No Guest Room? How to Give Overnight Guests a Comfortable, Private Spot

A separate guest room isn't in the (house) plan? Join the club. Most of us don't have a spare bedroom sitting empty, waiting for company. We have a living room, a playroom, a home office, and a kid who can be talked into a sleepover on his brother's floor.

That's plenty. With the right bed, a little privacy and a few household rules, a shared room can feel just as welcoming as a real guest room. Here's where to put your guests, and how to make it work for everyone.

Where Can Overnight Guests Sleep?

Giving up your own bed is the kindest move for an older guest. Getting up from an air mattress on the floor is hard on knees and hips, and a fall in the dark in an unfamiliar room is dangerous. You'll survive a few nights on the sofa bed.

Air Mattress Tips

Mattress Tips

• Inflate it the day before and check that it's still full in the morning. A slow leak at midnight is nobody's idea of hospitality.
• Put a rug or a folded blanket under it on hard floors. It keeps it from sliding and it's warmer.
  
• Add a mattress pad on top and make it up with real sheets and a duvet, not a sleeping bag. (You know, the kind you used in the dorms.)
  
• Leave the pump nearby so guests can top it off.
  

Pick Furniture That Works Two Ways

If the room has to be a living room, office or playroom by day and a bedroom by night, the furniture has to switch jobs.

• A daybed works as a sofa all day and a bed at night.
• A round drop-leaf table folds down and pushes against the wall to open up floor space.
  
• Lidded storage ottomans or a bin under the bed hold the guest bedding so you're not hauling it from the hall closet.
  
• Calm colors and sturdy, simple pieces keep a playroom from looking like a playroom. A few toys in a closed basket, not spread over the floor.
  

Give Guests Privacy in a Shared Room

A shared room doesn't come with a door that closes. So make one.

• A folding room divider screen between the bed and the rest of the room. It doubles as decor when guests aren't there.
• A curtain on a tension rod or ceiling track across a doorway or alcove. A floor-length curtain makes an open room feel like a separate space.
  
• Turn the sofa bed toward a wall or a corner, not toward the middle of the room, so guests aren't sleeping on center stage.
  
• Tell the household that the room is off-limits until the guest is up. Remind the kids that this room will not be used until your guest rouses herself. (Emphasis on the last part.)
  
• Give them a spot for their stuff. A basket, a bench or a cleared shelf for the suitcase and toiletries, so their things aren't spread across your coffee table.
  

Keep the Household Running Around Them

A guest sleeping in the living room changes how the whole house works. Plan for it.

• Move the morning routine. Coffee, breakfast and the news in the kitchen, not next to the sleeping guest.
• Move the evening routine, too. No late TV in the guest's room. Watch in your bedroom, or call it a night.
  
• Tidy up before bedtime. The living room has to turn into a bedroom by 10, so the toys, laptops and mail go away first.
  
• Plan the path to the bathroom. A night light along the way, and nothing to trip over.
  
• Office as guest room? Clear the desk, take the work papers out, and plan to work somewhere else during the visit. Your guests don't need to wake up to your Zoom meeting.
  

The Shared-Space Essentials

Guests sleeping in a shared room need a few things a guest room would have built in:

• A reading lamp they can reach from bed
• An outlet or a charging cord near the bed, so they're not running an extension cord across the room
  
• A night light
  
• A small table, stool or chair to use as a nightstand
  
• A place to hang clothes, even just a few hooks or a rolling garment rack
  
• A box of tissues and a bottle of water
  
• Earplugs and a sleep mask, because a living room has a lot of light and noise
  

Want to go the extra mile? An alarm clock, a hair dryer, a small cooler or mini fridge stocked with water and snacks, a full-length mirror, a laundry bag, a lint brush (for pet hair), a warm rug for a cold floor, and a vase of fresh flowers.

Admittedly, these are the touches you'd give a guest with a room of her own, but I list them here out of guilt for the guests sharing sleeping space. Providing them might get you back in the will.

For the full list, see Cozy Guest Bedroom Ideas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do you put overnight guests if you don't have a guest room?

In the living room on a sleeper sofa or air mattress, in a home office on a daybed or Murphy bed, in a child's room while the child bunks with a sibling, or in your own bed, if the guest is older or has trouble with an air mattress.

How do you give guests privacy in a living room?

Use a folding room divider or a curtain on a tension rod, turn the bed toward a wall or a corner, keep the household out of the room until the guest is up, and move morning and evening routines to other rooms.

Is an air mattress OK for guests?

For younger guests and short visits, yes. Choose a raised model at least 18 inches high, test it the day before, and make it up with a mattress pad, real sheets and a duvet. Older guests are better off in a real bed.

How do you make a sleeper sofa more comfortable?

Add a 2- to 3-inch mattress topper to cushion the bar and the springs, use good sheets and a duvet, and test it yourself before guests arrive.

Keep Going

The sofa bed's made and the divider's up. Make the rest of the visit just as easy with these related guides:

•      Help Overnight Guests Feel at Home: Privacy, house info, food, pets and the freedom to come and go.

•      Cozy Guest Bedroom Ideas: If you do have a guest room, here's how to make it great.

•      Easy Guest Bathroom Ideas: Everything a guest bath needs, even when it's the family bathroom.

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

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

•      Tips for Organizing Kids' Rooms: Get the kids' room ready for a guest, or for a sibling sleepover.

•      How to Declutter Your Home: Clear out a room so it can do double duty.

•      Easy Home Decorating Tips: Simple ways to make every room look pulled together, even a playroom.