A Welcoming Guest Room
In many homes a guest room tends to be an afterthought. It makes sense, we all live busy lives and tend to focus first on the spaces we spend the most time. Our energies go into common spaces or the bedrooms we sleep in each night. Often the guest room plays double duty as a home office, craft space, or just storage so while it gets some attention, that attention is focussed on its other uses. For those who do have the luxury of having a dedicated space for guests, whether that is a bedroom that an adult child has left behind or just an unused room you can devote to your visitors, there are a few ways you can elevate your design to create a comfortable getaway any guest will be excited to visit.
When choosing a guest room it is not only ok to choose the smallest bedroom in the house: This can actually help in your design, a guest room should be comfortable and cozy. While you want your guests to get an amazing nights sleep, you don’t necessarily want to create a space someone would fully live in.
When choosing the bed size for the room, go as large as you can, while making sure there is space to enter the bed from both sides: When you have couples visiting, comfort can be challenging when squeezing into a bed smaller than what they are used to sharing at home. That said, crawling over each other into a bed snugly in a corner can prove to be even more challenging. If you are able to fit a queen sized bed with at least 18 inches of clearance (but ideally 24) on each side then you have the perfect space for guests. This means a 9 ft wall to put the headboard on.
Stay soft and subtle with a touch of glitz: In the guestroom showcased in this post you will see the primary color is a soft sage accented with natural wood tones, neutral fabrics, and the sparkle of brass accents. I stayed away from any colors that are overly bold or jarring so that space would feel restful but added some sparkle and interest through a metallic patterned wallpaper and accents.
Don’t over-accessorize: It is not uncommon for the guest room to become a space to hang any art you can’t find another place for, avoid this trap. Just like any space in your house a guest room should be carefully curated. Any decoration or art should be focussed on the way you want the room to make your guests feel. For me, that feeling is relaxed and welcomed.
Curate whimsy and some surprises: While you don’t want to over accessorize a space for guests, it is nice to add a few touches that are fun, and will make them smile when they are noticed. In this space I chose a piece of artwork (a layered metal wall sculpture of a tree) from a small local gallery by a community artist and another (a small nature painting) from a gallery/shop that sells pieces by local homeless people and puts the money back into community support services. While working on this project I also stumbled across some small brass bumblebee sculptures that reminded me of the wallpaper, so I added these to a few spots in the room for guests to happen upon when staying in this guest room.
Add a little function, but not too much: As a small room, options for furniture in this space were limited, rather than adding a wardrobe or dresser which would each take up a good chunk of the room, this design called for a deep clothing hook on the wall behind the door. This allows guests to hang a few garments to avoid wrinkles without a bulky piece of furniture that would go mostly unused. A blanket chest in the room houses extra blankets and pillows and provides a place to open a suitcase. The brass mirror has a small shelf where guests can get ready in the morning and store any products they may need, and the gate leg table folds up to serve as a writing surface or tucks away for more space in the cozy room. A small tv was added to the room in case guests want a little alone time. This smart tv is pre-connected to the homeowners streaming services each of which has a profile labelled “Guest Room”.
