Guest Bedroom

Necessities for guests include a comfortable bed, a good reading light, a place for clothes (a portion of the closet, an antique coat rack, or a stretch of simple Shaker pegs), and privacy. For entertainment, move in a tiny television, a compact disc player, and a stack of magazines.

A pretty drinking glass on a tray by the bed, a basket of fresh fruit for late-night nibbling, and a soft throw are welcoming extras. And don't forget a stack of plump towels.

If your home doesn't allow space for a full-time guest abode, consider a sleeping area in your home office with a modular unit that features a fold-down bed.

Additional creative solutions include boat- or railcar-style berths, faithful futons, and the summer winner, an enclosed porch. Delicate sheers hung on rods in front of the porch screens or yards of diaphanous muslin suspended above the bed will enhance the fanciful feeling of sleeping outdoors.

Creating a room plan can help you decide where to place your bedroom furniture. Many people will use a guest bedroom as an office, exercise room or play room as well. Again, using the same tips from the master bedroom, determine the best way to place your furniture.

If you have a desk in this room, make sure it is near the necessary outlets. If you are planning on getting a desk, do your research. If you are working in a small area with limited space, I recommend a build in desk. You will get the type of cabinets you need and the size of desk you want and you can also have upper cabinets for more storage. Although this could be a little more expensive, depending on what you are doing, it will be worth the space in the long run. 

When you have a guest room, it may not get used more than a couple times a year. It seems to be such a waste to have the room filled up with a bed when you could use it for other things like a craft room or exercise room, even a toy room for the kids.

I know, your first thought was a hide-a-bed or day bed. This will help, but your guests may never come back after they sleep on them because they are so uncomfortable. Maybe that’s a good thing. but usually not. My suggestion would be to look into a wall bed, better known as Murphy Beds. These are beds that stand up vertically and are hidden in a cabinet. So they only take up about 20” of floor space when you are not using them. The best thing about them is that they have a regular mattress on them and they can come in sizes from a twin to a king. They are comfortable to sleep on and you can even leave the bedding in some when you fold them up. Do your research before you buy.

All in all in your room design, make sure you have balance in your room, most people like symmetry, don’t forget about your traffic areas, and most important it needs to be functional and not overloaded.