Summer’s nearly half over but, if you’ve been entertaining less than ideal house guests, it may seem like it will never end! Love spending time with friends and family but feeling overwhelmed by the disruption to your home life?
You don’t have to close your pool, move away from the ocean or un-friend people on Facebook to restore harmony and – I hope – look forward to the arrival of your next summer house guests.
Here are 3 ways to make your guests feel more comfortable (and these include inexpensive decorating tips that you’ll love even if you’re no longer crazy about your expected July and August house guests) and to make you a happier host.

1. Add budget-minded interior decorating touches to the summer guest room.

If you’d like your visitors to spend more time in their room so you can enjoy late nights and early mornings in privacy, give your guests reasons to prefer their living quarters to the full run of the house.
Consider giving the guest room a fresh coat of paint and updating the bed linens and throw pillows.

Your guests will want to stay in bed longer if they’re sleeping on 1,000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. And you can pick them up for a bargain at places such as Overstock.com, which sells queen sets for $99. Your guests will sleep better, and you’ll feel better about splurging on Sferra sheets for yourself.

Also, steal a money-saving secret from interior designers: buy guest room throw pillows at Target. They won’t compare to the throw pillows you covet from Fortuny, Robert Allen or Kravet, but they’re pretty and you won’t cry if a houseguest spills sunscreen or wine on them.

2. Add luxury hotel amenities to the guest rooms.

Does your nephew suffer from a long-list of allergies? Does your mother-in-law only drink exotic coffees? Stock their room with some gluten-free shampoo or gourmet Kopi Luwak coffee from Dean & Deluca.

Other personal touches to consider include these:
1. Set a framed photo of your guests on their dresser.
2. If you give guests keys to your home, pool house or car, put the keys on a silver pendant keychain engraved with their own handwriting.
3. Install a TV, smart phone chargers and other electronic amenities in the room. Include headphones so that their late-night entertainment doesn’t interfere with your sleep.
4. Stock a small room fridge with your guests’ favorite beverages, fruits and snacks. You can do this on the cheap with a dorm room style refrigerator or spend a few thousand dollars on a luxury under-the-counter refrigerator. 

3. Add some luxury touches to the private spaces of your home.

You’re going to a lot of effort to make your house guests feel special. You’ll feel less resentful if you take the time to do something nice for you and your family as well.
Have you been coveting a new faucet for your master bath? Treat yourself to the Gantry faucet in bronze by Waterstone or a Stance tall faucet by Kohler.

Add some special touches to your children’s bedrooms as well. Frame and hang some of their artwork and install accent lights to display it nicely. Or buy them a set of Dr. Dre Beats headphones for their – and not the houseguests’ – use.
Don’t be so busy making happy memories for your house guests that you don’t make some for yourself.
And, if all else fails, put a tarp over your pool and invite yourself to someone else’s home for August.

Do you spend less money on decorating your guest rooms than you do on the other spaces in your home? Or does your love of luxury interiors make you feel inclined to provide your house guests with nothing but money-is-no-object furniture, appliances and accents? Please let me know in the comments section below!