This year, I have been on a mission to make the bedrooms in our home more enjoyable! In August I made over our guest bedroom, and just last week I revealed our Master Bedroom Makeover complete with plush new bedding from Crane & Canopy. I chose the Valencia White Pintuck Duvet and the Light Blue Embroidered Sheet Set for our king-sized bed. Having a comfortable oasis to retreat to at the end of a long day is essential in every home. If you entertain overnight guests, your guest bedroom should be just as comfortable as your own. Today I thought I’d share a guest room essentials list and a few tips for hosting overnight guests. 
Comfortable Bedding
You don’t have to spend a fortune on bedding in order for your guests to be comfortable, but you want to be sure the bedding is soft, layered, and clean. If you have a pre-made bed that hasn’t been used in months, then chances are good that it is coated in a layer of unpleasant dust. Be sure to freshly launder guest room bedding and clean and dust the room before guests arrive. 
As long as allergies are not an issue for your guests, drying your linens with a lavender sachet or spritzing the linens with a Lavender Almond Linen Spray is a thoughtful touch. Inexpensive egg crates can also do wonders to make an older mattress, futon, or even an air mattress more comfortable and inviting. 
Place to Sit and Place to Store
Offering your guests a comfortable chair to sit in and a place to store their suitcases and belongings is important. Our aging parents are often the ones who use our guest room, and I recently realized how really dreadful our previous room was set up for their needs. There was no where to sit other than the bed and no where for suitcases or belongings to go other than the floor. A folding chair, TV tray, or old trunk works in a pinch for a luggage rack. A comfortable chair with some reading material and good lighting is always appreciated! If the room has a closet, be sure you have made room for guests’ belongings and provided a few empty hangers. 
Here are some other items you might want to include in the room:
- Nightstands
- Floor lamps and bedside lamps
- Waste basket
- USB plug adapter
- Wall mirror
- Pen and paper
- Tissue box
- Bottled water
- Magazines
- Alarm clock
- Wifi password
- List and directions to local pharmacy and grocery store
Provide Simple Luxuries
Greeting guests with a nosegay of fresh flowers and some drinking water is a simple and inexpensive way to show your guests that you are glad they came. I suffer from allergies, so I like to choose tulips. I’m sure some people are allergic to tulips as well, but I find them to be a pretty safe choice for allergy sufferers like myself. 
You can also provide your guests with a small basket of snacks for their room. Some things to include are granola bars, gum, fresh fruit, chocolate chip cookies, bags of pretzels/chips, and bottled water. 
Bathroom Essentials
Being a good hostess means anticipating the needs of your guests and meeting those needs preemptively. Guests don’t want to have to ask you for pain medicine, or a sleeping pill, or for more toilet paper, or for heaven’s sake a tampon! Whether your guests have their own dedicated bathroom, or are sharing a bathroom with other family members it is imperative that you think through your guests’ grooming needs and provide what they might need. Guests don’t always feel comfortable opening your medicine cabinet, or using your personal items even when encouraged to do so. Directing them to fresh linens and providing them with a basket filled with sample toiletry items and medicines is a fantastic idea! Here are some items to include in a guest toiletries basket:
- Shampoo, soap, and conditioner
- Lotion
- Hair spray
- Hair dryer
- Disposable razors
- Tampons/pads (these can be stored in a makeup bag or separate pouch)
- Band-aids
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
- Q-tips & cotton balls
- Sewing kit & safety pins
- Baby wipes
- Pain reliever
- Sleep aid
- Ear plugs
I hope these tips help to make your house guests’ stay more comfortable and enjoyable! If you are looking to freshen up the bedding in your rooms, I encourage you to check out all of the options that Crane & Canopy has to offer. They offer an affordable collection of high-quality and beautifully designed bedding, duvets and sheets with no middle-man markup so the savings are passed along to US! To see how some of my friends have styled their master bedroom or guest room and to glean some more tips on hosting guests be sure to check out the following blog posts:
I really like your Guest room ideas.
I just purchased a large home with a guest house attached. It’s 2 bedrooms, full bath and a small kitchen, under renovation right now. I am looking for ideas so when our family pays us a visit they can feel comfy and cozy.
Beautiful room! Where did you purchase the patterned comforter and shams? I didn’t see those on Crane & Canopy’s website.
Thanks Joy! The floral comforter and shams are from Pottery Barn. I’ve checked to find the name on the tag to no avail but I do know that PB no longer carries it. I bought it last summer/fall.
Just looked it up on Ebay and it’s called “Angie” floral.
Your guest room is lovely and you are an amazingly thoughtful hostess. I have to agree with Suzi, though, unscented everything is the way to go. I DON’T suffer from allergies, but I still prefer fresh, clean-smelling, unscented everything. If I want fragrance, I’d much rather choose my own.
Good point. Scent is highly personal and even a scented candle can overpower a room.
Where did those white pillows come from?! I’m obsessed!
Hi Rebecca, The Pintuck bedding including the pintuck shams came from Crane & Canopy. The links to the bedding are in blue and can be clicked on to be taken to their site.
All great ideas for us since living in South Florida means we get a lot of snowbirds 🙂 many stop in just for an overnight before connecting flights to our Southern Hemisphere or to take a cruise ship out of the port of Miami. The only things I would add is since I have severe allergies to fragrance PLEASE do not use any candles or even leave jar candles open, and wash linens and towels with only fragrance free detergent NO fabric softener. Even unscented products can use fragrance but cover it with a masking fragrance which is allowed by law but truly fragrance free says so. We have many friends whom we would love to stop in for a night but their homes are so full of perfume i become very ill. Please pass the word.
Yes, always a good idea to check in with your guests for allergies before they arrive! I’m deathly allergic to cats so staying with many friends who own cats is out for me. It’s sad how allergies can get in the way of community!
Looks gorgeous, girlie! I’m ready for a sleepover!!
Thanks for dropping on by and I would love for you to come on over!
Lovely tips, very thoughtful. I’m hoping our next house will have a guestroom and bathroom so I’m booking marking this for that day 🙂