My mom is coming to town tonight and I am SO excited, I’ve been prepping the guest room (aka Brighton’s bedroom) like a mad woman. Hosting overnight guests is honestly new for us since moving here. We were able to do a little guest trial run a couple weeks ago when my sister and her family stayed with us while their home was being painted and it was a great opportunity for me to stock up on everything I need to transition Brighton’s room into a guest retreat with just a few substitutions. Since we have a large family, we’ve never had the luxury of a true guest bedroom, and I feel like that may be true of many of my readers, too, so I’m going to share a few easy but meaningful ways to give your guests a hotel-like experience while using the space you’ve got.
Ever since I was a kid, I have loved making people feel welcome and special in our home. I remember my parents’ best friends visiting us from Indianapolis and prior to their arrival, I created some homemade little gifts to leave on their pillows (who knows what I threw in there but I felt like Martha Stewart nonetheless). Now as an adult, making people feel embraced upon arrival is even more important to me so I try to go out of my way to make it a personal experience for each person who comes. Prior to their arrival, I always like to know their favorite snacks, their preferred coffee creamer, etc. Beyond that, I try to leave little touches for them around the room that are specific to them; reading material, chargers and convenience items they may have forgotten, toiletry samples, etc. These are easy swaps to make, and I just keep one shelf in Brighton’s closet full of the guest things. Then it takes me just a matter of minutes to remove HER books from the nightstand and replace them with more applicable reading material, a candle, a faux plant, etc.
There’s no denying the room is used as a child’s bedroom 99% of the time, but that doesn’t mean that guests can’t feel like they have their own space in there also. To do this, first I clear out at least one drawer for them. It’s easy enough to combine Brighton’s pajamas and underwear into one drawer and then that gives our guest some room to settle in a bit. Additionally, I make sure a section of the closet is cleared out and adult sized hangers are in place (I use these throughout our house). I also have this luggage rack that I bought on Amazon which I leave out for bags and it just gives our guests one more place to flop their bags upon arrival.
One nuance about the specific out of town guests we will be attracting is that most of them will be traveling from out East which means a considerable time difference. I remember when we would travel out to Arizona prior to our move, there were many trips that I was up with kids before 5am. For that reason, I bought a single cup Keurig that I keep in the room with a few coffee pods, as many cups as there are guests, and coffee creamer of the guests’ choice. That way, if they DO wake up before the rest of the household, they can comfortably get themselves started with a cup of coffee and read whatever I left out on their nightstand (this is the book I selected for my mom) without feeling like they will disturb anyone else by going through the house super early. Brighton’s room was designed as a guest room and the original homeowners installed a beverage fridge in the closet. So handy! We love this feature for our guests, and that’s where we keep coffee fixings and loads of water bottles and a few snacks, but even if your room doesn’t have a beverage fridge (and honestly, why would it?) this mini fridge is a great option that you can just set on top of the dresser with the coffee maker and achieve the same result. Since we’re in the desert, I not only load the fridge with water bottles, but I make sure there’s a little acrylic container of my favorite varieties of Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier as well. The stuff is super tasty, and if you haven’t tried it, you can save 25% off your purchase and get free shipping with code COURTNEYBSCHULTZ.
As far as linens go, I have a separate set of linens and towels that are just for our guests. Since we don’t have guests too often, they just stay fresher and feel nicer than pulling from our family’s rotation. I like the simple matching waffle duvet and sham set here and having a subtle pattern/texture in the towels like this set helps me identify which set is for guests so that I can differentiate from our standard white towels we all use everyday.
In the bathroom, I want it to feel like a retreat, spa-like in as many ways as I can. I personally love these reed diffusers and think they smell lovely but here’s where I would encourage you to remind your guests that everything in the space is there for their enjoyment; if they aren’t enjoying it, they should feel comfortable to ask you to remove it, and you should be happy to comply. Some people are more sensitive to fragrances, and if your guests aren’t digging it, communicate clearly with them that you’re happy to make them more comfortable however you can. Another way I make an effort to make it feel spa-like is taking a page from my mother-in-law’s playbook and keeping all of my collected sample size items in a clear acrylic canister for guests to use. It’s a fun way to provide everything they could possible want from sunscreen to perfume to toothpaste to deodorant.
Obviously not needed for this trip, but I also like to have a pack & play on hand in the event our visitors have little ones. I didn’t move our old one from Michigan because, honestly, it had seen better days, but this inexpensive version from Amazon is under $100 and has already served us well with my nephew and it’s super compact when not in use. Highly recommend if you’re a grandma, aunt or person who may have a little one staying with you anytime.
Just got the text that my mom has boarded her flight and is on her way, and I can’t wait to welcome her with open arms in just a few hours. Happy hosting!
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