Spring Break Hospitality

When you live in the great state of Florida and in such a great community as The Villages, you will have Spring Break visitors! It would be unhospitable to not welcome people from the cold and snowy states for a warm spring break. Webster’s dictionary defines hospitably as generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests. Many of my clients start their hospitality journey with a fabulous guest room. “I want my guests to feel like they are in Florida!” is the request that I hear often. Let’s look at two guest rooms that will make your guests feel wrapped in the Florida sun, somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

  • Bright Bonifay guest room
This model is a Bonifay, and the guest room was specifically designed for Florida fun, function, and color! We started with the wall color Rain-washed 6211 which is a green based blue. This wall color looks blue when dry but is neutral and goes with any color, so we decided to use color!

  • Art
It all started with the art. The homeowners chose, “Life’s a Beach” by Gene Rizzo and it is perfect above the bed. The picture has lots of palm trees and two coral Adirondack beach chairs looking out toward the water. This picture is pure Florida!

  • Bedding
We created our own bed set from a local retailer. We started with a white cotton washable coverlet as the base bedding. We purchased the palm coverlet and shams together as a set. Since we were highlighting the coral color, we purchased two solid coral euro pillows (large square pillows) to place against the headboard to pop the coral. The standard shams that came with the set were placed in front of the coral Euro pillows and the combination is very eye catching. We placed a fourth pillow at the front and center of the standard shams with an embroidered saying that, “Friends are like seashells we collect along the way.” Finally, we folded the printed coverlet over at the base of the bed to serve as the final pop of color. I like using the printed coverlet as a decoration because I don’t want it to be used for sleeping. Printed coverlets fade with washing, and I like to keep the colors new and bright looking. The white coverlet is for use while sleeping and again, it is washable.

  • Tall mirror and bench
This is a trick that I like for most dedicated guest rooms. Often guests need a place to set their luggage and the bench serves that purpose. They can fold out their suitcase and get to their clothing much easier than using a luggage valet rack. Also, the large mirror allows more space for putting on makeup and blow-drying hair, which frees up the bathroom faster.

  • TV on the wall
We only had room for one night stand and one lamp beside the bed. To add more storage and surface area to use, we used the second nightstand under the TV. We mounted the TV on the wall and the second nightstand can be used for whatever is needed in the space.

  • Window
We added long white flowing drapery panels to soften the window and reinforce the coastal tropical feeling of the space.

  • Floor
We angled a 5’x8’ seagrass rug on the floor to add texture and softness when toes hit the floor.

  • Dual purpose Gardenia
If you don’t want to sacrifice an entire room as a guest room, the front bedroom of the Gardenia model is perfect for a dual-purpose space. This room can be a guest bedroom, a second TV watching room, or an office. The key is to buy a great pullout couch. They are a bit pricey but well worth the investment. This sofa allows the homeowner to sit comfortably on the sofa and watch the Hallmark Channel when the other homeowner wants to watch the news. We added an ottoman in case the homeowner wanted to put up their feet. If company comes the ottoman is stored by the TV and the sofa pulls out. The mattress automatically fills with air to create a comfortable bed.

  • Two chairs
We placed two chairs in the nook of the bay window to round out the seating area. This room is great for book club meetings, exercise or Zoom meetings. When the bed is out the guests have two chairs they could sit in if they needed to.

  • 5’x8’ statement rug
A 5’x8’ rug is perfect for this space. The couch has a subtle two-color pattern, so we needed to be careful that our choices did not conflict with the sofa. We decided to use a palm leaf rug of green, blue and crème. The rug makes a statement that says, “You’re in Florida!”

  • Side tables and Lamps
The side tables are simple round tables with a bottom shelf. We decided to place two starfish lamps made of bronze in the space. The shades are creamy with a hint of gold. The bronze starfish adds seaside elegance to the space.

  • Artwork
We needed something that reinforced the seaside Florida feeling and the homeowner chose a soft beach sunset. I like the way the sand and the light in the picture work well with the starfish lamps and darker tables in the space.

  • TV Console
Across from the sofa we added a console for a TV and attached the TV to the wall. This console table could be a desk if the homeowner needed a desk.
This space is inviting and easy to use as well.
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Before and After Pics Below