Your guest room probably hears more than your dating profile. I mean, lets think about it – this is where people form their first real oppinion of how good you are at hosting and truth to be told most of us look at it like that awkward cousin we see only during holidays. The thing is, making a cozy guest bedroom doesn’t have to be a costly wallet-exhaustion nightmare or an interior design school drop out.
It took me years of desperately cramming people into a space that was thus a kind of glorified version of a storage room with a bed, but I finally figured out the secret. These 7 tips will take your guest room out of the realm of, “Thanks for letting me crash in your house.” into one that makes you say, “Can I move into this house?” We can ensure your guests are treated like they have just flown into a chic hotel rather than your furniture poltergeists.
Create a Welcoming Color Palette
Have you ever entered a room and noticed your shoulders drop straight away? Well, that is the magic part about your color scheme. Your guest bedroom should not shout hello, it should mumble a welcoming word instead of a scream, which says, I got this paint because it was on clearance.
Use neutral base colors replace some with warm grays and soft beiges or gentle off-whites. These are not dull they are mature. I discovered this lesson on my own skin when I painted my first guest room in a very bright turquoise that made everyone feel as though they were sleeping in a swimming pool :/
Layer in Warm Accents
Once the foundation is decided let the personality shine through with accent colors. Dusty blues, sage greens or warm terracotta colours look great. Use these as an throw pillow, art or in that sweet reading nook you’ve been lusting after.
What is the secret sauce? Limit it to a total of three colors. A lot more than that, and your room begins to resemble the scene of a rainbow explosion. Take my word to it.
| Color Combination | Mood Created | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Warm Gray + Sage Green | Calming, Natural | Stress Relief |
| Cream + Dusty Blue | Serene, Classic | Traditional Homes |
| Beige + Terracotta | Cozy, Earthy | Modern Farmhouse |
Invest in Quality Bedding
Now I begin to get a bit worked up, the difference between a cheap and high quality bedding is make or break the whole guest experience. You don t have to remind me of that friend who had sheets made out of sandpaper. Nah, don;t be such a guy.
You don t have to go very high end, but good thread count sheets (300-400) and a decent duvet will have people sending you thank-you texts. I also have a light blanket to fold at the end of the bed since there are folks who sweat and others who need a sweater in July.
Layer for Comfort and Style
White linens. A down comforter. Two decorative pillows, which are actually useful. Imagine you are in a hotel. Forget the forty seven throw pillows that needed an engineering degree to put into place. Two sleeping pillows, two decorative pillows, and perhaps a reading lumbar pillow two decorative pillows should be enough.
Pro tip: Select bedding colors that match your wall colors. This establishes flow visually and it gives the space an intentional feel rather than a thrown-together off-the-cuff shopping excursion the panic.
Add Ambient Lighting Options
Bedroom overhead lighting should be banned – it is that awful and unflattering. Your guests will need multileveled lighting so depending on their mood they have control to change it.
Begin with a body of bedside table lamps on either side of the bed. Indeed, both sides, although you might assume that your visitors will just use one. Individuals are all set with preferences and good hosting implies taking them on board. Include a corners floor lamp where you want overall room illumination, and think about string lights or a compact accent lamp that an Italian Tenet and is only ambiance.
Create a Reading Nook
Dedicated task lighting, one small space, possibly with a chair, should be identified, if space is available. This provides your guests with a place to relax which is not the bed. I threw in a basic arm chair along with a side table and lamp in my corner of a guest room and people actually sit there! Never did I hear of folks needing someplace to sit that was not a mattress.
The aim is to create multiple lighting atmospheres which include being bright enough to pack a suitcase, dim enough to relax to sleep and anything in betweens.
Provide Essential Storage Solutions
The absence of storage options in a guest room proclaims itself as the saying goes–welcome, unwelcome. It should not be a situation whereby your visitors are living out of the suitcase as though they are camping. Strategic storage demonstrates that you put some thought their needs.’
A simple bench or luggage rack at the bottom of the bed is enough so that they can put their suitcase. Place a small dresser/ night stand that has some medium sized drawers, and now your visitors will really be able to unpack. Revolutionary, right?
Think Beyond the Obvious
You want to include hooks on the back of the door where you can hang robes, jackets, etc, a small basket where everyone can place their charging cables (everyone forgets their charging cables), and possibly a small trash can. These are minor details, but they cause a great impact on the level of comfort.
FYI, a full length mirror either in the room or somewhere in the room is a prerequisite. Otherwise, you have no idea how much fun it can be to have people strain themselves over to check their outfit in your hospitality room mirror only to have them lose or spill something or even for dramatic effect overdose and die on the floor locust style.
Incorporate Personal Touches
Here you can be a bit playful and bring out much character without being too extreme. Personal touches ought to be deliberate rather than suspiciously like you were rummaging through the thrift store and plopped it all in a single room.
It is a handful of picked out accessories which is more effective than a basket full of hodgepodge. Consider a miniature garden (low-maintenance is a plus), books your guests may want to pick up and read, or art work depicting a local story.
Create a Welcome Experience
A phone charger, bottled water, and some local snacks and a hand-written note with WiFi password and house basics on the dresser in a small basket. It is like a mini hotel welcome pack and visitors never forget.
The trick is to ensure these touches look handpicked, as opposed to crammed. Everything must serve some purpose or be a source of delight- hopefully both.
Add Texture and Warmth
Layering of textures adds a sense of visual warmth to an interior and gives a lived-in appearance to a space. You can paint walls impeccably and the fact remains that hard surfaces everywhere will give the room a cold look.
Include a supple area rug in front of the bed to keep visitors shocking their feet even before they are fully awake in the morning. Cozy some blanket around that reading chair. Incorporate curtains that actually prevent light as opposed to all those decorative curtains that hang there basically doing nothing.
Mix Materials Thoughtfully
Mix textures: silk bed sheets, fleecy blanket throws, lacquered timber bedside cabinets and perhaps a woven basket to hold such things. This makes the room aesthetically interesting without having to obtain a masters of interior design.
The idea is to make the space soft and tactile that is reachable. We are not talking about making all the elements in your room look exactly alike, but having them all have the same texture will make it dead and uninviting as a 1987 hotel room.
Consider Practical Amenities
Now it is time to discuss all the obsoleteness that makes the good visitors returning. Considerate features indicate that you know what people really want when they are in an unfamiliar place.
There are glasses and a carafe of water so that there is no need to have awkward midnight raids on the kitchen. A miniature clock (analog or digital it is up to you) assists in the morning activities. Additional phone chargers will avoid the ubiquitious experience with guests of crawling around under furniture in search of chargers.
The Little Things That Matter
Have an emergency basket or shelf with spare hangers in the closet, since somehow your guests always use more hangers than any human should possibly need. Put in a luggage stand or bench- suitcases on the floor are temporary and a little bit sad.
Also take into account temperature. A mini fan to welcome summer visitors or an additional throw to people who tend to be cold shows that you have gone beyond the scope of just saying, here is the bed.
Making a comfort guest bedroom is not about the quality of perfection but rather about the consideration. Considering what would be comfortable to you as a guest, you are predisposed to creating an environment that is comfortable and not constrained by some thought of being obligatory.
Your guest room ought to act as a retreat and not as a storage center with sleeping ability. Cater to the comfort, add personal touches that feel authentic and serve the sensible features that make staying in a new place less straining.
The best of guest rooms makes them desire to be there more. More or less isn’t that what it’s all about? So just stop over thinking and make a space that really welcomes your guests. Your future guests (and your reputation as a host) will thank you for it, etc.