If you’ve been a follower of this blog, you know that Bobby and I get a lot of visitors. We’ve had my parents, Bobby’s parents, Bobby’s siblings, and several friends come to visit in the past year. While we have the 2nd bedroom, we don’t have a formal guest room set up. Meaning, we use the 2nd bedroom as an office and pull out a queen-sized air mattress when people come to visit.
Another thing I forget to mention to our guests is that we live next to train tracks. From about 6am until 11pm commuter and freight trains pass about 100 yards from our apartment. I don’t even hear the train anymore, but I wonder if it bothers our guests.
Lastly, the 2nd bedroom is in the corner and faces the west so it gets a lot of sun. Even with blackout curtains that room can get really warm. Warmer than the other rooms.
Tips for Creating a Comfortable Guest Room
- Spend a night in the guest room. Sleep in the bed and use the bathroom available to guests. This is your chance to answer any lingering questions? Is the air mattress comfortable? Is the room too hot?
- Have a nightstand with a lamp by the bed. The unknown walk to the bed in the dark after turning off the overhead light is uncomfortable. A lamp within arms reach will allow guests to make their way to bed without any trouble.
- Have extra pillows and blankets available. Be sure to have different types of pillows too (firm versus soft and thin).
- Make the bathroom guest friendly. Stock up with extra toilet paper, plunger, air freshener, extra toiletries, and fresh linens.
- Write down the WiFi information. Put the WiFi login and password in an easy-to-see place.
- Finally, anticipate the morning. Before bed, layout morning plans with your guests. Different schedules could result in someone trying to get to the gym at 6am and the other sleeping in until 9am. Make sure morning plans are discussed prior to bed. And don’t forget to set out the coffee beans and brewer instructions.
I try to ask all of our guests how they slept and if they need anything. Most of the time they reply with “I slept well” or “I’m good”. I hope that my initial preparation to create a comfortable guest room has paid off! Unfortunately, I wouldn’t know unless they spoke otherwise.
Good luck!
Lauren