How to Decorate a Guest Bedroom
Hosting family and friends in your home is always exciting, and always prompts your household to be on its best, most inviting behavior. From cleaning and meal planning to drafting up a sightseeing list, there’s a lot of preparation that goes into hosting overnight guests. Whether you have ample space or a single spare room, it’s important to ready your guest room with everything needed to make your visitors feel comfortable. Simple comforts and thoughtful touches will make a stay in your guest bedroom feel like a vacation. Bring together all the elements that make visitors feel at home, from luxury bedding to basic amenities. Stick around to learn more about what makes a great guest bedroom and discover tips that will help you become the hostess with the mostest.
Color Palette
The ideal guest room color palette is a sea of calming neutrals and cool colors. Toned-down blues and greens encourage a relaxing atmosphere, while creamy neutrals like white, grey, and beige add a subtle contrast to dark furniture finishes. The idea is to create an open escape that’s easy to decorate and versatile.
Guest Bedroom Must-Haves
Full-Length Mirror
A full-length mirror is a design-savvy accessory for your guest room. It creates the illusion of more space and gives guests a way to check their appearance before leaving the room. Place a free-standing mirror in the corner, or fix a mountable one to a wall or the back of the bedroom door if space is limited.
Ironing Board
An ironing board is the perfect solution for freshening up clothes that have become crinkled in a suitcase. Give your guests a way to look their best with an extra ironing board and iron in the guestroom. To conserve space, consider a small tabletop ironing board that conveniently rests atop the bed or dresser.
Extra Lighting
Though your guest room might have an overhead light, it’s always smart to provide extra task lighting. This not only makes the room welcoming and uplifting, but also lets your guests customize the lighting to their needs. Include a bedside lamp for easy reading, and consider plugging in a nightlight for nighttime navigation.
Accent Chair
An accent chair keeps your visitors from feeling confined to the bed when unpacking their bag or getting ready in the morning. Give guests a place to sit while putting on their shoes or enjoying a good book with an accent chair. Opt for a club chair to make them feel like they have their own living area, or choose a pouf ottoman if space is tight.
The Coziest Guest Bedroom
Your guests will have sweet dreams when they’re snuggled into a perfectly made bed. Essentials like quality bedding and plush pillows all contribute to your guest bed’s ultimate comfort factor. From luxury sheets to the perfect throw, layer it all on to encourage amazing sleep after a fun-filled day.
Guest Bed Essentials
Platform Bed
Platform beds offer a sleek design that works with any decor style while maximizing space. The box-like frame gives the mattress just enough lift off the floor, and the footboard-free design lets sleepers stretch out without feeling closed in. If your guest room is small, consider a platform bed with built-in drawers for extra storage.
Layered Bedding
Your guest room’s bedding should be comfortable, functional, and easy to style. Choosing to layer bedding gives your guests the freedom to create their own comfort, whether they’re likely to kick off the covers or pile on the throws. When choosing bedding, the four most comfortable essentials are: high thread count sheets, a bedspread, a duvet, and at least one throw. Choose a quilted bedspread to define your bed’s style, a down or down alternative duvet for unbeatable warmth, and a knit or fleece throw. Opt for neutrals, cool colors, or whites to set a relaxing tone.
Mattress Pad
A mattress pad is your best bet when you want to amp up comfort without replacing your guest mattress. It’s also a smart way to protect your mattress from spills and other damage, especially if you host visitors often. Choose a waterproof mattress pad with a pillowtop for universal comfort. If you live somewhere with chilly temperatures year-round, a down alternative mattress pad will add to your guest bed’s warmth.
Supportive Pillows
Not too firm, but not too soft, the right pillows are part of the bedding formula that will make your guest bed feel just right to anyone you host. Look for a medium-firm pillow with hypoallergenic filling such as cotton or down alternative. The moldable filling ensures that your guests can comfortably arrange their pillows to accommodate how they sleep while the right firmness guarantees universal head and neck support.
Convenient Guest Bedroom Storage
Whether they travel light or come bearing luggage, your visitors will appreciate convenient guest room storage to help them unpack and settle in. Providing plenty of space to hang clothes and stow bags keeps the room from being cluttered and prevents your guests from feeling like they’re living out of a suitcase. Use simple and hardworking pieces like hooks and nightstands to maximize your guestroom storage and make your guests feel at home.
Bedroom Storage Essentials
Hooks
Hooks offer an obvious storage solution as soon as your guests enter their room. Taking a few seconds to toss a hat or coat on a hook is an easy way to prevent clutter while keeping the important things accessible. Hang a few sturdy hooks in your guest room to catch towels, coats, or bags. Try no-damage wall hooks that don’t require any hammering or drilling, or choose statement hooks to add to your guest room’s decor.
Closet Organizer
Organize your guest room closet so your guests can have space to put things away and settle in. A hanging closet organizer works great for shoe storage and effectively takes the place of a dresser if your guest room doesn’t have space for one. If your guest room doesn’t have a closet, don’t fret! A hall closet will serve your guests well — just show them where it is and let them know they’re welcome to use it.
Nightstand
Make sure your guest room is equipped with a nightstand so visitors can keep necessities close at hand. A nightstand with a drawer gives them a convenient place to store eyeglasses or a favorite book. Equip your guest room nightstand with a lamp, a clock, some reading material, bottled water, and a houseplant or fresh flowers.
Storage Bench
Double up on storage and seating with a storage bench that offers shelves or drawers. Even if your travelers already have plenty of places to store clothes, a storage bench offers room to tuck away extra bedding, blankets, toiletries, and books. Make a storage bench with drawers extra user friendly by labeling each drawer.
Guest Bedroom Extras & Amenities
Part of being a great host is anticipating and meeting your guests’ basic needs. Beyond the basics, it’s the small, thoughtful touches that make a guest bedroom feel more like a space of their own. Put the finishing touches on your guest bedroom with amenities that go the extra mile to take care of your guests. Include special comforts like fluffy towels and their very own coffee station. Keep a notebook on the nightstand containing your Wi-Fi password, contact information, and a list of favorite restaurants and destinations in the area. Everyone loves a good recommendation, and the right amenities might just make your guest’s room feel like the best part of their vacation.
Essential Amenities
Reading Material
There’s something about books that makes a room feel warm and thoughtful, especially to a guest getting comfortable away from home. Whether it’s your favorite classics or fashion magazines, any reading material makes a welcome statement on a nightstand or a bookshelf. Reading material is also a great opportunity to show off what your town or city has to offer. Play the tour guide and provide local magazines that put a spotlight on community events, nearby sightseeing, and great places to eat.
Plush Towels
Keeping your guest room stocked with fluffy, clean towels saves your guests from having to search for them. Leave a set of at least two bath towels, one hand towel, and one washcloth per guest in the room. Keep in mind that white cotton towels are a comfortable and low-maintenance choice since they’re easy to care for and stay soft for a long time.
Coffee Station
There’s nothing cozier than sipping on a great cup of coffee or tea while on vacation. Give your company their own in-room coffee station so they can treat themselves to a java jolt or some soothing tea whenever they want. Keep things simple with a single-serve coffee maker and a variety of coffee and tea on the nightstand, or go cafè-style with an electric kettle and French press. To learn more about crafting the perfect coffee station, read our
Home Coffee Bar guide.
Toiletries
Everyone forgets a toothbrush or shampoo now and then. Keeping a well-stocked toiletry basket or drawer is helpful for guests who have forgotten some travel basics and saves them a trip to the store. Travel-sized shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and floss are all handy toiletries to keep in your guest room, and they aren’t expensive to restock.
