As you’re pacing through your home, looking for weekend projects — it’s time to take a peek in the guest room. If you’re expecting company over Thanksgiving or preparing for extended family to visit over Christmas, we have a few helpful tips that will ensure everyone feels welcome!
Spend a Night in Your Guest Room
First things first, experience your designated guest spaces as if it’s your first time! During this process, you may notice that the airflow isn’t ideal and the addition of a portable fan would be much appreciated. Take a shower in the guest bathroom — is the tub draining? How’s the water pressure?
Not everything needs to be in perfect order (or else guests may never leave!) but taking care of the things that jump out at you will make you feel better prepared for guests and surely lead to compliments on your hosting abilities!
Control the Temperature
Guests are generally discouraged from taking matters into their own hands and going off in search of the thermostat, but there are a few measures you can take to head them off! Ensure the guest bedroom has extra blankets and pillows in clear view and a portable or oscillating fan for their use as well.
Control the Light
Ideally, the guest bedroom is a space that people aren’t avoiding in the evening or rushing out of in the morning. It should be seen as a private space that guests can retreat to when needed!
To make the space feel more welcoming, we suggest taking a look at the lighting.
While we’re generally fans of LED bulbs throughout the living spaces, incandescent bulbs have a warmer, more welcoming tone when preparing for sleep. If you want to take it a step further, there are specific bulbs designed for nighttime reading. Assess the lamps on bedside tables and whether they’re harsh to read under at 9 pm.
For the morning, the last thing we want is guests rising with the sun! At Austintatious, we have several window treatment options that allow for complete light control while adding to the design of the room. For our clients needed a room dimming option, the Hunter Douglas Duette is the clear winner with minimal edge gaps for streaming light. For clients hoping to achieve maximum blackout, we can explore options that have a sealed track around the window frame.
Extra Toiletries
Last but not least, anticipate that someone will forget to bring something when visiting! We suggest stocking the guest bathroom with these staple toiletries:
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Bodywash
- Extra toothbrush
- Floss
- Lotion
Beyond these items, keep extra toilet paper, bath towels and hand towels in the linen closet as well.
There you have it — four basic tips to prepare the guest room for company. If you’d like to take it one step further, here are 18 ideas from The Spruce to implement! And of course, don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to talk to our design team about outfitting your guest room with new window treatments.