When entertaining at home, I always want my guests to feel welcome. That’s why I like to keep Thoughtful Decorations around the house. I define Thoughtful Decorations as any little thing that puts people at ease or brightens their mood. And one of my personal favorites is an old hospital bed.
Here’s how it works: you welcome your guests at the front door and guide them into the living room, where hors d’oeuvres and good wine await. The den is right off the living room, and I make sure to have the door propped open a few inches: just enough space to see the hospital bed I’ve put in there. None of the lights are on in there, the room is illuminated only by whatever ambient light comes in through the window. I leave the door open until I’m pretty certain they’ve noticed the hospital bed, and then I go over, pull it shut, and lock it discreetly.
What’s the science behind this? Well, the knowledge that there’s a hospital bed in the den gives the guest the feeling that my home is a space in which people are cared for. And it reminds them that even though we humans are fragile, we can be healed: healed by the kind souls who devote their lives to relieving our aches and pains. And locking the door lets them know that while that care is always there for them, they don’t need to worry about anything bad happening right now, that tonight is a celebration.
So I also lock the unopenable lock on the front door (locking the worries of the world out where they belong) and my guests and I sit down to a delicious dinner. To think that it’s all because of a simple, thoughtful hospital bed…