The little things matter. When you bring her home to your apartment or house for the first time, she’s going to pay attention to everything, and the small details might make the difference as to whether you’ll be having a great evening or even the chance at another date.
This is true whether you’re successful with a decked-out bachelor pad or on a much smaller budget with a small apartment. Ignoring the small stuff can ruin a great apartment, while sweating the details can add a nice touch of class to a smaller space.
Here are some tips to keep in mind to make the right impression:
Clean up the place
If you’re not a clean freak, make room for a cleaning service in your budget regardless of your situation. She’ll notice if your bathroom is filthy with crusty towels that haven’t been washed in months. Even if you just have a cleaning service scrub the place down once per month, you’ll avoiding grossing out your lovely guest and ruining a promising evening. If you have your place cleaned regularly, you can easily tidy up and wipe down when you know you might have a female guest. Add some nice hand soap as well in place of that bar of soap.
Wine, Booze and Beer
This suggestion won’t take much arm-twisting, but it’s a good habit to always make sure you’re stocked up before a date. You should always offer your guest a drink, so be prepared when she asks what you have to offer. You don’t need a full bar of course, but keeping a bottle of red wine and a chilled bottle of white on hand at all times will pay off nicely. And while wine is probably your safest bet, having ready bottles of vodka, rum and tequila along with beer will improve your chances of having something she loves. If you have a killer cocktail you like to make, offer her that as well.
Nice Wine Glasses
Serving wine in elegant wine glasses adds a touch of class to any setting, while offering her wine in your standard kitchen glasses has the opposite effect. A small investment in some cool wine glasses gives you an easy way to impress her. A nice set of cocktail glasses like those from the Mad Men era can’t hurt as well.
Blue Tooth Speakers
Music is a great way to set the mood, and it’s much better than flipping on the TV. If you have some great music that you know she’ll love, you can always go with that. But tastes in music are all over the place and you can kill the mood with music she hates. If you have some blue tooth speakers and something like Pandora on your phone, she can help pick out the station so she gets the music she likes. It’s about making her comfortable, not choosing something you like.
Mood Lighting
Candles are always great but are sometimes too obvious. Invest in lighting for the living room area and bedroom that can be dimmed to set the perfect mood. How many times has a woman asked you to turn off some lights? Softer lighting can also obscure any deficiencies in the rest of your apartment. You can easily find inexpensive lamps with dimmers so you won’t have to bust your budget to make the lighting just right.
Comfy Blanket and Pillows by Your Couch
Your couch is pretty much ground zero for that first visit to your place. If things are going well you’ll be hanging out there with her with some drinks as you chat with good music in the background or maybe even something good on Netflix. Women often get chilly, so having a nice blanket available helps set an even cozier mood. Pillows help as well, and a small investment in nice pillows can help dress of even the dreariest couch.
Photos in Frames
Pictures tell a great story and can be a conversation starter. Whether you have family photos or photos with friends, she’ll be interested to see more about you displayed in your apartment (hiking or travel photos work great!). For those of us who suck at decorating, framed photos are an easy way to add some character to your space. As for overall décor, that’s going to depend on your tastes and budget. Just stay away from stuff that would have fit better in your college dorm room.
Clean Sheets
Learn this habit and live by it. Have multiples sets of sheets so you can change them out when you have a date planned. Also, if you have the habit of waiting weeks to change your sheets in general, break it. Now! Wash your sheets regularly. Smelly sheets are a huge turnoff to most women while a fresh, comfortable bed can leave a great impression that makes her want to return again and again. If you’re in a last-minute jam, have an extra set of pillow cases handy so you can at least salvage the situation with clean pillows. Also, change your sheets after she stays over – you never know who you might have over next . . .
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