Linn Eklund's secrets to stress-free hosting? A little help from her “new family member” from Dyson

“I love inviting people over,” says Linn Eklund. “I think it’s so lovely to have a place where people always feel welcome, where there’s room for all our friends to gather,” continues the fashion entrepreneur, content creator, and Head of House at House of Bolon, a venture which extends her family’s historic Swedish design and woven-flooring company, Bolon, into private homes.

Design and refined aesthetics are in her DNA, and so is hosting: “I grew up with a mother who always hosted – we always had a lot of people at home, all the time,” Eklund shares of her mother, Annika Eklund, creative director and co-owner of Bolon. “I think it feels safe for me to have people around me,” she says.

Having recently moved into a new apartment in Stockholm with her husband and young daughter, Eklund has perfected balancing hosting with the realities – and accompanying mess – of a full life. She knows that hosting should feel natural, free of stress and mess. From preparing in advance and automating cleaning to making sure gifts have a personal touch, read on for Eklund’s top tips for fuss-free hosting.

“We've always kept it very simple, and focused on what's actually important,” Eklund shares. “Good drinks and good snacks: that’s a concept I love.” For Eklund, this starts from the moment guests cross the threshold. “I always give guests a welcome drink as soon as they arrive,” Eklund says. “It sets the tone for the evening. Same with snacks. After that, a simple dinner – you don't need an elaborate menu to make an evening feel special. Italian food is always a hit; a good pasta is more than enough, and that lets you spend less time cooking – and more time with your guests.”

The same applies to the ambience: Eklund shies away from themed evenings or overt colour schemes, which she says “can feel a little pretentious, unless it’s a birthday, or something.” “I don't want it to feel overdone," she says. “It needs to feel natural.” In short, “Don't overcomplicate it. Rather than feeling like every dinner needs to be an event, save the elaborate preparations for when you genuinely want to make a special effort”.

“I’m not precious about cooking,” Eklund says, “but I very much want it to feel like I have things under control.” One way to feel ahead is to prep as much as possible the day before, and avoid leaving too many tasks until the hour before guests arrive. “I shop the day before,” Eklund says, “so I don't end up doing things at the last minute. Otherwise, the whole experience becomes that you’re stressed when the guests arrive.”

The same applies to tidying. A reasonably tidy space, even if you start the day before, makes the approaching event feel more manageable. “With a young child, there are always lots of stuffed animals and toys lying around. We have a basket behind the sofa, and a shelf for all my daughter’s things, so it’s easy to just put things away quickly,” Eklund says.

Another tip is to carve out time for yourself to switch into hosting mode – you might even get the chance to have a drink, and enjoy a few minutes of calm before guests arrive. “If you’ve managed to do that, you’ve made it,” Ekelund jokes. After all, the goal isn't for everything to be perfect – just to not start the evening by feeling overwhelmed.

“What stops me from hosting is having a messy home,” Eklund says. “When you live a busy, fast-paced life – being a mum, working fulltime – you want time for yourself, and for your friends. But I am a person who always wants my space be clean and tidy – and if it’s not, I get stressed, and then I can’t relax,” she says.

A lived-in home doesn't have to be an obstacle to entertaining, though. That's where Eklund’s Dyson Spot+Scrub™ Ai robot vacuum cleaner comes in. The robot vacuum keeps the home clean each day, without anyone having to devote precious free time to cleaning. “Some people love to clean. I love the feeling of having cleaned”, Eklund says, adding that “cleaning isn’t exactly the most fun thing to do after a long day at work, when I would rather be with my child, or cooking”.

“It feels like we have a new family member,” Eklund says of her cleaning assistant. “The Dyson Spot+Scrub™ Ai robot vacuum cleans while I’m at work: I set it up so it runs the whole apartment at ten o'clock every day, when my husband and daughter are usually at the park. The Dyson Spot+Scrub™ Ai robot vacuum even empties and cleans itself. It means I can be more present when I’m home, and the place is still clean.”

For someone whose company revolves around exquisite flooring, it’s understandable that she takes utmost care of her own. “At first, we were a little bit apprehensive about a robot vacuum on our polished floorboards. But the Dyson Spot+Scrub™ Ai robot vacuum is just so good,“ she says. “I’m shocked at how great the technology is, it almost feels too advanced for me to believe – I especially love how the green light reveals hidden stains. It's like a little friend – it tells me when to start cleaning, when it's done, or when it has an issue. It’s perfect," she muses.

One way to take the pressure of hosting is to make socialising part of everyday life.

“I love having weekday dinners," Eklund says. “Then the week feels so much longer, and more fun, as everything doesn't just revolve around the weekend, which can become so loaded. There’s an expectation to do things over the weekend, but the whole week can be social. I know nothing better than starting the week with having friends over."

Instead of overloading your weekends, why not invite people over on a random Tuesday? Keep it informal, remembering that the point is to spend time together: a simple get-together with friends can be just as rewarding as a carefully planned occasion.

When it comes to creating atmosphere, a few thoughtful details can do much of the heavy lifting: notably, music and candlelight. “In our house, music is very important.” Eklund says. “My husband is very interested in music, so he’s usually the one taking care of it.” The couple have even recently bought an LP player: “We have a goal, every Friday since we moved in, to establish a Friday-night soundtrack ritual: putting on a record, and having a drink as the weekend begins.” As for what fills the air when hosting, “The music we play depends a bit on the guests we have,” she says, "anything from hip hop, to jazz." “The important thing is to tailor it to your guests, and to the mood of the evening.”

For Eklund, candlelight is essential to making a home feel inviting. “I must have candlelight,” she says, before sharing that one of her worst hosting nightmares is running out of candles. “I’ve been known to run to the shops for candles at the last minute,” she says, before sharing another handy tip: getting a supermarket order of candles sent home via a home-delivery app is another last-minute game-changer.

As for the art of gifting, whether receiving or giving away, Eklund’s modus operandi is wine. “When in doubt, bring wine. It's practical, and can be enjoyed whenever the host chooses,” says Eklund, whose family has a vineyard in Italy. She even has a particularly memorable tip for elevating any bottle: “Whether giving one away or receiving it, sign the bottle – write the date and a little note on it, so it can be remembered. That way, even the simplest bottle can become a keepsake, rather than just another bottle of wine.”

Of course, Eklund reminds us that whether you're gifting wine or flowers, you should always consider the recipient's tastes. “Flowers are lovely, but not everyone likes the same ones,” she says. Personally, she prefers to give single blooms, like sunflowers, over giant bouquets. “When you give someone flowers, they can react like, ‘Now I have flowers. Where am I supposed to put them?’, whereas you can always choose to open a gifted bottle of wine whenever you want. So, I think it's safer with a bottle of wine.” Eklund says. In short, “Whatever you do, make it personal.”

How does someone whose life is intrinsically linked to style decide what to wear when hosting? Perhaps unsurprisingly, Eklund approaches getting dressed much like she approaches hosting: “It might be a boring answer, but it depends entirely on the people, and the intention behind the evening,” she says.

Though she loves to embrace the cosy, at-home feel of more casual attire: “I think it's lovely to have dinner in jeans and a T-shirt, it feels very relaxed,” she says, before admitting it is fun to properly dress up, too. “That can be challenging when you have kids, though,” she says. “I really had a mission this year, to get back to it, to make an effort. It can be very interesting to open the door in a full-on outfit.” Whatever you choose, Eklund believes it should just feel right for the occasion: "How you dress can be another way to make the evening special,” she sums up.

And when you’ve shopped the day before, have cleaning sorted automatically with the Dyson Spot+Scrub™ Ai robot vacuum, and have an unpretentious menu ready to delight guests from the moment they arrive, then maybe you can take a second to really dress for the occasion – whether for a mellow, mid-week meal, or a fashionable, Friday fiesta.