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.















