How do you feel about guests staying over in your home? Well, if you don’t have a lovely guest bedroom to offer them, you probably don’t feel too good about inviting people to share your space with you…
However, it’s not very hard to design the perfect guest bedroom. All you need to do is follow these tips if you want a room you’ll be proud to offer to your friends and extended family members…
First, have a budget and colour scheme
The first part of designing the perfect guest bedroom is just the same as designing any other room: it all starts with a budget and theme. Your choices will be largely governed by your finances, so have a clear idea about how much you’re willing to spend overall.
And, think about your colour scheme too. Generally, bedrooms should be relaxing rather than stimulating, so consider colours and patterns that will help you to achieve the right kind of atmosphere. If you’re not sure, take inspiration from the rest of your home: what colours do you use over and over again? What patterns, if any? This is a useful exercise to do before you dive into decorating, as it will ensure that your guest room flows with the rest of your décor. And, it will help boost the chances that you’ll want to spend time in that room when you don’t have guests.
Invest in the key pieces of furniture
If you want to design the perfect guest room, apportion your budget sensibly. You should expect to spend the majority of your money on a comfortable bedframe and mattress, high quality bed linen, and good curtains or blinds.
These things are the most important factors to guarantee a good night’s sleep, whereas decorative or styling touches can be done more cheaply if you need to. Head to somewhere like Divan Beds Centre if you want a bed that strikes the right balance between comfort and affordability, and you can then visit the homewares section of your local supermarket for bedside accessories.
A decent amount of storage is important too; even if your guests are likely to stay for only one night, you should provide them with somewhere to hang and fold away their clothes.
Ensure there’s a bedside table
Next, make sure there’s space for at least one bedside table (though preferably two – one on each side of the bed). It makes the room feel less ‘temporary’ (given that you’re inviting your guests to fill the bedside table with their books, mobile phones and other bits and bobs), and is very practical too.
Think about lighting and mirrors
Also, make sure the room contains multiple sources of lighting. You’ll need to install overhead lighting for general tasks, as well as also bedside lighting in case your guests want to read, or find themselves waking up in the night. Add a full length mirror to the wall if you can source one you like at a price you can afford – your guests will be more comfortable if they can check their appearance without asking to visit your master bedroom, for instance.
Consider practicalities
Next, consider a few practical things for a guest room. You might want to fix some hooks to the back of the bedroom door, for instance, and some hooks on the back of the bathroom door if you have an en-suite. This will give your guests a place to hang their coats or dressing gowns, and is particularly important if wardrobe space is limited.
Also, if you have the money to hire an electrician for an afternoon, consider asking him or her to install a plug socket beside the mirror so your guests can style their hair, as well as a plug socket beside the bed so your guests can charge their mobile phones overnight.
Add finishing touches
Complete your guest room by adding some finishing touches. Leaving a selection of books or magazines will make your guests feel that there’s something to do in their room; perfect if you’d like a little time away from their company while they’re staying, and vice versa.
Also, leave a clean water glass on the bedside table so your guests can help themselves to water overnight, and don’t forget to lay out clean towels too – keeping a set of towels specifically for guests will mean you’re never caught out by a surprise visitor!
Comments are closed.