Spend a Night in your guest room… If You Dare

I have a little assignment for your weekend: spend a night in your own guest room… if you dare.

The commute is excellent, and you may discover a few things your very polite guests have never mentioned.

With October slipping by, we’re heading toward that busy, wonderful season of family and friends coming to stay. This is a good time to find out whether the room is as comfortable to use as it is lovely to look at.

Give yourself an evening in there. Read a few pages, charge your phone, and see how the room feels with the door closed. In the morning, make a little list. The things worth fixing tend to become fairly obvious once you’re the one trying to get comfortable.

This guest room checklist will help you get ready for overnight guests, from a comfortable bed and useful bedside lighting to a place for their suitcase and morning coffee.

Start with a comfortable bed

The bed deserves an honest review. If you spend half the night looking for a comfortable spot, you’ve found a good place to begin. Notice the mattress and the pillows you actually sleep on. A pretty sham can cover a pillow that has long since earned its retirement.

Pay attention to how the sheets feel and whether the bedding is comfortable through the night. An extra blanket where guests can find it lets them adjust without having to ask you to hunt one down.

I do love a decorative pillow. We should probably give our guests somewhere to put them before they’re building a small fort beside the bed. A basket or an open shelf can solve that little problem.

Make the bedside easy to use

If reaching the lamp turns into a small act of gymnastics, imagine doing it after a long day of traveling. A small shift in its placement may be all you need. Spend a few minutes with a book, too, and see whether the light falls where you want it.

Then try plugging in your phone. If that sends you behind the nightstand, it’s worth sorting out before company arrives. Leave enough room for a guest’s glasses and glass of water, too.

For a room that sleeps two, try both sides of the bed. Each person needs a reachable light and somewhere to set their things.

Leave room for their belongings

Bring a suitcase along for your little stay. Once it’s open, can you still get around the bed? A luggage rack or a suitable bench can help, along with a clear drawer and a few empty hangers. It feels good to arrive somewhere and be able to unpack.

If the guest room also serves as an office or extra storage, decide where those everyday belongings will go during the visit. A little space made ahead of time saves everyone from shuffling things around with a suitcase in hand.

Give them somewhere to sit

he yellow chairs in this guest room give guests a place to sit with morning coffee, read a few pages, or put on their shoes. The small table between them holds a cup or a book. I think about those ordinary moments when deciding what belongs in a room.

Your room may have space for one chair or a small bench. Work with what fits comfortably, keeping the route around the bed open. During your overnight stay, notice whether the seat is still available once you’ve unpacked.

A full house brings a lot of togetherness. I like giving guests a place to enjoy a few minutes to themselves before joining everyone in the kitchen.

Try the bathroom too

Take your toiletry bag into the guest bathroom and see where you put it. Where will you hang a damp towel? Leave guests a clear spot for their things and put fresh towels where they can see them.

Put the spare toilet paper where it’s easy to find, too. Nobody wants to make that announcement down the hall. Check the soap and wastebasket while you’re there. And if the shower controls require an explanation, give your guests a quick demonstration when they arrive.

Notice the room in the morning

Stay long enough to notice the morning light. How bright is the room at sunrise? Think back to the evening, too. Did the window coverings give you enough privacy? Was the temperature comfortable, and could you find your way to the bathroom with the lights off?

Then there’s the very important matter of coffee. If your guests are early risers, show them where the mugs and coffee are so they can help themselves. Leave the Wi-Fi information somewhere easy to spot, too.

Getting ready for the people we love

Use the checklist below to gather your notes, then choose the few things that would make the stay more comfortable. You might already have a lamp that works better, a basket for the pillows, or a chair in another room that would fit. Start with what you have.

When I design a guest room, I’m thinking about these ordinary little moments. Where will someone set down their things? Can they settle in with a book? I want them to feel like someone thought about them before they arrived.

Sometimes that guest is an old friend. Sometimes it’s the child who used to live down the hall, now coming back with a suitcase and a family of their own. I love the thought of the coffee pot getting a workout and conversations that run past bedtime.

So check into your guest room this weekend. Make a few notes, give those pillows a bedtime plan, and get ready to welcome your people.

Here’s to getting ready for the most wonderful time—when family comes home.

Your weekend guest room checklist

Take this along for your overnight stay. Check off what works and make a note of the little things that need attention before company arrives.

The bed

☐ Comfortable mattress and sleeping pillows

☐ Freshly washed sheets and bedding that feel good through the night

☐ An extra blanket guests can easily find

☐ A basket, shelf, or other spot for decorative pillows

The room

☐ Reachable reading lamps on both sides of a bed for two

☐ Accessible outlets or charging cables

☐ Clear bedside space for glasses, a phone, and water

☐ Room for an open suitcase without blocking the walkway

☐ A few empty hangers and a clear drawer

☐ A usable chair or bench

☐ Window coverings that offer privacy and comfortable morning light

☐ Comfortable temperature and a clear, gently lit route to the bathroom

The bathroom

☐ Fresh towels in view and a place to hang them

☐ Clear space for toiletries

☐ Soap, spare toilet paper, and a wastebasket

☐ Shower controls checked and explained if needed

The welcome

☐ Wi-Fi details somewhere easy to spot

☐ Coffee, mugs, and a quick introduction to the setup

Three things to take care of before company arrives

1. __________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________

Print the guest room checklist here.