37 Guest Room Ideas to Make Friends and Family Feel Perfectly at Home

Designing a guest room to make visiting friends and family feel comfortable and welcome means paying attention to details both big and small. Your guest room should reflect your home decor and include everything your guests need to relax and recharge, from a comfortable bed to proper lighting, clothing storage, and thoughtful decor.

Decorate your guest room with paint, wallpaper, wall decor, bedding, rugs, lighting, mirrors, nightstands, window treatments, storage, and inviting touches that will make them feel right at home.

Check out these inviting guest rooms in a range of sizes and styles for inspiration.

Include Clothes Storage

Add a stylish clothes rack where guests can hang up clothes and store shoes in a guest room without a closet. Emilie Fournet Interiors chose a wood and metal rack in this finished basement guest suite complete with a private bathroom and a space-saving pull-out sofa.

Make It Homey

Give your guest room a homey feel with soft colors, antique furniture, and patterned textiles. Becca Interiors mixed soft beige walls and bedding with patterned textiles for a layered feel.

Hang Framed Photographs

Hang some art or wall decor in the guest bedroom to give it a finished feel. Opt for crowd-pleasing black-and-white photography depicting local spots or faraway locales, like this modern space from Desiree Burns Interiors.

Try Twin Beds

Create extra functionality in a guest room with twin beds to accommodate visitors of all ages. Tyler Karu Design + Interiors gave this small twin guest room a dose of color and style with painted blue wainscoting, matching blue-and-white buffalo check bedding, a shared nightstand with a pair of drawers, and a colorful table lamp.

Wallpaper the Ceiling

Give your guests a treat by wallpapering the ceiling. Interior designer Alvin Wayne added a bold large-scale floral pattern in this otherwise neutral room. A small seating area at the foot of the bed gives it the feel of a hotel suite for visiting couples.

Try a Murphy Bed

If you want to use your guest room for other purposes when visitors aren't in town, consider the space-saving benefits of a Murphy bed. This all-white space from Marie Flanigan Interiors has a fold-down bed that disappears when not in use.

Set Up a Bunk Room

For a summer house or grandparents with a constant stream of visiting grandkids, set up a bunk room for kids of all ages. Chango & Co. decorated this New York State bunk room with a custom dark wood bunk, black metal railings and sconces, and bold patterned bedding in black, white, and primary colors for a timeless feel.

Include a Work Space

Make your guest room functional for checking emails or remote work by adding a desk or writing table. Marie Flanigan Interiors chose a rustic antique wooden desk that doubles as a nightstand in this traditional space, equipped with a large table lamp and plenty of surface area for guests who want to do some work.

Layer in Soft Textures

Layer in plenty of soft texture to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere. K+Co. Living chose a soft palette of whites and pale blues in this coastal-style bedroom, layering the bed with a range of textures for a cocooning feel that guests will appreciate.

Add a Blanket Ladder

Keep extra blankets visible and accessible so that guests can fetch them without asking. A Beautiful Mess leaned a blanket ladder against the wall of this guest room that doubles as decor.

Add a Wood Slat Accent

Choose a neutral palette for a calming space that will suit guests of any age or persuasion. Desiree Burns Interiors decorated this Japandi-style guest room with warm organic finishes like a wood slat wall accent for a relaxed feel that adds contrast with the city views beyond the window.

Style the Daybed

Give your guest room off-duty functionality by styling the bed as a daybed. Just add a few layers of pillows and a cozy throw blanket, like this hybrid guest room and home office from Emily Henderson Design.

Add a Reading Chair

Give your guests a place to relax that isn't the bed by adding extra seating. Desiree Burns Interiors added a small bouclé armchair to this green-and-white guest room with a small side table to create a corner for reading or relaxing.

Install a Black-Out Shade

Ensure that your guests get a solid night of sleep by installing proper window treatments to control light and ensure privacy. Gray Space Interiors chose a Roman black-out shade on the window over the bed in this compact black-and-white guest room.

Stock a Mini Bar Cart

Give your guest room hotel amenities with a personalized mini bar. A Beautiful Mess stocked a vintage bar cart with snacks, fresh flowers, and a guest book for a welcoming feel that will make your friends and family feel pampered and can be customized with their favorite treats.

Try Color-Drenching

Color-drench your guest room in soothing shades of green or blue for an immersive feel. The walls of this vibrant space are bathed in Farrow & Ball Calke Green paint, while the rest of the space is finished in shades of green from the window shade to the headboard slipcover, bedding, and throw blanket.

Include a Stylish Hamper

For guests who plan to stay awhile, equip the room with a stylish hamper. Desiree Burns Interiors placed a woven hamper next to a large floor mirror in this airy coastal bedroom that is practical and discreet.

Paint the Walls Yellow

Use color to create an uplifting feel in a simple guest room. This space from Fantastic Frank mixes glowing yellow paint with dark wood tones and woven accents for a warm and inviting feel.

Add a Cozy Oversized Bed

An oversized bed frame will give a spacious guest room a cozy feel. Kate Marker Interiors chose a bouclé upholstered frame for an enveloping feel in this minimalist guest room that visitors will love climbing into after a long day of traveling.

Use Multipurpose Furniture

Use multipurpose furniture to save space and help maintain an uncluttered feel. Marie Flanigan Interiors outfitted this guest room above the garage with a nightstand that doubles as a small dresser for storing small personal items.

Choose Signature Bedding

Skip the plain white sheets and choose some decorative bedding that will give your guests a vacation feel. Desiree Burns Interiors chose black sheets illustrated with a colorful jungle theme to complement a wavy teal headboard and dark olive accents in this otherwise bright and neutral room.

Add Graphic Accents

Personalize a classic black-and-white bedroom with decor accents for a lively and graphic feel. Brexton Cole Interiors added an eclectic mix of lighting, patterns, and wall decor to make this white-walled space ready for company.

Keep It Cool and Casual

Create an effortless Scandi-style feel in a small guest room with cool silvery blue paint on the walls, natural linen bedding, and a chair painted in a similar tone as a bedside table.

Hang a color photograph over the bed and add a branch of something green just before guests arrive, like this breezy space from Fantastic Frank.

Source Twin Antique Beds

Give your attic guest room a sense of history by sourcing a pair of antique twin beds. Leanne Ford Interiors paired the rich wood beds with textured walls and a tiered pendant light in this airy space.

Install a Giant Headboard

Give a large guest room in a finished basement or other light-challenged space a dramatic feel with jet black walls and a monumental headboard.

Forbes + Masters chose a green velvet channel-tufted headboard with wrap-around sides that hug a pair of matching nightstands and create an anchor for the bed.

Add Whimsical Details

Give your guest room a whimsical feel with a charming detail that will make guests smile. Chango & Co. hung wallpaper with a delicate botanical pattern that looks like dangling vines of ivy behind the bed in this tranquil and welcoming space.

Include Boho-Style Touches

Add breezy decor touches like a macrame wall hanging to add boho style to your guest room. K Shan Design fininshed the room with soft beige walls, pastel blue bedding, and a natural cane and wood headboard for a relaxed feel.

Lay Down a Cozy Rug

Make your guest room feel warm with a fluffy area rug. Float the bed on a large area rug in a large space. Or layer a natural sheepskin on top of bare floors or low-pile carpet in a smaller space like this London bedroom from Studio Peake.

Paint an Accent Wall

Add color to your guest bedroom with a vibrant accent wall. Interior designer Alvin Wayne paired shades of green and purple to create a focal point in this otherwise neutral New York City bedroom.

Add Extra Amenities

If your secret plan is to ensure that your guests never want to leave their room, let alone your house, go all out and give them hotel-style amenities like a fireplace and a flat screen TV, like this modern space from Mindy Gayer Design Co.

Try a Floor Mirror

A floor mirror will help your guests get dressed in the morning. Emily Henderson Design leaned a large arched floor mirror against the wall that bounces around light, makes the space feel larger, and doubles as decor in this bright neutral space.

Choose an All-White Palette

Make a small guest bedroom feel more spacious with an all-white palette. Desiree Burns Interiors decorated this compact room in shades of white and beige, using a mix of materials to give the space an airy but textural feel.

Curtain Off the Bed

If your guest room functions as a home office most of the time, install a privacy curtain to wall off the bed niche, like this space from Leanne Ford Interiors.

Save Space With Sconces

Save space in a small guest room with wall sconces. Erin Williamson Design wrapped this bed niche with natural wood paneling, and added exposed Edison bulb sconces for ambient light that free up space for a pair of small night tables.

Paint the Wood Trim

Give your guest room a dash of personality by painting window trim, moldings, and doors in a bold shade, like this red-accented space from Desiree Burns Interiors.

Carve Out Space

Make the most of a small bonus room by turning it into a micro guest room that will make visiting friends and family feel like kids again. Leanne Ford Interiors outfitted this rustic all-white space with the largest bed that would fit the space, plus a lightweight pendant light and neutral decor and bedding.

Canopy Beds

Dress up a twin guest room with matching canopy beds and soothing light blue wall paint. Mary Patton Design added bird-shaped wall decor to enhance the airy feeling in this guest room that's perfect for visiting kids but sophisticated enough for adults.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size bed is best for a guest room?

The best size bed for a guest room depends on the size of the room and the type of guests you are hosting. Twin beds are a popular guest room option for grandparents hosting grandchildren. A double bed can accommodate kids sharing or couples in a smaller bedroom. Treat your guests like royalty with a queen- or king-sized bed if space is not an issue.

Should you put a TV in a guest room?

Whether or not to put a TV in a guest room is a matter of personal preference. While it can make a guest room feel more like home for those who are used to having the TV going from day to night, it’s certainly not required. 

Does a guest bedroom need a window?

Building codes require that bedrooms have windows to be legally counted as such. Therefore, a guest bedroom, like any bedroom, should have a window in order to provide natural light, ventilation, and egress (escape).

Read the original article on The Spruce.