Tips from Hotel Impossible Designer Blanche Garcia – How to Make Your Home Feel Like a Luxury Resort!

Hi friends,

Do you ever return home from vacation to a messy house and wish you could move into a hotel permanently? We’ve all been there. With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to end up with clutter everywhere you look. In fact, we’re not gonna lie – that’s one of the reasons we did our video with Travel Channel / Hotel Impossible Designer Blanche Garcia outside – our house was so NOT “camera ready” for its closeup.

We all have those days when we just want to forget the daily grind, check into a resort, get cozy in a fluffy white robe and call room service. But, guess what? You can have all that at home too (well, everything expect for the room service, unless you’re Alan from The Hangover and you have a really nice family member who wants to bring you cupcakes). You might be looking at the clutter around you thinking it’s impossible to make your home feel like a luxury resort. But Blanche is here to prove that what seems impossible can be possible with a few simple solutions…

Blanche Garcia’s Tips to Make Your Home Feel Like a Luxury Resort!

Check out Blanche’s easy tips on how to make your home resort ready – and get the inside scoop on her Hotel Impossible travels!

Go Above and Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Always go a step beyond what you think you’re comfortable with at home. I know, you just finished a long day at the office and all you want to do is kick off your shoes at the door, throw on your cozy sweats and kick back with a beverage and a bag of take out – but you’re having a hard time relaxing because the sink is full of dishes, there are piles of clothes on the floor, and it’s a hot mess everywhere you look. Your home will actually feel a lot more relaxing if you take things a step beyond your comfort zone. Make sure you have crisp, clean linens on your bed, some nice home scents, and a de-cluttered space. You probably don’t want to use your nice throws, dishes, and other items – but when else will you use them? Break out your best stuff and you’ll feel like you’re five-star hotel stylin’ in no time.

Keep it Simple
Less is more. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Remember all those knickknacks you bought from Target on clearance or those hand-me-downs from your parents’ garage? Put them away. If you can’t bear to part with all of them, put at least half of them away for safekeeping. A small apartment can go from a cramped, cluttered space to an open, relaxing environment with a little de-cluttering and a few nicely placed accent items like throws and pillows.

Clean Before You Sleep
Spend a few minutes cleaning before you go to sleep every night. This doesn’t mean you have break out the vacuum and the feather duster. All it takes is 5-10 minutes (if that) to pick up your living room, bedroom, or wherever you’ve been relaxing before you go to sleep. There’s nothing more refreshing than waking up to a clean slate the next morning. You’ll feel a lot better about your home and yourself with a fresh start to your day.

Burn Incense
Many hotels use a unique scent that represents the local area and evokes a feeling of relaxation. Instead of using candles or reed diffusers, try incense. Incense will permeate fabrics and last much longer than candles or other scents – your home will retain the scent from incense up to a week later. Sandalwood, lavendar, and gardenia are all comfortable scents that Blanche recommends to make your home feel like a luxury resort.

What do you think of Blanche’s tips? We’ve been trying some of them ourselves and, let me tell you, little things can make a BIG difference in the way your home looks and feels. We also loved hearing about her personal travels, too. Blanche’s experience driving through the snow to a remote mountain resort in Grand Lake, CO sounded pretty crazy, right? Have you ever traveled somewhere remote? Somewhere you didn’t have access to charge your cell phone? We were recently in Big Bear, CA and I needed to recharge my phone, but the wiring in our cabin was so old that it was TAKING forever to charge. Just in case you find yourself in the wilderness like Blanche or in an airport, hotel, cafe, etc. where you can’t find a place to recharge, we have a special surprise for you!

Duracell Powermat Giveaway – Enter to Win!!!

We’ve partnered up with our friends at Duracell Powermat to give away portable phone and tablet chargers for your next trip – one lucky winner will receive the Duracell Powermat PowerSet II Kit for iPhone 5 and another lucky winner will receive the Duracell Powermat GoPower Overnighter universal battery for smartphones and tablets. These chargers are great to take with you anywhere you might need to recharge – wherever your adventures take you! Check out the details below and enter to win!

Here are the Powermat chargers in action, just in case you want to know a little more about them…

Save between $20 and $100 on all Hotel Bookings Now with Hotels.com when using the code REBATES14

Check out Blanche’s website here.

Like what you read?

Get an exclusive travel photo from us every month!

Plus we'll send you a personal message, occasional giveaways and special offers - delivered to your inbox once a month. Only for subscribers!