Home isn’t just a place. It’s a frequency, an energy which, like the walls that hold furniture, holds us. 

To host is to open more than a door; it’s to open a field where nervous systems can exhale and our guests can remember what it feels like to feel safe, to feel secure. When I prepare my home to host, I’m not simply arranging a room. I’m composing an experience. I’m weaving intention into space through the language of the senses, and it’s a quiet, invisible kind of hospitality. One that speaks to the body long before words are exchanged.

So as I set about hosting a gathering with friends and colleagues at this beautiful Yalecrest home for sale, I really sought to lean into the five senses. And, hopefully, as you consider opening up your home this time of year to loved ones of yours, these tips might prove useful to you.

Sight- Notice how the soft glow of candles can shift the mood, how one vase of fresh flowers can tilt the room toward tenderness.

Sound- Every gathering has a rhythm, and music is the undercurrent, the invisible thread that draws people closer. Laughter will eventually braid itself through the melody, and a mindful playlist is the weaver behind it all. 

Smell- The soft smoke of burning herbs, something warm from the oven– these are the scents that say, Welcome. You’re safe.

Taste- Food is language and to feed someone is to invite intimacy. A warm sip, a shared plate– it isn’t about perfection. It’s about compassion made tangible; it’s to say, I care about you.

Touch- Touch is what roots everything. The weight of a soft blanket. A chair that embraces. Bare feet on wood floors. It’s the hug at the door, that unspoken declaration of love, that says I’m excited to spend time with you and, at the end of the evening, I hope to see you very soon.

Home, in its truest form, is made not of things but of sensations, and it is these sensations that create and nurture a more strongly-knit community. And couldn’t we all use a bit more of that?