Make Your Guest Room a Luxury Guest Suite

It’s the time of year when many will be welcoming family and friends overnight for the holidays. It’s so nice to make them feel welcome and comfortable. And a great way to start this is to make your guest room a luxury guest suite.

You’re going to be very busy cooking, cleaning and preparing for them as the holidays near. So why not get your guest rooms in order now? We’ll go over some easy ways to spruce up what you have, and a few additions to consider.

Also, if you’re planning a renovation or a mini makeover sometime soon, pay attention to what your guest spaces might be missing. In fact, move in there for a night to experience what it’s like for your guests.

Make Your Guest Room a Luxury Guest Suite: The Bedroom

Luxury Guest Suite Inspiration

As you approach your guest room, think about what makes you feel at home and what feels special when you’re away from home. Think nice hotel: crisp white sheets, a fluffy duvet, an uncluttered space, nice fragrances and a place for everything are great places to start.

Suitcase placement: One thing hotels always have are luggage racks and large bureaus or desks to keep a suitcase upon. As an added bonus, it will keep your guests from putting their suitcases on your nice bedding (if you know, you know!)

Clothing Storage

Look, this is a tough one. In most of our guest rooms, the drawers and closets are stuffed (and so is the space under the bed). Take this on as a home organization project. It’s OK to keep some things in there, but bring in the donation box and clear a good amount of closet space and at least the top two bureau drawers out for your guests.

An alternative is to clearing out that closet right now is to hang over-the-door hooks on the outside of the closet. Leave pretty hangers on the hooks so that guests have a place to hang their clothes.

Plush and Comfortable Bedding

Bedding for guests should feel crisp, clean and plush. Feel free to express your personal style or bring in monogrammed shams like these. A no-fail option is to go with crisp white sheets or hotel-style sheets with a simple border.

Give your guests options for temperature control via layers of bedding. A sheet plus a duvet plus a quilt at the end of the bed is a good arrangement. Or let them know where extra blankets are stored in the room.

Also, try to tailor the climate to your guests. If you like your thermostat at a certain temperature at night, you can make the guest room’s temperature more versatile by adding a space heater, a ceiling fan, or letting them know they can open a window if they need to.

Furnishings

Nightstands: Beyond the few drawers you’ve given your guests, they won’t need much storage. This means that in a smaller space you can use light and airy nightstands like the ones seen in this photo. Try to give them enough surface area for glasses, some water and a book.

Lamps: Provide your guests with good reading light. Make sure your lamps are high and bright enough for those who still read actual books in bed. It’s also nice to have ambient light sources as well as a light they can flick on from a switch near the door.

Rugs: If your room has hardwood or tile floors, your guests will want something soft to step onto as they get out of bed. If you’re not into the idea of a large area rug, place small area rugs on either side of the bed.

Mirror: When I recently renovated my primary suite and had to stay in my own guest room, I realized the charming antique mirror I inherited from my grandmother in there was blurry and placed too low to be useful. Then I wondered how many of my overnight guests had tried to squat down and fix their hair in front of it.

Give your guests an ample mirror with good lighting so that they can get ready in luxury guest suite style. If there’s room, try and give them a full-length mirror as well. Good options for a full-length mirror location are in the bathroom, on the inside of a closet door or in a nearby hallway.

Seating: Providing an alternative to sitting on the bed is always optimal in a luxury guest suite. If you have room, set up a small seating area for your guests, including a table for placing a book, a nightcap and reading glasses.

Window treatments: Make sure your guests will have the privacy and darkness they need by installing window treatments that have blackout fabric on the back.

Final Touches

Going the extra mile to make your guests feel welcome is what elevates a guest room into a luxury guest suite. Fresh flowers are the number one way to do this. This needn’t be a large arrangement; even a single stem in a bud vase is a lovely touch.

Leaving a few bottles of water or a carafe and some glasses is also a nice idea. If you have magazines or some coffee table books you think your guests would enjoy, by all means, place them in the guest room for quiet time. These are the touches that make a guest room into a luxury guest suite.

Make Your Guest Room a Luxury Guest Suite: Laundry Needs

Now, we’re not saying you have to play dry cleaner here, or fold your guests’ unmentionables. But it can be luxurious to be able to laundry when traveling. Let you guests know they are welcome to do laundry during their stay so that they can pack accordingly.

Show them the ropes — how your machine works, where the supplies are, and typical times when the laundry room will be available just for their things. Leaving a laundry basket or bag for them to collect their dirty clothing is also a nice touch.

Make Your Guest Room a Luxury Guest Suite: Bathrooms

A key to transforming your guest room into a luxury guest suite is the bathroom. Now, even if it’s down the hall from the guest room, that’s OK. Be sure to keep your “luxury guest suite” mindset.

Remember that a guest bathroom doesn’t have to have the practical aspects everyday life requires, such as expansive storage, a double vanity or lots of countertop space. This is a good thing, as most guest bathrooms are more compact in size.

If you’re in need of a bathroom remodel, a small-sized room is a good thing, because it means that you can have some fun with the design. For example, a small room requires only a few rolls of wallpaper and only a few square feet of floor tile. This means it’s a good chance to splurge on something spectacular while staying on budget. And high-end finishes will give your guests that luxurious feeling.

Mirror: Make sure your guests have a large mirror over the vanity for getting ready in the morning. This should also have good lighting around it for putting on makeup. If there’s room, adding a makeup or shaving mirror ais a luxurious touch that will make your guest room a luxury guest suite.

Countertop Space: You won’t want to clutter up limited countertop space as you guests will need it. If there’s room, a small arrangement of eucalyptus is always a nice fragrant touch in the bathroom. If there is space, a candle is another good option.

Supplies: If countertop space is limited, designate a vanity drawer or put a basket on the dresser with a few luxury suite items and necessities. Include things people may tend to forget when packing up their toiletries. It’s helpful to think of every time you’ve called down at a hotel because you forgot something, and what it was you forgot. Here are a few suggestions:

Toothpaste and a few new wrapped toothbrushes
Cotton balls and cotton swabs
Saline solution
Deodorant
Small shaving cream and razors
Shower cap
Face wipes
Lotion/Moisturizer

Luggage space: If countertop space is limited, designate a spot where people can place their dopp kit or makeup bag. On the top of the toilet tank is less than ideal.

For hanging bags, this means a hook with good support to handle the weight. And a freestanding piece like this one is perfect. Be sure to clear a shelf or two for your guests.

Towels and robes: There’s nothing like plush hotel towels and robes to make your guest room a luxury suite. Give your guest towels a serious assessment. If they are below par, replace them. Whether you roll them, hang them or fold them hotel-style is up to you.

As for robes, well, that’s above and beyond, but if you’re having fun with this, invest in some robes for your guests. If you decide to go nuts with this, you can buy hotel slippers in bulk!

Hooks: Provide proper hooks and racks for your guests to hang their towels and robes to dry. In a small space, a train rack is a good option. Alternatively, an over-the-door hooks system will suffice in a pinch. Otherwise, your guests will start hanging towels over anything they can find — doorknobs, antique furniture, bed posts. That is not a sign of a luxury stay!

Shower: If you are considering a guest room renovation, it’s likely you’re stumped over whether to keep an existing tub-shower combo or get rid of the tub so you can install a more spacious walk-in shower stall. Some get stuck on the idea of reselling a house without a bathtub in it. Don’t do that. A walk-in shower is preferable for guests. Especially if you have guests who are less mobile and struggle to get over that tub edge to take a shower.

Shower supplies: Stock your shower as if your guests didn’t bring anything they’d need. The bare minimum should be:

A fresh bar of soap
Shampoo and conditioner
Bodywash

By the way, the bare minimum is perfectly fine! Just be sure that everything is fresh and new. You can take those bottles to your own bathroom when your guests are gone, and repeat the fresh and new cycle for the next guests.

We hope that this blog post will help you make your guest room a luxury guest suite. If going through the process made you realize you need help to make your guest room a luxury guest suite, contact us for a free remodeling consultation. Our design team will help you figure out how to make your guests never want to leave.