If you want to have a place where family or friends can comfortably stay the night enjoying a warm, welcoming atmosphere, you might be thinking about building a guest house on your property, but that can be extremely pricey, running in the tens of thousands of dollars. According to kompareit.com, a 600-to 700-square-foot modular guest house starts at around $30,000 to $40,000 and that doesn’t include the foundation, installation or permits.
Instead, how about designing the perfect guest room for your house? It’ll be a fraction of that high cost, even if you create your own ultimate idea of what it’s like to stay in a luxury hotel or 5-star Airbnb.
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The Bed and Bedding
While many guest rooms end up being the spot where all the old furniture goes, if you want a nice room for you guests to sleep and relax in, get rid of your old saggy mattress and get a new one or at least a high quality used one instead. Be sure to use quality bedding too – if you shop around you can usually score some good deals. Think about top-of-the-line linens, a down comforter, featherbed mattress topper, variety of pillows and extra blankets.
Draperies/curtains and Window Treatments
One of the most important things to include in any bedroom is room darkening curtains to avoid your guest getting blasted by early morning sunlight. You might also provide adjustable window treatments like mini-blinds. You can use valances and tie backs to pretty up drab windows – rope and tassel tiebacks provide an especially luxurious look.
Empty Space for Clothing
There aren’t many people who enjoy living out of their suitcases, leaving everything inside a wrinkled mess. Something that guests really appreciate is being able to unpack their things into an empty space, like dresser drawers, or at least one or two feet of available space in a closet. Resist the temptation to fill the closet or place a collection of some sort on top of the dresser. Less is more in a guest room and it will make the space seem bigger too. Eliminate anything that wouldn’t be in the room of a nice hotel, keeping only useful things like an alarm clock. A hook on the back of the door is a great place for holding a coat, purse or robe.
Lighting
Placing a good reading lamp on a nightstand next to the bed or installing it over the bed can be a big help, preventing the need for guests to have to stumble around in the dark if they need to get up in the middle of the night. It can also be used as a light for bedtime reading.
Nice Extras
When people travel, it’s easy to forget at least one or two necessities like toothpaste or soap. Purchase a basket that you can fill with various toiletries such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, mini-mouthwash, hand soaps and so on, then put it on the nightstand or dresser. In our high-tech world, a charging station can be extremely useful too. Create one by using a floating shelf that allows your guests to easily charge their laptop, tablet and/or cellphone.
