunny ears taped to her monitor. 

Add some personal touches to your work area to keep you smiling while at work or that will at least make your area more recognizable among a sea of monitors. 

Tip #3: Minimize Clutter

Photo credit: Greg Byerley

CallisonRTKL Designer, Greg Byerley, is a firm believer in a solely functional and minimalistic workspace. He finds that the less clutter there is on his workspace, the more he is able to sustain a higher level of focus.

It’s fair game to have the surface of your desk completely tidy and reserve one drawer for hoarding purposes. 

Tip #4: Lighten Up Your Desk

Photo credit: Alyssa Aguero

Alyssa Aguero, PR Associate for KVD NYC, makes sure her workspace has the perfect lighting throughout the day. 

If your second coffee run of the day isn’t really helping you stay focused, perhaps alter your desk lighting and add a candle with bright notes to put some pep back in your step.

Tip #5: Add Some Company Swag

Photo credit: Christian Bjelland

If you’ve organized your desk, gotten rid of excess items around you and have even lit a candle, but cannot seem to stay focused, perhaps some company branding in you vicinity will do the trick.

Having your company logo in eyesight is likely to help you keep it’s mission and goals top of mind throughout the day.

At least, this is what Christian Bjelland, Growth and Founding Team Member at Hello Alfred, assures us.

Think we missed something? Send us a picture of your ultimate workspace optimization tip and we’ll include it in our blog.