by Jeanne Brovelli, Interior Re-designer
La Casa Bella Fine Furnishings
Do you have guests coming this holiday season? It’s that time of year when many of us will be having family or friends stay in our homes. If you are not set up for this, your initial response might be YIKES! Take a breath; help is at hand.
Maybe you have a room that a grown child has moved out of and is still sitting there looking exactly the same with posters on the wall and other favored teenage décor throughout. While you and your child might be tempted to keep this room “as is” for your adult child to return to, creating a comfortable guest room might be even better (as long as there’s no confusion about their doing the dishes when staying with you!)
There are a couple of ways to set up a guest room. The first, if you have the space, is to devote a spare bedroom as a guest room. You will need to set it up as a bedroom, but from a more minimalist approach as your guests won’t have all of their possessions with them (hopefully). If you have limited space and need to use this room as another room, such as an office or sewing room, it is still possible to set up for guests as well.
Ok- the first approach- “guest only” room. You’ll need a bed, obviously. A full or queen size is best, as you can then accommodate a single person or a couple. A small chest of drawers is nice to have. I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those persons who always puts my clothes in the drawers in a hotel room. I much prefer this to digging through a suitcase for a pair of socks or a belt. You will also be able to use the bottom drawer or two for linens, extra blankets etc. Then, a chair, a night stand and a reading lamp should do it for the basics. If you have a large room, you might want to add a fun lounge chair, chair and a half, or a small desk to sit at as well.
Ok- the second option- “sometimes a guest- room”. Here you can use an actual bed, but you might want to consider a futon, daybed or sofa sleeper so that you have more room during the vacant times (which will hopefully be the majority of the time). The advantage of an actual bed is that you can leave it made up, whereas with the other, you will have to make it up when guests are expected. You will also need a night stand, a chair or a small bench–a place to put a lamp, set reading glasses, or a book–next to the bed. You might even want to include extra pillows, an extra comforter or blanket, a mirror on the wall or a small standing mirror. There, you have it!
Now a couple of things to remember when setting up the guest room: Don’t put anything in the room that you will need to access while your guests are there such as a computer or resource materials of any kind. Do consider choosing a room that has convenient access to a bathroom and will not be disturbing to your family, if at all possible.
Ok, now for decorating. I would suggest going for a neutral, casual look–not overly masculine or feminine. This might be a good place to hang those art pieces or accessories that you just love but don’t have the right space for in the rest of the house. Choose carefully, however, so that this room doesn’t become and look like a catch-all room. In choosing bedding, opt for something simple and attractive that you can freshen with new pillows from time to time, but is fairly timeless in style with little ongoing expense.
Whichever way you decide to go in creating your guest room, a little effort will ensure that your guests are comfortable and welcome. You might find that you have created such a nice inviting space that you want to be guest in your own home and retreat there from time to time!
