Your House: Shoes on or Off?? (table, door, area, counter)

[zanna vaida]

Sounds good to me.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by zanna vaida

Thank you. Finnaly you are mentioning slippers-my favorite -indoor footwear. The house is always clean with them on and guests' feet don't get cold in the winter time. In the summer, they don't need them.

Slippers have been mentioned from the first page of this thread--the very second post. There have been varying opinions on slipper usage.

Originally Posted by hypocore

Personally I've said that if someone was to respectfully approach the subject prior to me arriving at their house, I'd be more inclined to work with them on the shoes issue. However if it was a demand, especially sprung on me at the front door, they'd lose any respect I had for them.

Hmm. I dunno.
Being met at the door like that feels more like coercion than a greeting.
And being warned ahead of time by phone call feels more like a tactical strategy than an invitation--but I agree, there is no surprise factor.

If someone arrives at the house, and is clueless about the bench and the basket of slippers, how intently will the host press the issue??

It all begins to sound so obsessive.
"Shoes off" as a cultural norm is absolutely fine, but the manner in which it is introduced says a lot about the person who practices such a custom.
I am all for going with the flow, but I am never going to lay down the shoe law as some do.
For me as a host, hospitality is making my guest feel at home. Some might feel more at home shoes off. Others, shoes on.

[JFRRACING]

LIKE I SAID BEFORE, if their your friends, they know you and it shouldn,t be a big deal. most of you sound like you don't have any friends or the people that come visit you don't know you. my friends know me and i know them. so it's the samething when i visit them. when i visit my friends i always bring my slippers with me. unless of coarse it's summer time. besides i think being bare foot is much more comfortable than having my feet cramed into a pair of shoes.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by jinxor

We also have a selection of indoor footwear to offer houseguests in various sizes and styles.

I've never required it of the guests, but when they see the collection of shoes at the door, a selection of guest slippers and a bench in the foyer, they've always taken up the suggestion.

I'd just think the slippers belonged to the family. *shrugs*

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by JFRRACING

LIKE I SAID BEFORE, if their your friends, they know you and it shouldn,t be a big deal. most of you sound like you don't have any friends or the people that come visit you don't know you. my friends know me and i know them. so it's the samething when i visit them. when i visit my friends i always bring my slippers with me. unless of coarse it's summer time. besides i think being bare foot is much more comfortable than having my feet cramed into a pair of shoes.

Yeah, I was always a barefoot person myself, but these days I have foot trouble so always must at least have flipflops on.
And of course with friends, if all of you are *that* worried about tracking in stuff, it's all one big collaborative affair.
As I said before, our policy is shoes off with family. But nothing firm other than that. It just begins to feel too much like home investment protection.
lol Ohiogirl

[zanna vaida]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

I'd just think the slippers belonged to the family. *shrugs*

You can always bring your own, but in my cleaned house take your shoes off. I give my quests an eye signal and they understand without a spoken word.

[niceandcomfy21]

I agree with Vanda.As a child at home it was always shoes off and slippers on at the door.I now have my own house and family and we do the same.Not only does it keep the floors clean but its also very comfortable.Friends who visit usually bring a pair with them or change into their own slippers that they have left at my house.

[MrsSteel]

All this talk of bringing slippers over to a friend's house is one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard. Where do you all live? I've never encountered this behavior in my life, but maybe that's because of where I've lived. The only time anyone ever brought slippers to my house was for a slumber party! So if a friend brought slippers with them to my house, my first thought would probably be, "Do they think they're spending the night?" Like Ohiogirl, if I saw a pile of slippers by the front door, I would immediately think they belonged to the family.

I'm very curious as to what sort of "eye signal" Zanna Vaida gives his/her guests to let them know they must remove their shoes. It doesn't sound terribly warm & welcoming.

[pennylove76]

I take my shoes off in my house and my company always seem to notice me doing it so they usually follow suit. I once went to someone'e house and they just asked everyone to take their shoes off. I always bring a pair of socks in the summer as I usually wear sandals. For me I just get so grossed out at the idea of shoes in the house. Especially, when there is a baby in the house. That baby is crawling around and then people bring their dirty shoes & walk on the carpets...YUCK...To the poster that mentioned the dogs, for some reason I just think that shoes on humans who walk all around are worse than dogs who stay in the house except for the 3 fifteen minute walks.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by MrsSteel

All this talk of bringing slippers over to a friend's house is one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard. Where do you all live? I've never encountered this behavior in my life, but maybe that's because of where I've lived. The only time anyone ever brought slippers to my house was for a slumber party! So if a friend brought slippers with them to my house, my first thought would probably be, "Do they think they're spending the night?" Like Ohiogirl, if I saw a pile of slippers by the front door, I would immediately think they belonged to the family.

I'm very curious as to what sort of "eye signal" Zanna Vaida gives his/her guests to let them know they must remove their shoes. It doesn't sound terribly warm & welcoming.

Yes, it sounds strange to me as well. I'm a big city girl however, and maybe this is more of a rural or small town thing. All those beautiful shoes and strappy sandals going to waste sitting by the front door instead of elongating legs and accenting beautiful outfits. I move differently in my heels versus my flat feet. I'd be very bummed out if I'd gotten dressed up.