Etiquette of taking shoes off at the door for guests?

[GYoIsReallyHavingABaby]

Hello
I've just got new hall and dining room wood floor (its bamboo so reasonably susceptible to damage) that was a lot of money to us so we'd like to keep nice for as long as possible.

The front door opens onto hall and goes through to dining room so we take our shoes off in the porch the before the front door.

Does anyone else have a "no shoes rule" and how do you deal with it with guests?

I feel awful asking people to take off shoes on way in... I'd always do it in other people's houses out of respect/ politness and I'd make sure I didnt make host feel awkward about it but a few guests over xmas have made me feel really bad for asking!

When I ask people to take their shoes off, feet minging, odd socks, no socks whatever, I am saying welcome to my home and that I accept them and their potentially minging or badly attired feet but not their potentially germy dirty shoes which belong outside. ONce inside they are welcome to put their feet on the chairs, go in my fridge, use my stuff and look in all the rooms in my house.

We don't generally wear shoes in the house, but this is moere to do with having children crawling/rolling round on the floor than floor coverings.

FWIW I have bamboo in my kitchen and family room and it is very resiliant (sp) to the general rough and tumble of a busy family life.

I tend to only invite friends and family to my home so like TheSweetLittleBunny once inside my house they can make theirselves at home. I don't ask them to take their shoes off at the moment but probabl will in the future and understnd why people do.

while we're on the subject - can i ask guests to take their dark jeans off so they don't mark my sofas?

Your house, your rules. But having just experienced the discomfort of freezing feet in another house because of a no shoes rule, please make you ask your guests to bring slippers or provide house shoes they can use so that they don't shiver like we did. I think perhaps the guests who have made you feel bad for asking have been made to feel that their comfort is unimportant compared to your floor, and that you didn't take guests' comfort into consideration when choosing a flooring which can't take clean shoes. Obviously I'd never walk into any house with muddy shoes without taking them off and always always wipe my feet whatever.

Ah yes, the dark jeans - AuntieMaggie, you need to always have a throw on the sofa, which magically gets "thrown" over said sofa when they go to the loo . And you mumble sone excuse about DC's and their chocolately/crayony/playdohy fingers, etc

lilolilbethlehem - not sure that guests comfort is a requirement when choosing flooring but I guess it depends on how often you have guests over.

i tried the throw on the sofa thing but dp keeps moving them!

depends on what your priority is I guess. I like to have a home where anyone and everyone feels welcome and comfortable. But I know other people want a house which looks a lot classier than mine does. Each to their own I guess. I do think with invited guests you should warn them to bring slippers. But that doesn't help anyone just dropping in.
I hate having cold feet and also I'd be MORTIFIED if asked to remove knee-length boots if I had socks and unshaven legs underneath!!!

Maybe get a supply of those disposable over shoe things you get in swimming pools? Perhaps would solve the problem?

lilobethlehem - that happened a friend of mine and not only that, she had fake tanned the rest of her but not her legs, because the boots were part of her outfit you see...

we were always taught to remove shoes as kids and we stil do itas adults. I often take my little slippers (those fabric type £1 from primark) in my bag if i know im off to a friends. Much most comfey than shoes anyway. I cant stand sitting in shoes, horrible!! I have also been known to take my shoes off at the office too

we always removed shoes at home and still do change in to slippers. But would never ask guests to.

It's not just the dirt that damages the floors. We had 2 people here on boxing day who, by keeping on their stillettos, managed to cover my oak floor in little dents! (Grrrr)

I find the whole removing shoes thing rude. I will remove my shoes if I see that it is the done thing, but inside I am thinking how precious.

I'm on the don't ask it's rude side too. Mind you, I often ask if I should take my shoes off if I go into immaculate looking place and notice the hosts are not shod.

I don't ask but find most people do anway. I probably would if their shoes looked dirty.

This thread does not make sense at all. The whole point of hard flooring is that

(a) It looks nice
(b) It is much easier and more hygienic to clean than carpet AND
(c) People can walk on it in their shoes!!!

So I am baffled, utterly baffled by someone having hard flooring and then wanting guests to take their shoes off.

One last thought - it might seem a bit precious for people to have to take their shoes off on carpeted areas (well it does to me anyway) but won't it be hard and rather uncomfortable for the unfortunate bare-footed guests?

If you feel very strongly about this, but don't want to seem to be putting people out, rather offering them something; you could possibly do what my chinese family does, and ask if they would be more comfortable wearing these over their socks???

If you are of hippy dippy persuasion, you could also light an oil burner and turn on some chill out music for a spa feel

And if you're a nutter you can do a jig around them too!

we take our shoes off as we don't want dirt inside and if guests ask shall i take my shoes off i always say yes please, but if they just walk in i let them, it's not worth the fuss.
POLs take the biscuit though, they know we don't wear shoes so they come in their slippers, walk from the car into the house in their slippers and then say we are wearing our slippers save taking our shoes off, they just don't seem to understand that once the slippers have been outside they are dirty and as bad as shoes
once MOL even came in shoes, took them off at the dorr and then said look my feet are black i have been outside with no shoes on, ffs!

i don't know anyone who would be so bad mannered as to ask guests to remove their shoes. And for that i am very grateful.

If I see that my hosts are not wearing shoes I would probably remove mine anyway. And my children tend to strip off as soon as they arrive anywhere anyhow.

But to ask! How very ikea

..

We have flagstones throughout the downstairs so I do not usually have to enforce the shoes off rule. EXCEPT in the 'posh' (ha ha!) sitting room where I usually take my shoes off at the door and often find guests follow suit. If they don't I try not to get too bothered.

We are going to put a dark stripey runner up the stairs though so I can save the embarrassment of asking quests to remove shoes should they up stairs.

I have a friend who has hard flooring throughout her immense hallway and she always asks us to take off our shoes; I agree with Quat in that I find it baffling why they ever chose such 'sensitive' flooring in the first place!

We don't ask people to take shoes off but if they offer we say yes! If children come to play and are going upstairs then we do ask them to take shoes off.

I think the difference in cultures is interesting.

In Germany and Austria and Japan (and possibly other coutries too) it is de rigeur to take off your shoes inside, and slippers are kept at the door for guests to use.

But in this country I just think it feels wrong. Although most of the dc's friends have clearly been trained by their mothers to automatically remove their trainers at the front door, even if I say they don't have to.

I find it weird. It's too precious. It's putting your house furnishings above the comfort of your guests.

I think it is very rude to ask guests to take off their shoes-people are more important than possessions. Buy a carpet cleaner and clean often.