Giving people a tour of...

[YepBrook]

... your house when they visit for the first time. Do you do it when people come to your house? Do you kind of expect people to show you around their house and give you a "tour" when it's the first time you've been there?

Just curious... I just realized, thinking back, almost every single one of my mommy friends has toured me through their house to show me all the rooms and bathrooms. I don't give people a tour of my whole house when they visit. I usually just point out the nearest bathroom. And if the kids happen to wander into their bedroom to play, they will naturally see the bedrooms. But I don't make a thing of it. Growing up, my mom never really did it consistently with guests (unless they asked), so I never felt like it was necessary. I was just wondering if I could possibly be breaking some social "rule" by not giving people a grand tour of my house when they visit for the first time. LOL!

I guess I kind of feel like it's something you do if you're super proud of your home... for me it would be awkward since I don't exactly have a "perfect" house. I have a couple rooms of SHAME if you know what I mean. HAHA. Like, the master bedroom is soooo not pretty right now. All mismatched furniture and no curtains. And the kids bathroom needs new cabinets badly. Anyways... lets discuss.... I certainly don't want to seem unfriendly to my guests!

[*Celeste*]

i only do it if people ask. my house is not a show house at all. and there is always something under construction

[kim21673]

No one comes here to visit! LOL There have only been a few people that have actually seen our new house...of course I gave my parents a tour! LOL

We too, don't have the perfect house...we don't even have bedroom furniture and no room in our house is "typical"....maybe one of these years we'll acutally WANT to show our house off....when I get something to show off! Our dining room is the baby's play room, the formal living room is my office and the family room desperately needs new furniture. Right now there are toys scattered everywhere...DH's office is a wreck b/c it's the catch all....but our kitchen is spotless! I could show everyone our kitchen! The bigger boys have the run of the basement so it's full of toys too.......sigh.....

[LJSDesigns]

I don't give tours of my house, would never think to. If someone is staying, I will show them the bathrooms, where they will sleep, the kitchen and encourage them to help themselves to what ever they want, but if they are visiting I just invite them in, offer them a seat and a drink and go from there. I don't even point out the bathroom until they ask to use the facilities. And I know all too well about the rooms of shame. I simply can not keep up with the mess my mom and son make. It actually makes me sad.

[maryinaz]

I barely even let people in the front door! I'd be mortified if they asked to see the whole house.

[SeattleSheri]

If people ask, I definitely give a tour. Our current house is pretty small, so the only tourable place would be the upstairs which is just our bedroom and a playroom. In the house we just bought, it's over twice the size, so a tour will be required just to point out the 4 bathrooms, lol. Once we move in, I will probably just ask people if they are interested in a tour. Most people are pretty curious. The only thing that would prevent a full tour would be a room that may not be in its cleanest state

[jessica31876]

Umm if I had recently done a super big project I was proud of I may show a visitor that but we are not super social people with having people over it is mostly family and friends who are like family. There is one example I can remember in particular where I did stencils of roses across the bathroom and when people came over because I basically hand painted each one I would show that to people. Otherwise no I dont really think like it is necasary to show all the rooms. And besides we only have two bedrooms a bathroom a kitchen and living room so there isnt a lot to show LOL

[breakingbrie]

I don't have friends over, or ever go to other people's houses, except family. So, if a family member moves, buys a house, redecorates or redoes their basement, I always want to see their house! So I ask lol. Otherwise, lol, I have no experience. When we lived in GA, we were in a huge new place, and so of course when my MIL came down to visit, and when my SIL and her fam came, they wanted a tour. But those were visits planned well in advance so of course my house was spotless

[jessica31876]

I think that if the person is staying with you for a visit as well it is normal to show them everything. So here is the bedroom, here is the bathroom, kitchen etc you know? Or like if you recently purchased a new home and you invite someone over who wants to see the house then it would be normal to show them the house too because that is kinda the purpose of their visit. But like for instance my BFF Ive been to her house a million times and seen it at its worst. Doesnt bother me LOL but I have never really been given a "tour". She is like me though in that she has a pretty small home and there isnt much to see.

[farrijc]

My house is always neat, it's a sickness. lol Even so, most of the time I don't think to give people a tour. My house isn't huge, though, and one story, so if you go down the hallway to the bathroom, you've seen pretty much everything except the master bedroom.

[usaf_wife10]

If someone will be staying with me for a few days, or if someone asks then ill let them see my house. Since we live on base, my house is the exact same as everyone elses house. So there is no need to give my military friends a tour! I don't think someone should give me a tour of their house. Maybe just show me where the bathroom is!

[Freckles]

I kind of feel obligated to do so since we just bought our first house and everybody is sort of coming over for the first time. But I will only do it if I know for sure that everything is clean (my daughter can make such a terrible mess of her room!) and only to our closest friends and family. But there have been moments where I decided not to do so and nobody asked (luckily! lol).

[sarahbhb]

If it's family or close friends I'll give them a tour (they are used to the mess..lol). We move a LOT so this actually comes up more often than it would normally...otherwise I don't do anything other than point them to the bathroom when they ask.

[SweetMelissa]

I do for family & close friends. Otherwise I don't - I will point out the bathroom through.

[YepBrook]

See, the awkward thing is when I go to friend A's house for a first playdate and she gives me the tour. Then she comes to my house for the first time and I'm like: "There's the bathroom! Want some coffee???" I guess I'm kind of private and it's not always about the imperfections or mess (which isn't always the reason why I don't give a tour). It just feels... weird.

I have an aunt who visits yearly (she stays in a local hotel right on the beach) and always wants to visit our house for a tour. The house hasn't changed since the first time she saw it. Very little changes from year to year. It just annoys me because I feel like it's to be nosy. LOL!

[clearskies]

Yes. My friends and I have always done house tours. I love houses. I like seeing different layouts. I don't care if their house is messy, so is mine. I have made peace with the way we live. I've found that by showing our house in its 'natural' state actually makes people more comfortable.

[tettletop20]

I think that it's totally up to the homeowner! Honestly, if it's a good friend they'll understand if it's in it's natural state (messy or whatnot) and if they don't like to see it like that then they are really not a friend at all!

We just got a new house so I feel obligated to show people it. We still have boxes in some rooms and so far everyone has been real understanding. Plus we're under construction - they like seeing the progress on that too.

[rach3975]

Right after we moved in I did. But that was back when I was inviting moms with playgroup kids over, so the kids were in and out of lots of rooms and the moms needed an idea of where they'd be, whether the house was safe for them, etc. These days (7 years later), nope. If we moved now, I'd probably only do the full tour for close family members. A few weeks ago I had a close friend here who lives out of state and had never seen our house before. I considered giving her the whole tour, but she has some mobility limitations so I decided not to unless she asked.

[lovely1m]

I live in an apartment, so no. When I lived in a house though once, I never did either. I think it stems from being shy though. I do however really like it when people show me their houses when I go over there.

[SmallMoments]

I guess I did when we first moved in. But here we are, ten years later, in the same house. I don't think anyone really cares to see it anymore. LOL

[chastml]

I've never given anyone a tour. Our house is pretty open though. So, when you walk in the front entryway, you can pretty much see all the important stuff.

Also, I feel pretty weird when I go to someone's house and they insist on giving me the "grand tour." Maybe that's just me though.

[Sherri Tierney]

We showed a few family members this house when we first bought it. We also had an open house and gave people a tour then. We only felt the need because so many people, upon hearing which house we bought, mentioned that they had always wanted to see inside it. We figured why not. Other than that, NO, no one gets a tour. In fact, I don't even point out the bathroom unless someone asks. I probably should but its right in the line of vision from the front door so most people catch on to where it is pretty quickly. If my kids have friends visiting they just follow my kids around so they figure out where everything is.

Honestly, for as curious as I am about other peoples' homes, I wouldn't dare ask for a tour. I respect that they probably want their privacy the same as I do so I only go in to the parts of their homes that they lead me in to. I've followed my kids to a specific room here and there and I always feel funny about it but when your kid is saying "mom, come help me carry my stuff" after a sleepover, you kinda have to follow.

My MIL's friends all gave us home tours when we went to visit. They had brand new homes though at the base of the Superstition Mountains and these places were HUGE and immaculate and they wanted to show them off. We even went up on the rooftops to take pictures of the mountain. LOL

We weren't in this house long when a car pulled up out front and a guy knocked on the door. He started in with all sorts of questions about the house. He asked if it was for sale. I told him no, that we had just bought it a few months prior. He then started to say that he really wanted to put an offer in on it when it was for sale, that he had been in it years ago and liked it then, etc. Then he wanted a tour. I was like, nope, absolutely not. My husband wasn't home, my kids were, and I wasn't letting a stranger walk through my house. I

[Txcorey]

No. Now if it was family or something and they've never been to me home then I probably would.

[Darcy Baldwin]

Nope - we don't. For us, our bedroom is our sanctuary, and no one goes in there but us, unless it's necessary. The office stays closed at all times since it's 'that' room - school books, school projects, office stuff, Russ' storage - it's just that room. Otherwise, there's no where else to go here lol

[taracotta7]

I only showed people the whole house right after we moved in. It was a new thing to me and I was stoked to have a home I was proud of. Now days........I show where the bathroom is and if there are kids, I show them to the playroom.

[scrap2day]

Originally Posted by maryinaz

I barely even let people in the front door! I'd be mortified if they asked to see the whole house.

Mary. I like you.

[YepBrook]

Originally Posted by taracotta7

I only showed people the whole house right after we moved in. It was a new thing to me and I was stoked to have a home I was proud of. Now days........I show where the bathroom is and if there are kids, I show them to the playroom.

Oooh! Tara, I just noticed your new siggie!!! LOVE it.

[Joana1n]

We did when we first moved in, but it's because it was a brand-new house (both new construction and new to us). But now we've been here nearly 5 years and I don't offer a home tour. It's pretty open so guests see most of it anyway. The master bedroom and laundry room are closed off and hidden, and there's one bedroom upstairs that is a disaster right now and the door is always shut (and usually locked).

I don't expect a home tour when I go to my friends' houses, either.

[CA Dreamer]

We used to when we first moved in(1996), but we don't do the tour thing anymore. Trying to think back to when we stopped, and I guess it was when we had our 2nd son. Life just got too busy and one room or another is always too messy to show off. Sometimes, groups will hold 'home tours' as fundraisers ( it actually makes a fair amount of $$$) in town. Some friends of mine sign up as a motivator to get their houses in order.... That pressure would stress me out WAY too much!

[nun69]

Originally Posted by taracotta7

I only showed people the whole house right after we moved in. It was a new thing to me and I was stoked to have a home I was proud of. Now days........I show where the bathroom is and if there are kids, I show them to the playroom.

totally this at my house too Tara!!! amd if I can ever get around to decorating some more upstairs I may be more inclined to show you around

[MandaT]

No tours here. You can pretty much see every room from the living/dining room, so no need really.