Cozy Guest Bedroom Ideas (Your Guests Will Never Want to Leave)

Overnight guests are coming. Wonderful! Now take a look at the guest room. Is it a guest room, or is it the place where the exercise bike, the wrapping paper and the boxes from the last move went to retire?

The most valuable thing you can give an overnight guest isn't a fancy bed or a chocolate on the pillow. It's privacy. Staying in someone else's home means living by someone else's schedule, in someone else's space, without any of your own stuff.

A cozy guest room gives your guests a place to close the door, kick off their shoes and recharge. Here's how to make one, even if it's also your home office.

First, Sleep in It Yourself

This is the single best guest-room tip there is, and almost nobody does it. Spend one night in your own guest room before anyone else does. You'll find out:

• Whether the mattress is comfortable or just technically a mattress
• Whether the streetlight shines straight onto the pillow at 2 a.m.
• Whether you can reach a lamp and an outlet without getting out of bed
• Whether the room is freezing, stuffy or loud
• Whether there's anywhere to put a glass of water, a phone or a pair of glasses

Fix what bugs you. If it bugs you for one night, it'll bug your guests for a week.

The Bed: Where Cozy Starts

Fresh Sheets, Every Time

Wash the bedding a day or two before your guests arrive, even if you changed it after the last visit. Sheets folded in a closet start to smell stale within a few weeks.

Make the bed easy to make.

A fitted sheet with a duvet in a washable cover is quick and simple to make, and it's much easier for guests with arthritis or limited hand strength than tucking in a top sheet and blankets.

Fix a Tired Mattress With a Topper

If the guest mattress is old, lumpy or thin, you don't need a new one. A 2- to 3-inch memory foam or fiberfill mattress topper turns a so-so guest bed into a good one for a fraction of the price.

Offer a Choice of Pillows

People are picky about pillows, and they're right to be. Give each guest two kinds: one firm, like a foam pillow, and one soft, down or down-alternative. Or ask before they come. It's a small question that tells your guests you were thinking about them.

Stock Extra Blankets

Put a spare blanket or two on a shelf in the guest closet, or fold one at the foot of the bed. When my dad came to visit, he used to ask whether I had the heat "hooked up." After I left an extra blanket in his room, he never asked again.

Sleeper Sofa or Air Mattress?

Test it before the guests arrive. Pull out the sleeper sofa, make it up, and lie on it for ten minutes. Find out whether the bar hits you in the back, and add a topper if it does. Inflate the air mattress the day before and see if it's still full in the morning. Discovering a slow leak at 11 p.m. is not cozy.

Make Room for Their Stuff

Your guests shouldn't live out of a suitcase for a week.

• Empty two dresser drawers. Completely empty, not "empty except for the old cables."
• Clear 2 feet of closet space with at least six empty hangers. Use plastic or velvet hangers, not dry-cleaner wire hangers, which leave creases and ridges in clothes.
  
• Add a luggage rack, or clear a spot on the floor or a bench, so guests aren't opening a suitcase on the bed.
  
• Put up a couple of hooks on the back of the door for a robe, a jacket or tomorrow's outfit.
  
• Clear the surfaces. The dresser top, the nightstand and the floor. There's nothing cozy about clutter.
  

The Bedside Setup

Every guest needs these within arm's reach of the bed:

• A nightstand, or a small chair or stool if there's no room for a table
• A reading lamp with the bottom of the shade at about shoulder height when you're sitting up in bed. That's the right height to read by without glare.
  
• An outlet or a charging station. A multi-port USB charger on the nightstand saves your guest from crawling behind the bed with a phone charger.
  
• A box of tissues. Travel, dry air and a new house's dust set off sniffles. This is basic, sure, but it's always overlooked.
  
• A water carafe and a glass
  
• A little dish for rings, earrings and watches
  

Make It Restful

The Guest Basket: What They Forgot

Everyone forgets something. Put a small basket on the dresser with:

• Toothbrush, toothpaste and floss
• Travel-size shampoo, conditioner and lotion
  
• Pain reliever and bandages
  
•  Phone charger
  
• Earplugs and a sleep mask
  
• A couple of snacks and bottles of water
  

Add a fresh towel set and a washcloth, folded on the bed or the dresser. If you have one, a clean robe hanging on the hook is a five-star touch.

For the bathroom side of things, see Easy Guest Bathroom Ideas.

Give Them the House Rules (the Useful Ones)

A small card on the nightstand answers all the questions guests feel awkward asking:

• The Wi-Fi network and password
• How the coffee maker works, and where the mugs are
  
• Your morning routine: "We're up at 6:30, but sleep as late as you like"
  
• Which towels are theirs
  
• Trash and recycling day
  

Give Them Freedom: Keys, Codes and the Alarm

Nothing says "make yourself at home" like being able to come and go.

• Make a set of house keys for each guest. Use colored key caps so each set is different, and keep a list of who has which. Check them off as they come back. If guests will drive your car, add a car key.
• Give guests their own temporary alarm code if your system allows it, instead of your main code, and delete it when they leave. Walk them through arming and disarming it in person. Leave a reminder card with the steps, but not the code.
  
• Tell them any gate codes, garage door codes or building entry rules before they go out for the first time.
  

For more on choosing and using an alarm system, see Home Security Systems: 20 Things to Know Before Buying.

Keep Guests Safe at Night

• Plug-in night lights along the path from the guest room to the bathroom and the kitchen. In an unfamiliar house, a middle-of-the-night trip to the bathroom is when people trip.
• A working smoke alarm inside the guest room. The NFPA recommends one inside every bedroom, one outside each sleeping area and one on every level. Test it before guests arrive.
  
• A carbon monoxide alarm outside the sleeping area, on the same level.
  
• Clear the floor. No cords, loose rugs or luggage in the walkway between the bed and the door.
  
• For older guests: put a lamp they can reach from bed, nightlights all the way to the bathroom, and a sturdy chair to sit on while they get dressed. Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults 65 and older, according to the CDC.
  

Guest Room and Home Office in One

Let the Kids Help Welcome Guests

Kids love getting ready for company. Let them pick flowers from the garden for a little vase on the nightstand, make a "Welcome" sign or card, help shop for the guests' favorite breakfast, and choose the chocolates for the pillow. If a little hand-lettered sign says "Welcom Grandpa!" so much the better.

Guest Room Essentials Checklist

The bed: fresh sheets, a duvet, two pillow types, an extra blanket, a mattress topper if the mattress needs one

Storage: two empty drawers, closet space, six or more hangers, a luggage rack, hooks

Bedside: a nightstand, a reading lamp, a charger, tissues, water and a glass, a small dish

Comfort: blackout curtains or a sleep mask, a fan or white noise, a chair, a mirror, a trash can

Extras: a guest basket, towels, a Wi-Fi card, keys

Safety: night lights, a tested smoke alarm, a CO alarm nearby, a clear path to the bathroom

Frequently Asked Questions

What should be in a guest bedroom?

A comfortable bed with fresh sheets and extra blankets, two kinds of pillows, empty drawers and closet space, a nightstand with a lamp and a charger, tissues, a trash can, blackout curtains, a night light and a working smoke alarm.

How do you make a guest room cozy?

Start with a comfortable bed and good bedding, add soft warm lighting, a throw blanket and a chair, and clear out the clutter. Then sleep in it yourself for one night and fix whatever bugs you.

What do you put in a guest basket?

Travel-size toiletries, a toothbrush and toothpaste, pain reliever, bandages, a phone charger, earplugs, a sleep mask, snacks and bottled water.

How do you make a guest room that's also an office?

Use a daybed, sleeper sofa or Murphy bed, clear the desk before guests arrive, keep part of the closet empty year-round, and store the guest bedding in the room so set-up is quick.

How far ahead should you prepare a guest room?

A week ahead, clear the drawers, the closet and the clutter, and test the bed. Wash the sheets and make the bed a day or two before your guests arrive.

Keep Going

The guest room's ready and the light's on. Make the rest of the visit just as comfortable with these related guides:

•      Easy Guest Bathroom Ideas: Simple touches that make the guest bath feel ready.

•      Preparing for Holiday Entertaining: The countdown checklist, from a week out to the doorbell.

•      The Holiday Grandparents Visit Survival Guide: Hosting family for days, not hours, with everyone still speaking at the end.

•      Dreamy Bedroom Ideas: Now do your own room.

•      Tips for Organizing Your Closet: Clear out enough space to give your guests a real section.

•      How to Declutter Your Home: Turn the room where stuff goes to retire back into a guest room.

•      Home Security Systems: 20 Things to Know: Alarms, codes and what to tell your guests.

•      Easy Home Decorating Tips: Simple ways to make every room look pulled-together.