With fall around the corner, it’s about to be Guest Room season! These are our tips for creating a room that’s as relaxing as it is functional, with real-life solutions. This post is sponsored by AllModern.
In This Post
A Mini Makeover for Our Guest Room!
A few weeks ago, my entire immediate family – including partners! – made the trip from Pittsburgh to our little part of Michigan for beaching, hiking, bonfire-ing, and all things rest and relaxation. It suddenly became very real that it was time to whip Lucy’s room in the Red House – aka the Kids’ Room, aka the Guest Room – into shape. Let the mini makeover begin!
While this is not the final layout for this room, we felt it was more important to make the room as comfortable as possible as we could now, and we could design the build-out of this future bunk room down the road. We purchased a queen and twin mattress (both of which we know will be in the future plan) along with simple bed frames to get us started. For everything else, we looked towards AllModern for everyday essentials and real-life solutions that would be cozy all through the fall and holiday season. (The fast and free shipping is a huge bonus, too!) Here are some tips we considered while pulling the room together:
1| Provide Layering Options
Are you a hot sleeper or cool sleeper? If I could hear you behind your screens, I bet I’d get a mixed bag of answers! Because we all have different levels of comfort, we provide several options of bedding and pillows for maximum comfort. On these beds, we layered a flat sheet with a lightweight coverlet, and we tossed wool throws at the foot of the bed. Each bed also has a sleeping pillow, pillow sham and oversized decorative pillows! Whether they’re up reading, scrolling or deep in sleep, we’ve got them covered.
2| Offer a Fuss-Free Welcome Basket
Welcome baskets can feel daunting, so I’m going to keep it really simple for you. There’s no need to purchase all new cleansers, toothbrushes or slippers; we’re going to assume they packed and came prepared with personal items. However, a little goodie basket is always a welcome surprise!
These cream bins (purchased as a set of 2!) are the perfect size for a guest towel and washcloth, water and a soda, something salty and something sweet. That’s it! When the bins aren’t in use, they’re a great size to corral kids’ toys, magazines or kitchen cleaning supplies.
3| Give Them a Landing Zone
They’ll need a place to put their ‘stuff.’ We all know that traveling can feel hectic when you no longer have systems in place, so we do our best to accommodate landing zones around the room.
This adorable nightstand is the best of all worlds: it offers the perfect size, a cubby for books, and a soft-close drawer! Inside the drawer, we tucked charging cords for Apple and Android products, along with coasters.
Other items that may come in handy: luggage rack(s), water carafe, hooks on the door, and a small waste basket.
4| Consider Lighting
Don’t forget lighting! We tucked a floor lamp we had on hand in one corner of the room, and finally installed a ceiling light (similar)! But most importantly, we put the overhead light on a dimmer. I don’t think it’s possible to get comfortable in a room that’s as brightly as the sun, and we’d argue that lighting is an often forgotten part of design. I may even argue it’s one of the most important elements to consider! Consider this your sign to add dimmers to your guest room (oh, and every other room in your home, too!)
5| Refill and Refresh
Finally, refill any consumables that are nice to have on hand, such as a box of tissues, along with fresh flowers to fill the room with scent and calm. In our case, I filled this chunky amber vase (at an awesome price) with wildflowers lining our back yard, and I love that they’re the same color as our sunny millwork!
We had a full, happy and chill week with my family, filled with dune hikes, barbecues, sunset beach walks and late night conversations. The Red House is shaping up to be a whole mood in the very best way, and we’re so grateful to be able to share the renovation marathon with you.
What other guest room tips would you offer for the most comfortable stay?
Get the Look
❤️ love it
Looks so welcoming! Generally just wanted to comment and say that I love your blog and instagram presence – you are one of the few “old timers” who seem to be able to balance providing interesting and useful information and content with minimal “click bait”. Keep up the good work!
Who’s chopping onions?!🥲
Love the look! You have inspired me again!
Thank you!
We take our guest space even further by setting up a ‘station’ in the guest bathroom that has bottled water, antacids, several kinds of pain relief and a unisex face moisturizer. In the drawer we provide spare toothbrushes and toothpaste, razors and contact lens supplies.
Love that, great tip!
Being a bibliophile, I had to zoom in to see what books were on the nightstand! My brother has the Trees book on the left and “The Way Things Work” was one of my childhood books. Love the restfulness of this room and what a great welcome basket!