How to Setup the Perfect Guest Bedroom

Create the Perfect Bedroom for your family, friends and visitors

Whether you have overnight company every weekend or you just have guests for the holidays, we can help transform your guest bedroom into a cozy oasis! Below are the essential items you need for your visitors, family and friends, plus some simple ways to space plan the perfect guest room for ease and comfort to all. From the comfiest bed to thoughtful welcome gifts, we've got you covered with everything needed to create a truly unforgettable stay for your guests. Pro Tip: write down your wifi passcode and place it next to your guest bed so they can have a seamless connection upon arrival!

Decide on the style and tone of your guest room

What is the vibe you want your guests to feel when they arrive? Do you want the space to feel like a spa, like a vibrant room in the middle of a city, or a cabin-like feel? Once you establish the theme of the guest room, then you can shop for pieces that will create the overall tone of the room.

Have fun with the guest room but it keep it simple. A nightstand with a small basket, lamp and fresh flowers can go a long way, especially if the visitors are using a bedroom that is not a dedicated guest room, like a kids room or playroom.

How to Setup Guest Bedroom with all the Essentials

If you have a room specifically for guests to use, you can make it feel like your guests’ home away from home. We’ll help you create a heavenly retreat when family and friends visit ensuring they’ll have a joyful stay and make lots of memories!

When setting up your guest room, first put yourself in their shoes and think about what you would need when staying away from home. Investing in great pillows are a MUST as you want your guests to have a good night’s rest. We love the Casper Original Pillow and the Brooklinen Down Pillow. You can also give your guests a pillow menu so they can choose the pillow. that’s right for them.

Small and fun amenities on the nightstand can make guests feel right at home and this shows you are thoughtful and care about your family and friends. See below for some ideas on amenities.

When your company arrives, they may be exhausted depending on their travel time. They may want to rest so make sure you have everything in order and ready upon their arrival. Organize the guest room by having a bench or luggage rack where they can place their belongings. Having hooks on the back of a closet door or bathroom door is great as they can hang any clothes, coats, small bags or purses they may need to access during their stay (this is also great if you don’t have a designated closet).

What amenities are necessary for a guest room?

A wonderful and thoughtful addition to a guest room is a small coffee bar. It doesn’t have to elaborate, it can be a single cup coffeemaker by Keurig or a more elaborate coffee machine by Nespresso and can be setup on a nightstand or on top of a dresser. Add a few coffee cups, bottles of water, small container with sweetener and Half and Half, and you’re done! Having access to coffee and water glasses in your guest room will make your visitors feel right at home.

Don’t forget about lighting! Too often guest rooms can be a little dark. You can bring in plenty of light by adding small lamps on nightstands, dressers or floor lamps in a corner. Having extra light creates coziness and just the right amount of warmth. We love these tabletop lamps from Amazon as they are dimmable by touch and have built-in USB A+C charging ports. If you have a small space, these petite lamps from Target are tiny but bright! Three great floor lamp options that we love are this one from Potterybarn, this floor lamp from West Elm which is mid price range, and this floor lamp from Ikea which is budget friendly. All of these floor lamps are slim and won’t take up much space and we love they are neutral and will blend in with the decor of most guest room designs.

This budget friendly guest room we setup has a few books, fresh flowers from Trader Joes, a neutral and loving piece of wall art from Home Goods, and a cute little lamp from Target. We have a bowl with fun amenities on the dresser, stacked towels from The Company Store on a bench at the end of the bed and robes hanging on the closet door. This simple and elegant guest room will make your visitors feel loved and welcomed! For a higher end towel with pops of color, check these out from Annie Selke.

Simple and budget friendly guest bedroom we setup with Trader Joe flowers, lamp from Target and wall art from Home Goods.


Don’t have an en suite bathroom for your guests? No worries! You can easily solve the problem for your guests who have to share a bathroom by providing bath robes. We love the guest robes from Weezie and they can either be hung up on the closet door or placed at the end of the bed.

Things for your visitors to do
An extra thoughtful touch is to have a map of your town and a handy list of cafes, restaurants and bars that are within walking distance or just a short drive. You can have local attractions and brochures sitting on the nightstand or in the drawer in case your company wants to read up on all the things to do while they’re in town.

Get ready to impress your visitors with these 10 must-have guest room items!

The 10 basic essentials every guest bedroom needs:

  1. Welcome card with Wifi Information

  2. Comfy Bed

  3. The Best Pillows

  4. Access to a clean bathroom

    1. Fresh Bath Towel

    2. Soap + Shampoo

    3. Toilet paper

    4. Trashcan

    5. Kleenex

    6. Accessible Plug Outlet


If you want to step up your guest room experience, here’s an in-depth list!

The Ultimate Guest Room Amenities:

  1. Welcome card with Wifi Information

  2. City maps and Things to Do list for Tourists

  3. Comfy Bed

  4. Pillow Menu - 2 types of pillows

  5. Extra blanket or Electric Blanket for Fall/Winter time

  6. Oscillating Fan for Spring/Summer time

  7. Fresh Bath Robes

  8. Hangers in the closet

  9. Full Length Mirror

  10. Storage or luggage rack

  11. Access to a clean bathroom

    1. Fresh Towels - bath + hand towel + washcloth

    2. Soap - hand, body, shampoo

    3. Bathmat

    4. Plenty of toilet paper

    5. Trashcan

    6. Hair Dryer

    7. Amenities - q-tips, makeup remover washcloth, cotton balls, lotion

    8. Well lit magnifying mirror for makeup application

  12. Water + Glasses, Snacks and Reading Glasses

  13. Coffee Maker if space is available

  14. Nightstand or Desk

    1. Lamp

    2. Kleenex

    3. Accessible Plug Outlet

    4. Something small - fresh flowers, chocolate treat, small stuffed animal for a child

Remember, the best way to see if guests will feel welcomed and cozy is to stay in your guest room and test it out yourself! Then you can decide if items need to be added, the room lighting is just right and if your visitors will feel right at home. Enjoy your guests and cheers to making great memories.

XO,
~kelly

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