Thursday, September 8, 2016

Ten Guest Room Essentials

Today is the day I've been looking forward to for months!  One of my absolute blogging besties arrives here in Charleston tonight for a long-awaited girls weekend.  Macy and I have been talking about this adventure for so long, and I cannot wait to sip and eat all around this city.

Now that we have a house, I love hosting guests!  In our apartment, we had two bedrooms, and with Mike working from home, our second bedroom was an office/guest room/closet/storage room/golf locker.  Now, we can dedicate a full room to our guests!  We chose the second floor back bedroom that has its own bathroom so that guests can have their own space (and feel like they're really on vacation).  Over the past month, I've had fun starting to put our guest room together, and now that we've had a few weekend guests, I've come up with a list of 10 essentials that (I think) every guest space should have:
1. Their own space ||| It was important to us to make sure that we didn't fill the guest room with our own things.  The drawers are empty, there are hangers in the closet, and the tops of the chests aren't cluttered.  Guests can put their belongings where they want and not have to move ours to the side.  Even if you're blowing up an air bed in the living room, give the guests their own corner of the room with a clean table to drop their wallet as well as a luggage holder for their bags.
2. Alarm clock ||| Self explanatory and especially helpful for those guests traveling across time zones.

3. Pillows and blankets ||| Try to find a combination of soft and firm pillows to suit guests' needs as well as an extra blanket or two.
4. Playing cards ||| Maybe your guest goes to bed later than you or wakes up earlier.  Give them something to do, if they'd like to stay and hang out in their space.  We also have a tv with cable in that room, and I put an adult coloring book in the welcome basket, as well.

5. Snacks and water ||| We have a stocked fridge and pantry, but it's all the way downstairs.  It can be uncomfortable to ask for things in someone else's home - so give them some treats in their room!
6. Pen and paper ||| Give guests the ability to write down memories from the trip or even a phone message.

7. Sewing kit ||| Mine is a simple kit from Target with needles, thread, scissors, etc - just in case!

8. Candle ||| Candles make every room feel like home to me, and this one is chose is local.

9. Toiletries ||| Guests have their own bathroom in our home, so there is a basket with everything they might have forgotten: shampoo, ibuprofen, floss, deodorant, or shaving cream.  If they use a shared bathroom in your home, consider placing a few essentials in their room so they won't have to feel uncomfortable digging through your cabinets.
10. A note ||| Not only do I want to welcome my guest, I also want to let them know important things: WiFi password, location of the thermostat, security or garage codes, location of the coffee maker, or any special instructions.

Macy, we're ready for you!! Can't wait to see you in a few hours!

13 comments:

Macy V said...

YAYYY!!!! I got even more excited reading this post. I can't wait to see everything in person TONIGHT!! Thank you both again for welcoming me into your new home xoxo

Carly said...

So many good ideas in this post-- our guest room is in need of some major TLC! I hope you have so much fun this weekend!

Chesson | Magnolia+Main said...

I love all of the ideas in this post! We're hosting our first guest in our house this weekend... and while we don't have the guest room 100% ready, we do at least have the luggage rack set up & ready to go! :)

Pamela {Sequins and Sea Breezes} said...

This is so great! I love the snack idea! I have a little toiletries basket set up but the snacks and water are definitely something I need! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

Rebecca Jo said...

That is so thoughtful to make the space so welcoming. I need to do a basket like that.
I especially love the coloring book in it :)

Brittany Fry @ The 26th of August said...

That is awesome that you girls are getting a weekend together!! Have a great time! I love all these ideas. Some of the houses we have been looking at have a third bedroom and I keep thinking how nice it would be for them to have their own bathroom too! I can't wait until we move so we can host family and friends.

Nikki @ makeupHER said...

Such great ideas for hosting guests. Nothing worse than staying at someone's house and not knowing the wifi password lol! Have so much fun with Macy!

Kelsey @ The Peacock Roost said...

These are all great ideas!! Hope you and Macy have an awesome weekend hanging out!
Kelsey
www.thepeacockroost.com

Annie L said...

Great ideas, and I love this space! Although it's tiny NYC-sized, my boyfriend and I are blessed to have a second bedroom. Although it has to serve some other purposes like you said (office/closed), we love having guests and I always try to keep it clean and decluttered when someone comes. Enjoy the weekend!
xo Annie
New England Romance

Erika Powell said...

That basket is such a cute idea with snacks and a notepad! The room is beautiful and looks super relaxing!

Missy said...

Have so much fun this weekend! I love all of these ideas, making guests feel welcome is so important!

Robin said...

This fits under "toiletries", but I want to suggest having pads and tampons...I am that person who will get her period at someone else's house, you can bet on it!

Emily @ Martinis | Bikinis said...

The basket of goodies and games is a great idea. I never thought about doing that or having the wifi password easily accessible! Great list as I'm currently decorating our guest bedroom.

 
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