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How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy

Expecting guests? I’m sharing all of my tips and tricks on How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy including what to put in the guest room so your guests feel at home and comfortable in your house.
How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

My friend Deanne from Australia stayed with us for a few days right before the Christmas holidays and she told me that our guest room was more comfortable than any hotel room she had stayed in on her trip to the United States! Such a huge compliment! But looking at the room, it had never really felt “finished” to me and I thought it could use just a few more things to make it feel cozy. So today, I’m sharing my tips on How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy!

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy

I think when you’re decorating a room, you really need to experience all five senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.

Lighting can really change the mood of a room. All of the rooms of my house have overhead light fixtures, but I also like to set up table lamps for ambient lighting as well as salt lamps in the bedrooms. I’m not “hippie dippie” and I don’t believe in the “healing powers” of a salt lamp, but I do believe that the relaxing pink glow that they give off can really make a space feel cozy and warm. Plus, they make excellent night lights!

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

Next is the sense of smell. Smell can make or break a room! A guest bedroom can get stale if the door is kept closed or the room is used as storage for the families’ odds and ends, so I gave the room a fresh, cozy scent using the new Renuzit® Snuggle® Oil Refill 3pk Linen Escape oil jars. I love that the Snuggle scent is light and fresh, like the smell of fresh laundry, and is not overbearing or overly floral.

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

Next up is the sense of sound. What I DON’T want my guests to hear are my twin babies crying in the room next door, so I’ve included a sound machine in the guest bedroom to make some white noise so my guests can sleep soundly through the night or to sleep-in in the morning.

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

You might think that taste is a weird one for a guest bedroom, but guests might get thirsty or have a midnight craving and not want to bother you or head down to the kitchen, so include some savory snacks, chocolate, and water in the room as a special treat. I like to put a nice chocolate bar near the bed, it’s my version of the chocolate on the pillow.

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

And, of course, in order for a room to really feel cozy to the touch, you need a plush, comfortable bed with comfy bedding! I splurged when we set up the guest room and bought a California King bed because it fits in the room. To make it affordable, I didn’t buy the best of the best mattresses, so I added a memory foam topper to make it more comfy and then added some 100% Modal Sateen Sheets. Modal Sateen Sheets are SO soft!

Seriously, my friend Deanne commented on just how soft and luxurious these sheets felt! Then I topped the bed with a white duvet, extra pillows, and extra blankets. It’s probably too many pillows, but I often set up my laptop and work in here while the babies nap, so I love all the extra pillows and throws.

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty CanaryHow to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

Finally, the room needed a rug to ground it and really give it some warmth! I know we live in Los Angeles and it doesn’t get super cold here, but I don’t enjoy getting out of bed in the morning and stepping right onto cold hardwood floors, so I’m sure my guests do not like it either. I was saving this rug for my home office, but it was the perfect size and color for this room, so it has found a new home!

I also picked up some slippers that were on sale for my guests to use while they visit and take home with them after their stay! Because my babies are crawling around the house, we’re transitioning into a “no shoe house”, and I want to make sure that my guests’ feet stay warm and cozy while they’re staying with us. Cozy, comfy pairs of big socks would work as well!

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

And a few other tips:

Clean out a few drawers in the dresser and nightstand and make room in the closet for your guest to place their belongings, hang their clothes, and put away their luggage.

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

I also like to make sure the guest bathroom is cleaned and stocked with fresh towels, soaps, and shampoo.

And finally, I like to put together a little Guest Welcome Basket for our weekend visitors.

How to Make Your Guest Room Feel Cozy // Salty Canary

A houseguest welcome basket loaded with essentials and nonessentials to make holiday or overnight guests feel at home in the guest bedroom // Salty Canary

Looking for more welcoming houseguest inspiration and tips? Check out my other posts:

 

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Carla

Sunday 3rd of March 2019

I love the velvet curtains; where did you purchase them?

Andrea

Monday 4th of March 2019

They're great! I got them from Amazon, here's the link. My recommendation: after you take them out of the packaging, hang them immediately, don't wait. The one panel that I waited to hang ended up getting wrinkled and now I have to iron that one.