10 Cozy Guest Bedroom Tips and Decor Ideas Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close
10 Ideas for Creating a Cozy Guest Bedroom
A few special touches will make company feel right at home
Kristen Prahl/Getty Images . The trick is to think like a guest. And arrange things so guests have to ask for as little as possible, saving you time and saving them the embarrassment or worry of inconveniencing you. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. “I look at a guest room as my little sanctuary that the host and hostess have given me; it’s a place to stop talking and interacting and kind of rest,” says Anna Kasabian, author of Guest Rooms and Private Places, a photographic tour of beautiful rooms around the world. Kasabian, an interior design writer and porcelain artist based on Boston’s North Shore, highlights guest rooms, baths and guesthouses that are beyond most of us. But the basic principles — fresh linens, a good bedside lamp, plenty of — can make even the most mundane area seem luxurious and cozy. If you’re short on space, you can even keep your guest room in a laundry bag, suggests Hilary Heminway, an interior designer based in Bozeman, Montana, and the author, with her son Alex Heminway, of Guest Rooms. This photo book of guest rooms also offers practical, and sometimes humorous, tips. “Put all the things you would need in that bag, like a clean bath towel, a clean hand towel, a rolled-up blanket, a sleeping bag, a blow-up mattress. And there you have it. Put it in the corner of a room,” she says. Then tidy the bathroom, they say in the book. “Hide the prophylactics,” she suggests. “Although you’re unabashed, your guests may not be.” If you’re about to welcome overnight guests for the holidays — or any time — here are 10 more ways to put on a good visit. 1 Take a test flight
Whether your guests will sleep on a beautiful canopy bed, a drop-down Murphy bed or a blow-up mattress on the floor, try it out overnight for comfort. And don’t forget to update the pillows — two for every guest, if possible. “When you go to an inn, they go out of their way to have a beautiful thick that you can sort of sink into and forget everything. And nice pillows,” Kasabian says. “It’s not always easy to fall asleep, but if you’re in a really comfortable bed, I think that helps you relax.” 2 Clear the decks
Stow photos and gewgaws from tabletops, shelves and bureaus so guests have some usable space, says John Hunt, who with his husband, Kris Srihadi, owns The Liberty Hill Inn in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. They have hosted thousands of guests in the almost 20 years they’ve owned the nine-room 1820s-era inn. “That’s one of the things we get complimented the most on,” Hunt says. “There isn’t a lot of clutter everywhere.” Provide an empty drawer or two, good hangers and a place for guests to put suitcases, such as inexpensive folding racks that can live in a closet. Entertainment 30% off a 1-year subscription See more Entertainment offers > 4 Let guests be discreet
Let guests know where the extra toilet paper is stored, as well as where the toilet plunger lives. Provide a toilet brush and scent spray in the bathroom, says Hunt. Add extra plastic garbage bags for wet bathing suits, laundry, the trash or diapers, says Heminway. A roll of biodegradable dog poop bags is handy in the bathroom for sanitary products or a leaky bottle of lotion, she says. Don’t forget to provide a box of tissues too. 5 Upgrade your towels
Have a set or two just for guests that are fluffy, absorbent and look fresh. And don’t forget a facecloth, even though many people don’t use them, Hunt says. If you have a or live near the beach, alert guests to the location of outdoor towels and tell them where to hang them. 6 Consider safety
Bathrooms need rubber bath mats and night-lights. And no throw rugs in bedrooms. “Anyone can ,” Heminway says. If you have a no-shoe house, provide slipper socks with grips. And make sure guests know the emergency drill if you live in a fire- or earthquake-prone zone. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. .” Susan Moeller is a contributing writer who covers lifestyle, health, finance and human-interest topics. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she also writes features and essays for the Boston Globe Magazine and her local NPR station, among other outlets. MORE FROM AARP AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Restaurants offers > See more Travel Planning offers > See more Flowers & Gifts offers > See more Groceries offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS