The ornaments of your house will be the guests who frequent it.

This saying circulates as an anonymous proverb about hospitality and domestic life rather than as a line traceable to a single identifiable author or occasion. It appears in quotation collections and “household maxims” contexts where advice about manners, entertaining, and the moral character of the home is distilled into epigrammatic form. The implied situation is the private household: the “ornaments” are not material decorations but the people welcomed inside, suggesting a social ideal in which a home’s reputation is made by the quality of its company and the host’s openness rather than by display.

The line contrasts superficial beauty with living, relational richness. “Ornaments” suggests objects chosen to impress; the quote argues that the real measure of a home is the people who gather there and the spirit of welcome that makes them return. It implies that hospitality, generosity, and good character create a more lasting “decoration” than material luxury. The saying also hints at reciprocity: the guests who “frequent” a house are both a sign and a product of the household’s values. In effect, it reframes status from possessions to community, proposing that a well-lived home is known by its friendships.