Hospitality Revisited
A well-planned design can transform a simple structure into a beautiful home and there is nothing wrong with wanting a beautiful home. As human beings, we love beauty. We’re naturally drawn to it.
Stasi Eldredge wrote in her book, Captivating, “Beauty is transcendent. It is our most immediate experience of the eternal. Think of what it's like to behold a gorgeous sunset or the ocean at dawn. Remember the ending of a great story. We yearn to linger, to experience it all our days. Sometimes the beauty is so deep it pierces us with longing. For what? For life as it was meant to be. Beauty reminds us of an Eden we have never known, but somehow our hearts were created for.”
As an interior designer, most people I encounter want their homes to be beautiful, functional, and comfortable so that everyone living there will feel good about coming home. I absolutely love helping people achieve that goal. However, there is another element to consider—hospitality. How do guests feel in our homes?
Hospitality is defined as “the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers; the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” If our focus is primarily on style and design, we lose sight of a far greater purpose.
Our homes should be safe havens for everyone who enters their doors. Ideally, time spent in our homes will create pleasant, happy memories for family, friends and guests. If we fail to create this type of environment, then a spectacular design will seem cold and indifferent.
There are so many practical ways to make people feel welcome and comfortable in your home. Greeting guests at the front door and verbally letting them know you are glad they came sets the tone. Offering food and drink helps guests feel “at home”.
In our home, we love to invite our guests to help with the meal preparation when they are interested. It is surprising how many people will quickly volunteer to help. If they are staying overnight, we have a guest basket with essential items they may need. These simple gestures may seem insignificant, but it makes our guests feel like family.
Now, don’t get me wrong - planning a design with each of our clients and seeing it become a reality brings great satisfaction. I even get excited when someone notices that I have added something new to my own home or that I have re-designed a room. But what a shame it would be if this becomes the main goal. For people to feel significant, safe, welcome, and comfortable in each of our homes should be the greater goal. This is something that can be done no matter the size, cost, or location of your home.
Alexander Strauch said “Hospitality, therefore, is a concrete, down-to-earth test of our fervent love for God and His people. Love can be an abstract, indistinct idea; hospitality is specific and tangible. We seldom complain about loving others too much, but we do complain about the inconveniences of hospitality. Hospitality is love in action. Hospitality is the flesh and muscle on the bones of love. Through caring acts of hospitality, the reality of our love is tested.”