Preparing your guest room for visitors

Ever since we built our new house we have started hosting a lot more overnight visitors and we couldn’t be more thrilled to FINALLY have the space to do so.  Even though our guest room is tiny, I have managed to come up with a few ways to make our guests feel more comfortable and more at home during their stay.  With the holidays quickly approaching, I figured now would be a perfect time to share my tips so that you can start to think about preparing your guest room for all of your family and friends.

1. Provide a welcome basket or tray with goodies that your guests may have forgotten or might need during their stay.  We don’t have a dedicated guest bathroom, so I like to save all of the travel-sized toiletries when we go on vacation and just put them in their room so that they can use whatever they need.  I also include books or magazines and our wifi information.

2. Extra blankets and pillows.  Even though you might think the temperature of your home is warm and inviting, your guests might be shivering in their sleep.  Make sure to provide them with an extra blanket and extra pillows that they can use if needed.  These can be folded at the end of a bed, placed in a basket or even put in the closet with the understanding that guests are welcome to help themselves.

3. Water and snacks.  I usually place these on the welcome tray.  This way guests won’t feel like they have to bother you for a snack if they get hungry or thirsty.  At night I usually offer hot water with teabags or a bottle of wine with an opener and stemless wine glasses.

4. Fully-equiped nightstand.  Even though I think the nightstand should be mostly free of clutter, there are definitely items that need to be there for your guests.  Provide your guests with a lamp, some fresh flowers, a box of tissues (or a small package like we usually do), a candle and a small bowl or dish for jewelry.  If your nightstand includes a drawer, I also like to include a pen and paper, an extra phone charger and a book or newspaper. It is here that I also like to place a small waste bin for any receipts or trash during their stay.

5. Place for luggage and space for clothes.  As I mentioned above, we have a very small guest room but we still don’t want our guests bending over and having to put their clothes all over the floor.  In the future we might purchase a folding luggage rack but right now we have placed a small piano bench under the mirror so that they have an elevated place to set their luggage.  I also have made space in our guest closet and hung a few empty hangers in case anything needs to be hung after they arrive. We also don’t have space for a dresser so I hung a closet divider for folded items.

6. Bath robes (optional) and extra bath towels.  Our guests don’t have their own bathroom so to make them feel more comfortable, I purchased 2 bathrobes that hang on the back of their door.  They can wear these to and from the bathroom and they will hopefully feel less awkward walking back to their room after showers and night time bathroom breaks.  I also make sure to place extra towels and washcloths in the closet in case they need them.

7. Full-length mirror.  If you have the space, I highly recommend including a full-length mirror.  I have stayed in places that didn’t have one and wished during my whole stay that I did.

8.  Last but not least, clean sheets.  This sounds like a given, but freshly cleaned and ironed (if needed) bed linens are an absolute must.  I like to lightly spray them with a little room refresher spray the day before their arrival for extra freshness.

I hope these tips help your prepare for your out of town guests! What are some of your favorite tips for cozying up your guest room? I have provided links below to some of my guest room favorites.