Styling a Welcoming Guest Room

Guest Room Styling Tips

One of my favorite things about our new house is that with four bedrooms, it finally allows us the luxury of having a guest room! It’s so nice knowing we have a place we can offer to our friends and family if they want to extend a visit, plus now I can invite out-of-town friends to come spend time with us since they wouldn’t have to pay for their own accommodations.

For the first few months of our time here, this room was filled with not-yet-unpacked boxes, but we finally got everything where it needed to go and I was given the green light to decorate! We got a bed from a friend who was moving and didn’t have space for it in her condo, which was a huge blessing. I’m still not totally finished yet; I want a headboard and some throw pillows for the bed and perhaps a vinyl saying for that wall, but it’s definitely ready for our first guest!

Here are a few basic tips for creating and styling a welcoming guest room!

1. CHOOSE YOUR COLORS

Guest Room

The color scheme of a room gives it a certain feel…that’s why a lot of restaurants use red or orange in their decor to make you hungry! It’s a pretty well known fact that blue is calming and peaceful, so any shades of blue and teal as well as neutrals make great choices for a room where you want guests to relax. I found this geometric quilt for a great price at my local Walmart and that became the basis for the rest of my color scheme. I love the teal sheers {$4 a piece at Walmart!} because I feel like they give the room an airy, breezy feel while the blinds can easily be closed when our guests want to get some shut-eye.

2. PROVIDE READING MATERIAL

Bookshelf Styling

In case your guests have a little bit of down time, it’s thoughtful to provide them with something to do in the form of a few good books. You can simply leave a stack of favorites on the nightstand, or you can work them into your decor, like I did.

3. MIRRORS AND TOILETRIES

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Some of you may be fortunate enough to have a guest bathroom as well, but in our house, any visitors will be sharing a bathroom with Little Crafter: whale tub mat, monkey shower curtain, and all. So, I thought it would be helpful to provide our guests with some of the things they might need right there in the guest room. First, I placed a large mirror on the wall so that visitors can check their hair and/or makeup without having to make a stop in the restroom. There’s also a smaller mirror {which used to be a Goodwill photo frame before I chalk painted it and used Krylon Looking Glass Spray on the glass} on the bookcase and another on the night table in case guests want to put them to use. A container on the bookshelf holds two bottles of lotion, and a basket on the bottom of the night table has a few washcloths, poufs, and travel size bottles shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. One of the hotels our family stays in when hubby has to work out of town a few times a year has great smelling little toiletries, so I “collect” those to use in that basket.

4. INCLUDE PERSONAL TOUCHES

Burlap and wood Photo Display

As you decorate your walls and furniture, don’t be afraid to add in a few personal touches, like family photos or favorite things. I have this DIY Wood & Burlap Photo Frame hanging on one wall, and on the bookshelf there’s a picture of Little Crafter in a frame I spray painted to match the decor. {Lucky me, Krylon’s Cover Maxx in Gloss Ivy Leaf was a perfect match for the green shade in the quilt!} I think adding a bit of your family’s personality to the room goes a long way toward making it feel homey and more welcoming than a hotel. After all, your guests aren’t strangers, they’re your friends and family, so they won’t mind seeing your smiling face in a photo frame or two.

5. KEEP IT CLUTTER FREE

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Avoid the temptation to make the guest room a catch all and shove things in there that you don’t have a place for elsewhere in the house. Remember that this room has a function, just like other rooms do, and you never know when you might need to use it! Don’t put anything in there that doesn’t belong…trust me, you’ll thank me when you have a guest coming and your room is already clean, fresh, and ready! Plus, it can be nice just to have a room to escape to every now and then yourself where everything is in its place!

6. PROVIDE DRAWER AND/OR CLOSET SPACE
No one likes living out of a suitcase, even if it’s only for one night. Your visitors will appreciate having a place to unpack and store their clothes and other items, and will feel much more at home. If you have an extra dresser or a night stand with drawers, that’ll do the trick. If not, clear out the closet and make it available for your guests…even if that means finding another place to store your own out of season clothing.

7. WELCOMING WORDS

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No doubt, you’ve told your guests how welcome they are, but you can reinforce that message by incorporating wall art and other decor that includes welcoming words. Signs that say, “welcome friends,” or other kind sentiments like, “stay awhile,” will help remind your visitors that they’re not inconveniencing you by staying in your home. The mirror on one of our guest room walls says, “Oh, hello there!” and there are other words of welcome in the collage photo frame over the bed. {See, told ya I need a headboard and pillows!}

8. GET THEM CONNECTED

Elegance-and-Enchantment-Guest-Room-Photos-Vertical3

In this day and age, folks will want to make use of your internet so that they don’t use up their data plans or so that they can work on laptops and other devices. Providing your wi-fi password on a cute little sign is a nice way to save them the trouble of asking and make things easier all around. You can download this sweet free printable from Elegance and Enchantment, change the password to your own, and pop it in a frame…easy peasy!

What do you think about these tips? Have you done some of them in your own guest room? Or appreciated them when you’ve stayed in someone else’s home? Tell me your favorite things to do to make visitors feel welcome and right at home!

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6 Comments

  1. Love the wifi password idea, also is there a full post about smaller mirror {which used to be a Goodwill photo frame before I chalk painted it and used Krylon Looking Glass Spray on the glass}” ? I haven’t heard of the looking glass spray.

  2. A clock. I think that is the kindest thing we can do for a guest. Not everyone has a watch. And yes we have our phones but it is so much easier to just look up at a clock.

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