Make A Great Guest Room For Visitors | Top Decorating Tips
Will you have guests for the holidays this year? Now is a great time to plan and start a refresh of your guest bedroom so you are ready to host in style and comfort.
What are the keys to a welcoming and inviting guest suite? Think about both comfortable and uncomfortable experiences in hotels in which you’ve stayed. There are little conveniences and touches that make a difference in your experience. Incorporate those into your own home decorating plan. I’ve designed many master and guest bedrooms after 12 year in business. There are key interior design elements I always add to guest bedrooms. These are my top 7 Guest Bedroom Tips, with a bonus tip to get you thinking out of the box.
Comfortable Bed
A guest room is first and foremost a bedroom, so a comfortable bed is important. Comfort extends beyond the type of mattress; there are other keys to making the bed as comfortable as possible
If your guest room is large enough for a king bed while still allowing access and nightstands on both sides of the bed, your guests will certainly appreciate the added sleeping space. Go big and offer them a king size bed. Most rooms will not be that large. I always urge my interior design clients to select a queen bed over a full size bed. It is only a 6” difference, but that 6” makes a world of difference if 2 people are sharing the bed.
Other factors to a comfortable sleeping experience include layers of bedding and pillow options. Include firm and soft pillows so your guests can choose their favorite. Include layers of bedding covers like a coverlet and down comforter. Some people sleep hot and others cold. Again, this allows your guests to create their own level of comfort within the room.
And finally, ensure there is comfortable circulation around the bed so that 2 people can each get in and out comfortably. Nothing is worse than having to climb over your sleeping partner in the middle of the night because the bed is pushed against the wall.
Places To Store Clothing
It’s always more comfortable for one to unpack, organize your belongings, and not feel like you are living out of a suitcase. A guest bedroom should have a dresser and/or open closet space with empty hangers for guests to use. A luggage rack can replace a dresser if you’ve also got closet space available.
I recently stayed in 2 different hotels – one in NYC and one in Ireland – that did not have closets or dressers in the rooms. There was nowhere to hang or put folded clothing. Both my husband and I had to live out of suitcases, which we had to continually shuffle one on top of the other in order to get dressed or retrieve an item. As you might imagine, it was annoying, uncomfortable and unwelcoming. Don’t do that to your guests!
Nightstands With Reading Lamps
At minimum, please include multiple lighting sources within the room, which could include an overhead light plus lamps or just multiple lamps. This is just good interior design practice. One light source means the light is on or off. And if 2 people share the room that could be a challenge.
Some people are night time readers, so a reading lamp is a must have. Even if your guests will not be reading, bedside lights are a nice way to begin to close out the evening. It’s a transition from full lighting into gradually reduced lighting. This is a wellness principal that helps put your body into sleeping mode.
Design Tip: I love to get the bedside lights off of the nightstands to create more room. This can be done with wall mounted sconce lighting or pendant lights from the ceiling. It opens up the space on nightstands, reducing visual and actual clutter.
Seating – Other Than The Bed
Having only the bed on which to sit is not very comfortable. Beds often sit higher than a chair seat and feel less comfortable for sitting. Additional seating makes a better place for putting on and taking off shoes. It creates a space to read or have a cup of coffee. For guests, it makes the whole room more relaxing.
I always advise my clients to add another form of seating for guests. If the bedroom is small, we have incorporated seating through a bench or built-in window seat. When the room is larger, a comfortable upholstered chair is perfect. And when a bedroom has the luxury of more space, we’ll add a chairside table and ottoman. Your guests may never want to leave!
While your guests are there to see you, it is nice to give them a space where they can have some quiet time to recharge.
Room Darkening Window Treatments
This is where most hotels really excel, primary by providing black out drapery. You can give your guests this same dark, cozy sleeping experience by including blackout lining on drapery, or specifying “room darkening” shades. There are other ways to achieve a dark room that may better fit with your home décor. If you have wood blinds or shutters on your windows, you can add a layer of drapery to help block out any light the might bleed through the cracks.
Mirror
A mirror, where your guests can apply makeup or just double check their appearance, is a brilliant touch in a guest bedroom. This is especially true if the bathroom must be shared, with the kids or other guests, as is often the case. The mirror is functional for your guests, but can also be a key part of your interior decorating plan by coordinating with the bedroom decoration, theme and colors.
Charging Station
Everyone has devices and devices need to be charged. At minimum, ensure that your guest have easy access to open outlets in which to charge their devices. If they have to unplug lamps or other items to charge devices, that’s really not ideal. Ensuring that an open outlet is near a table or shelf is even better. If you really want to create a five star guest experience, invest in nightstands with a built-in charging station. These nightstands hit the furniture market five or so years ago and now there are options available to compliment every interior design style.
Multi-functional Spaces {Bonus Tip}
If you have a smaller home or a full house of kiddos, a dedicated guest room may not be an option. Even if you have space for a guest room, could you create a multi-purpose room that better serves your family when you are not entertaining guests? Below are two rooms to inspire you to get more function from your guest bedrooms.
Design Tip: I like to design multi-functional spaces that will accommodate guests as well as the homeowners.
This is a guest bedroom that Beautiful Habitat designed with a pull out sofa. I know, you’re probably thinking that a pull out sofa violates tip #1 for a comfortable bed. However, the sofa bed mattress has come a long way. There are now comfortable options available so your guests won’t have to suffer.
This room has a lovely patio and view of a pond. When it is not used for entertaining guests, it’s a wonderful sunny reading nook for the homeowners. They can enjoy this space every day instead of having it dedicated to guests only a few times each year. {Note the bedside lamps, additional seating and mirror!}
Small Home, High Function
This guest bedroom pulls triple duty and is packed full of functionality. This Boulder home is one in which the owners downsized from a larger home. We looked for clever ways to design all the function of their large home into this smaller space. The guest bedroom is one space we maximized function.
We designed a custom wall bed or Murphy bed. On the front of the bed is a desk that drops down to create a workspace for the home owner. The homeowners are also very fit and active people. Everything folds up to clear floor space for a full body work out. Three functions in one room!
Beyond these tips for furnishing and decorating the ideal guest room, there are a lot of wonderful welcoming touches to add for your visitors. Those might include a beverage station, posted wifi login details, or designer toiletries. What special touches do you add for your guest or have you received as a guest in someone’s home? Please share.
Beautiful Habitat was featured in Denver Life magazine discussing the redesign of 2 guest rooms in an Arvada home. Read more about it here.
Does your guest bedroom need a refresh? Book a Home Design Review to start your project today