There’s truly an art to hosting guests. To making a visitor feel supremely welcome without having to kowtow to their every whim and whimsy.

John and I love entertaining in all its forms, and we really raise our game when it comes to hosting houseguests at our High Point home, the House of Bedlam. Think The Ritz Paris by way of North Carolina, but cozier, softer, and a lot more fun. Dining room disco, anyone? We just had an international guest arrive from London, and we wanted her stay to be as comfortable and memorable as we could make it. Quite simply, we want every one of our houseguests to feel like they’re at home and leave them wanting for nothing. A good mattress and a clean room are a given, but we are all about the small touches, the personal ones that focus on our guests’ comfort.

That said, we are very clear about our “deliverables.” This isn’t a restaurant. We aren’t the maids. Yes, please strip the bed when you depart. We will have coffee and English muffins ready every morning; we don’t make eggs. And a gift or dinner out on the town is always welcome.

Here are a few tried-and-true recipes for the ultimate guest bedroom from your friends at Madcap Cottage . . .

— We love to put flowers next to the bed. Flowers truly make the room feel fresh, alive and cared for. You know your guests well, so think about their favorite blooms and adorn the nightstand with that particular blossom. At this time of year, what is more cheerful than a simple vase abundant with daffodils? A great stack of books is always welcome, too.

— Place either a bottle of water next to the bed or fill a glass decanter with water and accompany it with a lovely crystal glass.

— Email a week before to ask your guests’ must-haves or food preferences. Oat milk, almond milk, gluten-free bread? The Madcaps have you covered. Our recent guest wasn’t fussy but she is a chocoholic. We had some of our Hammond’s chocolate bars on standby for her, so she could try some Southern sweet treats.

— Add lovely toiletries pillaged from a hotel to your guest bathroom. Save the Hermès for really good friends or treat them to some of your favorite toiletry brands. We love to leave our guests with some of our French lavender bath bombs from the Old Whaling Company to help them relax and unwind during their stay.

— Have a plug-in outlet with USB port easily visible and plugged in near the bed. When they’ve retired for the evening after a long journey, the last thing a guest needs is to be crawling around on the floor trying to find an accessible plug.

— Good towels, well fluffed. The bigger and bouncier, the better.

— Extra toilet paper in a basket atop the toilet. Be kind and save your guests the indignity of having to request more TP.

— A soft rug next to the bed. We have small accent rugs next to every bed in our house. Besides the fact that they make the room cozier and look more layered, they make getting out of bed that much easier when you’ve got a soft landing to look forward to.

So there you have it. That’s how we host a house guest, the Madcap way.

Enjoy!