Hello, Darlings!
Today we are going to be talking about how to make your guest room warm and welcoming. If relatives are coming for the holidays or even your newly married child is coming back home for the first time, let’s make their room special.
How To Make Your Guest Room Warm And Welcoming For The Holidays
**This post contains affiliate links. When you shop through my links, it helps support my website (at no additional cost to you), so thank you
This post is a collaboration with my daughter Anna from, Homzie Designs. Homzie Designs is an online design service that helps people pick out those finishing touches that completes a room. Because the service is online, she has clients from all over the nation. She just finished a client from North Dakota & California.
I believe every home should do three things: restore, inspire, and gather people together. It doesn’t take a large budget or Pinterest worthy decor to create a life-giving environment in your home.
How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Like a Hotel
For many, the guest bedroom is a catch-all of mismatched furniture, old bedding from your college days, and decorated in a style that one might call “grandma’s estate sale”…. Does that sound familiar? If this is you, then you likely don’t have many house guests over to stay the weekend. Having a “left-over room” as a guest room is as good as a do-not-disturb sign — it will keep everyone out.
THINK LIKE A HOTEL MANAGER
When it comes to preparing your guest bedroom it helps to think like a hotel manager. While these tips may seem obvious, if your guest room falls in the “catch-all” category, they may be ground-breaking.
- A good night sleep is everything – There is nothing worse than a bad night’s sleep after a long day of traveling or site seeing. Don’t put your house guests through that. Make sure you have a good mattress —even if it’s just a high-quality air mattress. Similarly, there is nothing like sleeping on clean, fresh linens. Keep your guest room stocked with a nice set of sheets and bath towels. To wow your guests, wash all the linens in this luxury detergent or use a linen spraybefore they arrive.
- Make sure it’s clean, like white glove clean — Your guest room most likely doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic, and because of that, it doesn’t get the same deep cleaning as the rest of your house. Before guests arrive, make sure you do a thorough going over the room. I’m talking vacuum, dust, check that light bulbs work, and make sure all the linens and towels are freshly washed.
- Design with function in mind- If your guests are staying for no more than a week, they won’t need to store their belongings in an oversized dresser. Grab a few luggage racks to store in the closet along with 8-10 felt hangers. Instead of a dresser, opt for a desk with a nice chair, lamp, and notepad.
ANTICIPATE THEIR NEEDS
It can be awkward for guests when they feel they have to ask their host a multitude of questions. Serve your guests well by anticipating their needs.
- Give them the lay of the land – What’s one of the first questions you ask when you get to someone’s home, “what’s the wifi password?” Why not put the wifi password in a nice picture frame in their room or on a handwritten welcome note from you. Make sure guests also have the security system code and an extra set of keys if they will be returning while you’re not home.
- Do you have an extra…-Have extra pillows and blankets handy for guests who prefer extra support or may get cold at night. You can store pillows in a large basket and put a throw blanket across the foot of the bed. Everyone needs to charge their devices at night. Use a bedside lamp with a USB port for easy access and have extra phone chargers handy in case your guest forgets one. Don’t forget our analog friends, and keep a nice physical clock in the room as well.
- Answer the question before they ask – Polite guests often ask what they should do with the bed linens once it’s time to go. “Should I make the bed? Should I strip the bed?” If you want them to strip the bed, have a laundry basket in the guest room closet for them to easily toss in the sheets. Otherwise, save them the ask, and make sure it’s clear they don’t need to worry about a thing.
GO THE EXTRA MILE
Want to be an “all-star” in hospitality? It doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming to deliver “second-mile service” to your house guests.
- Have their favorite snacks waiting for them– A few days before your guests arrive ask them what snacks they enjoy and have those waiting for them in their room to sooth those “midnight munchies”. A few granola bars, bottles of water, and a bag of m&ms would make anyone feel at home.
- Include access to entertainment – Place a tray on the bed with a few of your favorite current magazines, and easy to pick-up and put-down book, and any remotes.
- Provide toiletries – One of my favorite thing to do for house guests is a bag waiting for them with not only snacks, but a fresh bar of soap, hydrating facial masks, and a few Neutrogena single makeup remover wipes. It’s a low-cost way to wow guests.
- In-room coffee or tea – Blow your guests away with an ensuite coffee & tea bar. All you need is a small cart with a single serving Keurig or hot water kettle, selection of k-cups or teas, a few simple mugs, sugar, and creamer. This will be the perfect way to relax and treat your early risers or night owls so they don’t end up stumbling through your kitchen trying to find something.
Hosting house guests can be a lot of work. That’s why I wanted to give you guys my FREE “Be My Guest” checklist to make sure you stay on task and still deliver a “wow!” response from your in-laws next time they call and say they’re coming into town.
I hope this helps you update your adult child’s room or add some finishing touches to your guest bedroom. If you need help adding the finishing touches to your guest rooms or other areas in the house, contact out Anna at Homzie Designs.
One of my favorite gifts for hostesses or even for friends is a luxury laundry wash- check out my post YOU HAD ME AT DIVA: REVIEW OF DIVA SCENTED GLAMOROUS WASH BY TYLER
