Styling Series: The Art of Helping Guests Feel at Home
Perhaps you’ve got family from out of city or out of state for a long weekend, for the holidays or just to visit. Maybe you’ve got a friend visiting from overseas, or perhaps you’ve just got someone housesitting, or looking after your pets while you yourself go on vacation.
Either way, there needs to be a solution for that person — or potential people — to sleep.
The (slightly obvious) solution? A guest bedroom. Or, if you don’t have the luxury of having a spare room where you can consistently put someone up for a few days, a guest space.
Whether it’s an entire room, a pull-out couch, or even a big blow-up mattress, you can still take it to the next level, so your guest still feels at home when away from home. In these eight steps, interior stylist, Fiona Gould will teach you exactly how to give your guests a five-star experience.
To give your guests an instant warm welcome, set out some comfortable essentials on the foot of the bed. A bathrobe and eye mask combo will not only help them feel right at home, but it captures that luxury hotel treatment.
An eye mask also helps add an extra special touch, as well as allowing your guest the possibility of blocking out any extra light if they’re sleeping in a main area.
Provide a couple of pillows so your guests can find the perfect option or profile to suit them. And remember, you can extend the life of these bedding foundations (or even use them yourself after a while) if you keep them clean with pillow and mattress protectors; the ideal way to ensure the longevity of your bed foundations.
Set up their sleeping space with a bedside lamp so your guests can enjoy some wind down time in the evening.
A carafe of water and a glass will also help your guests avoid navigating their way to the kitchen in the wee hours of the night.
Set aside some counter space in the bathroom where your guests can place their essentials. A cup for their toothbrush and a small tray for their personal items will help them feel right at home (who wants to be digging around in a toiletry bag every day anyway?).
Leave out some small toiletries for your guests to help themselves to during their stay. Shampoo, conditioner, soap — even a nice bath bomb if your space includes a tub for guests to soak in.
For ease, hang up a couple of bath towels and a hand towel (nobody wants to be searching through cupboards with wet hands trying to find a towel). Or, go with a “the bigger the better” outset, and indulge in a bath sheet.
Always leave a few extras for your guests to freshen up with (especially if they’re staying for a longer period). Plus, when your towels look this good, a neatly folded towel stack can double as some bathroom decor.
