Some of our most relaxed travel experiences have included a stay at a bed and breakfast. There's something so much nicer about staying in a house over a hotel. While the bed and breakfast is modeled after the home, here are some tips we can take back from the ol' B & B for use at home:
- Get out and enjoy your locale. Walk to nearby shops and services as if you're exploring your neighborhood for the first time all over again.
- Eat local. Prepare dishes at home that take advantage of all of the local foods your hometown has to offer.
- Slow it down sometimes. Take time for an afternoon tea or evening cocktails every so often. Invite the neighbors over to mingle.
- Stock your bookshelves with plenty of information about the history and current events of your surrounding area. This way, if you find yourself with a free weekend, you'll be surrounded by plenty of inspiration for planning an impromptu day trip.
- Make it nice. Use your best bedding on your bed - not just for overnight guests. Set the table with your good dishes often, and don't forget flowers!
Do you have any particularly great little details you remember from a favorite escape to a bed and breakfast? Please share in the comments below.
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I always give my wife the AAA rate :)
Bake your own bread for breakfast!
Find someone who sneaks into your house every morning and makes you breakfast.
coffee maker in the bedroom. :)
I like the sitting area idea! Is that a fireplace too?
any idea to do this if you live in a 350sqft studio?
pier723, actually, all these ideas would work a 350 sq. ft. studio.
I put a coffee pot in my bedroom last month and love it. I live in a bi-level duplex that I own and found myself wasting time in the morning running up and down making coffee and then getting a cup or two. I finally decided to 'move in' and make the space work for me. It's the best thing I ever did!
If you cohabit, give your sweetie turndown service just before bedtime. Put a chocolate on the pillow and a small carafe of water on the bedside table.
these are some of the nicest
and
sweetest comments i have read
on this site
in quite some time
thanks
Keep pretty toiletries in stock and nicely organized.
Decorate with some well-placed family heirlooms.
Use fresh flowers.
If you have a dining room, keep a well-stocked console table, make the room super comfortable, with warm and inviting decor.
If you don't have a dining room, try to create a cozy dining 'area' with fresh flowers and pretty linens.
Invest in some pretty dishes and table linens.
hire a maid?
I like the idea of a sitting area that's separate from our couch (where we watch TV), our bed and our dining area. We definitely use the sitting areas in B&Bs to read, have a light snack or check out the local literature for fun things to do.
Fresh flowers, yes. Even better if there are a few sprinkled around in tiny vases.
Only leaving "nice" toiletries on the bathroom surfaces (and nothing electronic, like beard trimmers and electric toothbrushes) would be nice once in a while; right now, we only do it when guests are in town.
Making an effort to use matching plates, silverware, towels, etc. would also make our place seem much more sophisticated and less "college-y."