Signage Recommendations?

[Morticia]

Caution: innkeepers sunbathe au naturel.
Seriously, it doesn't matter what you put, chain and all, guests will step over the chain and waltz in the back door because the sign didn't apply to them. As many can attest, I have a sign prominently displayed on the counter given over to guest amenities. It clearly states that guests are NOT allowed to proceed beyond that point into the kitchen, per the board of health. 'Please respect this notice.'
How many guests will walk right past ME standing in the kitchen, right past the sign as well, open the dishwasher and put their dirty cups in with the clean dishes? They are being 'helpful' like JBJ's guest. Some are, some just want to be standing where they don't belong when another guest walks in. THEY want to be mistaken for the glorious innkeeper!

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Caution: innkeepers sunbathe au naturel.
Seriously, it doesn't matter what you put, chain and all, guests will step over the chain and waltz in the back door because the sign didn't apply to them. As many can attest, I have a sign prominently displayed on the counter given over to guest amenities. It clearly states that guests are NOT allowed to proceed beyond that point into the kitchen, per the board of health. 'Please respect this notice.'
How many guests will walk right past ME standing in the kitchen, right past the sign as well, open the dishwasher and put their dirty cups in with the clean dishes? They are being 'helpful' like JBJ's guest. Some are, some just want to be standing where they don't belong when another guest walks in. THEY want to be mistaken for the glorious innkeeper!.

Caution: innkeepers sunbathe au naturel.
Seriously, it doesn't matter what you put, chain and all, guests will step over the chain and waltz in the back door because the sign didn't apply to them. As many can attest, I have a sign prominently displayed on the counter given over to guest amenities. It clearly states that guests are NOT allowed to proceed beyond that point into the kitchen, per the board of health. 'Please respect this notice.'
How many guests will walk right past ME standing in the kitchen, right past the sign as well, open the dishwasher and put their dirty cups in with the clean dishes? They are being 'helpful' like JBJ's guest. Some are, some just want to be standing where they don't belong when another guest walks in. THEY want to be mistaken for the glorious innkeeper!

Just remember however it is worded that 95% of the guests don't do that and its not fair to put a note up that might offend THEM.
I had an elderly man/friend warn me "we have been all over the world and stayed in hundreds of B&B's...the one thing we do not like are the little notes everywhere." I listened to his wisdom and try to not go note-happy, although it would be very easy to!
My guest today I believe felt right at home, so this is what he did, why not, I was treating them nice and chit chatting.
Again, aspirings take note - you think you can have privacy but you won't if you don't set the boundaries. We have to put up signs "please use main entrance" not the kitchen door you doofus! It is what it is. It wears thin when it happens day after day then we try to come up with a solution (other than live with it!). Every guest thinks they are the 'only' guest. Like having an 'only' child.

 

[Morticia]

Caution: innkeepers sunbathe au naturel.
Seriously, it doesn't matter what you put, chain and all, guests will step over the chain and waltz in the back door because the sign didn't apply to them. As many can attest, I have a sign prominently displayed on the counter given over to guest amenities. It clearly states that guests are NOT allowed to proceed beyond that point into the kitchen, per the board of health. 'Please respect this notice.'
How many guests will walk right past ME standing in the kitchen, right past the sign as well, open the dishwasher and put their dirty cups in with the clean dishes? They are being 'helpful' like JBJ's guest. Some are, some just want to be standing where they don't belong when another guest walks in. THEY want to be mistaken for the glorious innkeeper!.

Caution: innkeepers sunbathe au naturel.
Seriously, it doesn't matter what you put, chain and all, guests will step over the chain and waltz in the back door because the sign didn't apply to them. As many can attest, I have a sign prominently displayed on the counter given over to guest amenities. It clearly states that guests are NOT allowed to proceed beyond that point into the kitchen, per the board of health. 'Please respect this notice.'
How many guests will walk right past ME standing in the kitchen, right past the sign as well, open the dishwasher and put their dirty cups in with the clean dishes? They are being 'helpful' like JBJ's guest. Some are, some just want to be standing where they don't belong when another guest walks in. THEY want to be mistaken for the glorious innkeeper!

Just remember however it is worded that 95% of the guests don't do that and its not fair to put a note up that might offend THEM.
I had an elderly man/friend warn me "we have been all over the world and stayed in hundreds of B&B's...the one thing we do not like are the little notes everywhere." I listened to his wisdom and try to not go note-happy, although it would be very easy to!
My guest today I believe felt right at home, so this is what he did, why not, I was treating them nice and chit chatting.
Again, aspirings take note - you think you can have privacy but you won't if you don't set the boundaries. We have to put up signs "please use main entrance" not the kitchen door you doofus! It is what it is. It wears thin when it happens day after day then we try to come up with a solution (other than live with it!). Every guest thinks they are the 'only' guest. Like having an 'only' child.

.

But it's the 5% who the sign is for who really need it and rarely follow it. And then the ones who sally by saying, 'Oh, it's just me, I won't make a mess.'
Right YOU won't but the OTHER guest who sees you doing this thinks the sign means nothing and they may root around in the fridge and eat your breakfast! Or pick over the fruit without washing their hands or sneeze on the bread because they wanted toast at 11 PM.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Caution: innkeepers sunbathe au naturel.
Seriously, it doesn't matter what you put, chain and all, guests will step over the chain and waltz in the back door because the sign didn't apply to them. As many can attest, I have a sign prominently displayed on the counter given over to guest amenities. It clearly states that guests are NOT allowed to proceed beyond that point into the kitchen, per the board of health. 'Please respect this notice.'
How many guests will walk right past ME standing in the kitchen, right past the sign as well, open the dishwasher and put their dirty cups in with the clean dishes? They are being 'helpful' like JBJ's guest. Some are, some just want to be standing where they don't belong when another guest walks in. THEY want to be mistaken for the glorious innkeeper!.

Caution: innkeepers sunbathe au naturel.
Seriously, it doesn't matter what you put, chain and all, guests will step over the chain and waltz in the back door because the sign didn't apply to them. As many can attest, I have a sign prominently displayed on the counter given over to guest amenities. It clearly states that guests are NOT allowed to proceed beyond that point into the kitchen, per the board of health. 'Please respect this notice.'
How many guests will walk right past ME standing in the kitchen, right past the sign as well, open the dishwasher and put their dirty cups in with the clean dishes? They are being 'helpful' like JBJ's guest. Some are, some just want to be standing where they don't belong when another guest walks in. THEY want to be mistaken for the glorious innkeeper!

Just remember however it is worded that 95% of the guests don't do that and its not fair to put a note up that might offend THEM.
I had an elderly man/friend warn me "we have been all over the world and stayed in hundreds of B&B's...the one thing we do not like are the little notes everywhere." I listened to his wisdom and try to not go note-happy, although it would be very easy to!
My guest today I believe felt right at home, so this is what he did, why not, I was treating them nice and chit chatting.
Again, aspirings take note - you think you can have privacy but you won't if you don't set the boundaries. We have to put up signs "please use main entrance" not the kitchen door you doofus! It is what it is. It wears thin when it happens day after day then we try to come up with a solution (other than live with it!). Every guest thinks they are the 'only' guest. Like having an 'only' child.

.

But it's the 5% who the sign is for who really need it and rarely follow it. And then the ones who sally by saying, 'Oh, it's just me, I won't make a mess.'
Right YOU won't but the OTHER guest who sees you doing this thinks the sign means nothing and they may root around in the fridge and eat your breakfast! Or pick over the fruit without washing their hands or sneeze on the bread because they wanted toast at 11 PM.
.

But it's the 5% who the sign is for who really need it and rarely follow it. And then the ones who sally by saying, 'Oh, it's just me, I won't make a mess.'
Right YOU won't but the OTHER guest who sees you doing this thinks the sign means nothing and they may root around in the fridge and eat your breakfast! Or pick over the fruit without washing their hands or sneeze on the bread because they wanted toast at 11 PM.

and again you prove my point - those who disregard the rules will disregard the sign too. I put up a sign in our parkind area remember? Do people still park there who are not B&B guests? YES.

 

[Copperhead]

Innsider...Of course I do not know what the patio looks like and the area which you want to be private so this suggestion may or may not work but here goes:
If the patio is all concrete (or other permanent surface) you could buy some large pots and large plants to create a nice green 'wall' between your private area and the guest area. Until your plants are 'wall' like you could place a chain staked into the pots with a note to help inforce your point. These pots would need to be permanent themselves and spaced close enough together to prevent intruders from slipping between them. Of course this is not a cheap fix but maybe you could use it as your spring outdoor project this year!

 

[Don Draper]

It's a little difficult to describe but our house is wider than it is deep...the patio runs along the far right 2/3 of the back of the property...the other 1/3 (on the left) is a brick walkway and yard with chairs that guests are welcome to use. The patio itself backs right to our kitchen door (with the large PRIVATE sign on it) and I do have some arbor vitae's in planters that I use to "block off" the space leading directly to the door, which has really cut down on folks walking right up and into my kitchen (oh boy, does that not go over well...).
We want to leave the patio open because of the great view, and yes guests will still be able to see us. We're not even out there that often, it's more that the guests of COURSE always seem to want to use the ONE set of chairs/table that is visible and audible to our quarters. It's more of a cautionary thing, when I want to sit out on the patio I don't want someone to be sitting in my chair.
I know no matter what we do that people will ignore it. But going into our 4th year we are making a real effort to avoid burnout by setting aside "our" time and "our" space...so it's gonna happen!
I"m so glad to hear it's not just us dealing with the lack of courtesy...and I agree with Junie's guest, that the signs are annoying, but I just frankly don't care...the good guests are never offended by the signs, they laugh because they know something happened to necessitate us putting up a sign in the first place! People just don't have any common sense, so you have to put it out there for them.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Post a pic of just the area in question.

 

[Don Draper]

Ok, here's the setup. To the right is the back of our house, you can see the black spiral staircase that goes up to the second floor deck...there is already a sign at the top of those steps that says "Emergency Use Only" and folks can access the deck from inside the house.
Directly in the foreground of the photo are two cement benches, to the left of which is a staircase that goes down to the rest of the backyard. Guests will still be able to access the staircase and the yard. We want to run the chain across the patio (on THIS side of the firepit) so that the grill and the tables/chairs will be off-limits. We plan to re-arrange the furniture a bit so there will still be a small seating area here, at the top of the steps...but the grill, the firepit, and the rest of the patio will be off-limits.
So we will still be able to be seen and can still talk if someone needs something but at least our living room window (which is right behind the garden flag hanging down) will not be accessible.

 

[MooseTrax]

Ok, here's the setup. To the right is the back of our house, you can see the black spiral staircase that goes up to the second floor deck...there is already a sign at the top of those steps that says "Emergency Use Only" and folks can access the deck from inside the house.
Directly in the foreground of the photo are two cement benches, to the left of which is a staircase that goes down to the rest of the backyard. Guests will still be able to access the staircase and the yard. We want to run the chain across the patio (on THIS side of the firepit) so that the grill and the tables/chairs will be off-limits. We plan to re-arrange the furniture a bit so there will still be a small seating area here, at the top of the steps...but the grill, the firepit, and the rest of the patio will be off-limits.
So we will still be able to be seen and can still talk if someone needs something but at least our living room window (which is right behind the garden flag hanging down) will not be accessible..

very pretty and you have a lovely dog in your avatar photo~
can you move those cement benches so they are the 'barricade'? yes, the guests could still sit on them and possibly come over to the other side but they might get the hint. then add some large house plants in between the benches and on the ends. they are available at home depot or lowes for about $30/each. the larege *palms* or some very leafy, wide-spreading plant would do the trick. you can keep them or treat them as annuals. they do make a nice barrier, then you would need additional seating for guests so they don't fell they *have* to come over to the your side. small *cafe* tables are reasonably proced and you could get 2 of those that seat 2 and some other outdoor seating.
missed one- do the guests get the firepit with those chairs?

 

[Don Draper]

Thanks! That's our Golden Girl, Molly. The most important member of our staff.
The firepit we are going to move to "our" side...we do not allow guests to use it (right now they are welcome to join us if we have a fire but we do not advertise it and it's really just for our personal use). I think I will either leave those four chairs and two tables on "their" side, or maybe get a small cafe table and chairs to have there...still debating. Thanks for your input.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

I would have it in two sections one for you one for guests, if guests have super comfy chairs on their side they will use them. Concrete would send them over into your area, I would sit on the ground vs sitting on concrete benches. Just an fyi.
I would do like many do who share patios - put up a privacy screen/trellis that plants could climb. Put some potted plants at the base. sample: http://shoppicketfence.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/backyard-privacy-trellis.jpg
Then I would put a "Private" sign on a small rope or something. Make the barricade obvious but attractive. I know this is costing much more than a sign and rope, but in the long run might be worth it!

 

[Don Draper]

I agree, the concrete benches are actually probably going to go all together, no one sits on them. I think I will look for a more "plush" seating option that will be appealing.
I like the trellis idea and thought about getting those, but the view is in the direction behind where the photo was taken, and we don't want to lose that.