Be Our Guest

When you start to plan how your guest bedroom should look, it’s a whole other ball game to decorating a permanent bedroom within your house. A regular bedroom must accommodate the day-to-day needs of its occupants, and there must be an equal balance between style and functionality, but since occupancy of a guest room is sporadic, there are a different set of rules to decorating the space. Here are some tips for making the most out of your guest bedroom and making it feel like a home for your visitors.

Finding a nice range of permanent decorative features for a guest bedroom will mean that it is always ready, making sure you have one less thing to panic about when a scheduled guest arrives and you’re completely covered if you get a surprise visit. Though fresh flowers are always a plus, creating a foundation of faux flowers is a great way to keep a guest bedroom looking finished at all times. There are hundreds of high quality faux flowers to choose from these days, but at Angel + Blume we adore the selection from Abigail Ahern. If you want, you can opt for seasonal colours or types of flowers, but if you’re looking for something to suit your room all year round, you can’t go wrong with some fresh looking, white or cream flowers.

‘Abigail Ahern Cream Hydrangea Stem’ from Rose Grey

To house the flowers, finding the right, beautiful vase can add a delicate and effortless sense of style to a room. Choosing something simple but with a hint of character means it’ll keep its charm for a longer period, and finding a piece with a classic style means that you won’t have to worry about replacing it for a while. Something like this LSA International polka vase design is a great piece, its contemporary style gives it an exciting edge but the design isn’t too daring or bold, meaning that the vase will appeal to most people’s tastes who stay in the room. The lightly tinted glass is also a pretty alternative to a plain glass vase.

‘Polka Vase’ from LSA International

More often than not, a guest bedroom tends to be one of the smallest bedrooms in a house, mainly because we need the larger rooms to accommodate a larger amount of needs and functions. Therefore you can often find that you might be short of storage space in your guest bedroom. Though you definitely don’t need as much closet space for you guests as you would for any permanent members of the household, there are all sorts of ways to make up a little room for their clothes and belongings. Finding something like an armoire that combines both a chest of drawers and a hanging area will save a whole load of floor space. This armoire from The White Company is gorgeous and will perfectly complement a whole range of styles. It can become an interesting feature on its own accord, plus its storage capacity will be super handy if you have guests that are staying for a week or longer, (or if they just bring a lot of stuff!)

‘Provence Armoire’ from The White Company

If you are more restricted on space, a luggage holder is a great solution. If there is no room for your guest to properly unpack, you can make the whole thing look a lot more appeasing by providing a designated place for them to put their suitcase of bag. It will bring the luggage off the floor which will give the idea of more space in the room, and give a cleaner, more thought-out look. They are a whole range of styles to pick from for your luggage holder, but if you’re looking for one that is simple and effective, Garden Trading have wonderful design.

‘Weekend Folding Luggage Rack’ from Garden Trading

You can always make use of your storage requirements and use them to help decorate the room. These copper trunks from Maisons du Monde are great for keeping extra towels or blankets in for your guests, or even if you need to use the storage to keep things in for yourself, your guests will be none the wiser if it’s disguised in a pretty, decorative trunk!

‘2 Victoire Copper Finish Trunks’ from Maisons du Monde

Providing the perfect bed, both comfort and style-wise, is a sure fire way to make sure that your guests have the best possible stay. If you want to go all out with a beautiful frame of head board you can, but if not you can always make a bed area look one hundred times more appealing with some lovely linens and accessories. Investing in some high quality linens is a good way to make sure the room looks fresh and elegant all year round. The Linen Works are always a great idea if you need some top-quality bedsheets. This Parisian blue is an absolute stunner and is the perfect combination of rustic charm and sophistication.

‘Parisian Blue Linen’ from The Linen Works

Cushions and throws are the perfect way to add a little bit of character to your guest room, without your guests being overloaded. If you’re guests have a wide range of style and tastes, you may want to create a neutral setting for your guest room, but to avoid the room looking stiff, adding some individuality in the form of soft furnishings is a great solution. This big tasseled throw from Rockett St George is completely charming and the perfect way to finish off a guest room’s look.

‘Annette Moroccan Throw with Tassels’ from Rockett St George

The same can be said for this gorgeous selection of cushions from Graham & Green. The tassel detailing is a sweet little finish that’ll put a smile of your guest’s faces.

‘Avignon Cushions’ from Graham & Green

In order to really make your guest bedroom feel like a home instead of a space that’s just been thrown together to make room for your visitors, the inclusion of some larger furniture can go a long way. If you have the room, adding a sofa or armchair can make your guest feel like they have their own little space in your home to relax in if they (or both of you) need a little moment to yourselves. This armchair from West Elm is the perfect piece to complete a guest room look. The mid-century styles means that it isn’t bulky and won’t take up any unnecessary room, but will still look stylish and be comfy.

‘Mid-century Armchair’ from West Elm

Likewise, adding a dainty writing desk to a guest room can give it extra style. There is no need for a practical, oversized desk that might be needed for an office or study, instead in a guest room you can opt for a sweet, petite desk that is full of style and grace. I love it colonial style desk from Maisons du Monde, it’s the perfect size to complete the look of an idyllic guest bedroom.

‘Explorateur Stained Solid Teak Desk’ from Maisons du Monde

Creating your perfect guest bedroom is almost like creating a little fairy-tale space in your home that needn’t adhere to the functional requirements of a permanently used space. Instead you can make a wonderful haven area that is so good you’ll guests may never want to leave.

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Pretty Useful

When it comes to de-cluttering we often think of having to bid a sad farewell to much loved items that are taking up space, or ditching that hefty stack of ‘things’ that are gathering dust that we can’t bear to throw away just yet. But actually, we can de-clutter in a way that skirts around having to make some Sophie’s choice kind of decisions, where you can keep almost everything as well as decorating your home by replacing a pile for stuff with a beautiful home accessory or storage unit. I’ve selected some gloriously nifty accessories that’ll show you can have style and substance.

‘Three Copper Trunks’ from Barker and Stonehouse

In my household, no matter how much we tidy and detox the house there is always a never-ending accumulation of things lying around and forming piles, all of which unfortunately is needed and can’t be tossed away. So instead of having unsightly clutter everywhere, purchasing something like these copper trunks is the perfect solution. On the outside they can be used as a feature or decorative piece in a room, but on the inside they can be filled with you secret stash of clutter!

A beautiful log burning fireplace can really capture the eye when entering a room, and there is no need for your log storage to be any different. This log holder from Cox & Cox acts almost as a frame, turning a pile of logs into something of an art piece.

‘Iron Log Holder’ from Cox & Cox

The same can also be said for your fruit and veg! You can add an instant pop of colour to you kitchen or pantry by using something like these wire baskets. Not only are they an easy and useful storage solution but they’re also a nice, simple attractive piece to give your kitchen a splash of character.

‘Wire Tier Basket’ from Cox & Cox

If you’re tired of seeing food packaging littering your kitchen, a few nifty jars and pots will sort that right out! For displaying teabags or whatever you fancy in a sweet way this Graham and Green jar with a pretty bear feature on top is rather lovely.

‘Glass Pot with Bear’ from Graham and Green

For more of a contemporary style, these jars from Skandium are just the ticket. These Palet storage jar were originally designed by Michael Bang in 1969 for Holmegaad, which have been relaunched this year in new colours and sizes. They’ll make a fantastic edition to a modern style kitchen.

‘Palet Storage Jars’ from Skandium

Baskets can be used for just about anything, socks, magazines, towels or even laundry, and whatever your style there’s always something to suit you. I love these two wicker baskets from Graham and Green and Rockett St George, both are super stylish and suitable for all sorts of storage needs.

‘Wicker Baskets’ from Graham and Green

‘Sequin and Wicker Baskets’ from Rockett St George

For something with a little humour, as well as a handy aspect, this adorable post holder from Anthropologie is ideal. It’s a sweet and easy way to add some character to a hallway or side table whilst still be useful.

‘Dachshund Letter Holder’ from Anthropologie

‘Wooden Crate Bathroom Cabinet’ from Not on the High Street

This crate style storage unit is ideal if you’re into the industrial style, it’ll work perfectly for storing anything you can think of! For an interesting look, buy two and use one vertically and the other horizontally to not only create an attractive feature in your home but utilise the storage space.

There’s so many amazing storage and organiser solutions out there that even the worst culprits will be able to turn their hoarder’s hell into a clutter-less haven!

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