Living away from our family and life-long friends means that we don’t get to see them often, however it also means that we do get lots of guests. I absolutely love hosting guests, I love getting to spend time with people I haven’t seen in months or years, catching up, reminiscing, and making new memories. And with having guests, it means I get to prepare for their arrival as well.
I’ve come up with a few top tips that I’ve learned over the years of having people in our home. Especially with moving often, trying to create a space that’s comfortable and relaxing for our family and friends that visit. I want them to enjoy their travels, but also look back and have memories of spending time in our home that they truly enjoyed. But with moving it’s hard to buy furniture pieces that are too big or difficult to move, so buying a few things that can be adapted to different spaces is key.
Good Night’s Sleep
Invest in a good bed, and if possible one that can be adjusted in size. This is my top tip for you if you are renting, moving, or simply looking to allocate a guest room. This means that you could adjust a guest space to fit on its own, or perhaps in an office space, or in a living area space. In the past we’ve had to combine an office and guest space, and having an adjustable bed works wonders.
We’ve purchased a trundle bed, which is a great way to accommodate a variety of spaces and guest numbers. Best of all it’s comfortable (guest approved) and it can change to fit all sorts of needs. Trundle bed ideas: Style it as a day bed, style it as a twin bed, style it as a double bed, style it as two twin beds. Depending on our guests we’ve used our trundle bed in different styles and it’s worked out perfectly on so many occasions.
Place for Sitting
A chair is always a great option in a guest room. If you don’t have enough room for a chair, you could use a small stool or ottoman. Whether guests use it for sitting or for propping up luggage, it’s an essential part to any guest bedroom. A chair is a simple thing that you can move around from room to room. If you don’t have a guest specific chair, it would be easy enough to borrow one from the dinning room.
Get Ready Space
A little space for guests to be able to place their belongings that they use to get ready for the day is a great touch. You could also use a small vanity or even a desk to give guests space to spread out. Make sure you include a mirror, it’s so often missed, and while visiting many Airbnb’s, I can’t tell you how annoying it is not to have a mirror near by when you need it. If you are combining a guest space with an office, the desk would be ideal if you clear off a little space for guests to use. We don’t have a vanity in our guest area, but a small side table can do the trick just as well.
All in the Details
While this might not be essential, it’s such a great touch, especially when guests enter their room for their holiday stay and find nice treats. Include a glass for water, or water bottle if you prefer, a small clock, perhaps some sort of snack for their first night there, and a small gift. It could be a hand lotion, or eyemask, or ear plugs. Other things you can provide in a guest bedroom are extra throws or blankets, extra pillows, and a bit of storage space whether it be in a closet or in a set of drawers. If you’re in a rental space and don’t have the luxury of repainting or doing major home improvements, something like this can really give a space an uplift.
Guest Bathroom
If you have a bathroom specifically for guests this is always a plus. I like to include a few extra towels for them to have readily available, a few extra toiletries incase they’ve forgotten anything, bath essentials, and extra toilet paper that’s visible so they don’t have to go looking for it. The bath essentials have actually been a hit, lots of our guests don’t actually take baths, probably because they don’t have time in their everyday routine, so this has been a plus for them when they stay over in our home.
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