Improving your Guest Bedroom. Thanks to House Beautiful

Below, you can find an article from House Beautiful on how to improve your guest bedroom. It has great information that we can all use specially me since I haven't even started in our guest bedroom. I'm going for something similar to the pic above. What do you think?

What's the best thing you can do for a guest?

Spend a night in the guest room. You want to make sure your friends will have everything they need for a good night's sleep, starting with a comfortable bed with great cotton sheets, a cotton coverlet, and a duvet on top. That should offer enough flexibility to deal with the temperature swings. You also need pillow options: one firm and one soft for each person, in foam and down. Most people think down pillows are expensive, but Ikea makes one for under $12, and their down duvets are fantastic, too.

What should you look for in a bedside table?

You want something you don't have to worry about. The ones I chose have a galvanized tin top, which means you can set down a glass without worrying about a ring. I don't want to spend the weekend being fussy and controlling with my guests, saying "Don't do this" and "Don't do that." If you want people to feel relaxed and comfortable, you can help by designing their room to be as low-maintenance as possible.

I like that lamp. Even the base lights up.

You can turn on the top light, or the bottom, or both. The ceramic base is perforated with all these tiny holes, and it looks so pretty with the light shining through. Sometimes I'll come in and turn on just that part at dusk, because it feels more welcoming when a guest doesn't have to walk into a dark room.

Do you need an overhead light as well?

No. Who wants to lie down and look up at those things beaming down on you? Many people make the mistake of over lighting a room. I think of lighting as theater. You're not just illuminating a space, you're creating a mood. I saw these sconces in the Visual Comfort catalog. They cast a soft light — always on dimmers — and have great character. Vintage-style fixtures are a good way to add a sense of age to a new house. Once I determined the correct height — slightly above eye level — I didn't worry about placing them the exact same distance from a window or a door. I wanted a little randomness.

I notice you used the same white cafe curtains in every room.

It creates a nice sense of continuity in a small house. And then I layered them with black blackout shades — great in a bedroom when you want to sleep late, and I also like the flexibility of being able to create a darkened, cool room on a summer afternoon. Every evening, I find myself going around the house and pulling down the shades. It's the kind of daily ritual that breathes life into a house.

Get It Right

• It's important to have another place to sit in a bedroom besides the bed. I found two boudoir chairs that are comfortably low to the floor and generous in the seat.


• Before you paint a room white by default, think about colors that make you feel good. Pink is so identified with femininity, but men like it, too. It's a really happy, restful color. I chose Possibly Pink by Sherwin-Williams.


• Forget the old rule about using only one type of wood in a room. Mixing woods can make a room more interesting and personal, like it took shape over time.