Guest Bedroom Ideas: The #1 Ultimate Guide (From Decor to Office Combos)!

Looking for smart new guest bedroom ideas? We’ve created The Ultimate Guide to putting together your guest bedroom, from small guest bedrooms to decor and paint to office/guestroom combos…and how to make yours a reality!

We’ll also answer popular questions such as

  • “What makes a good guest bedroom?”
  • “How do you layout a small guest bedroom?”
  • “How do you stage a guest bedroom?”
  • “What furniture should you have in a guest bedroom?”
  • “What to put on wall in guest room?”
Guest bedroom idea. Two twin beds with a wooden nightstand in between and a vase with greenery on top. Woven bench on the end of each twin bed

PS: We’ve also created FREE guest bedroom checklists for you further down, plus our 5 free WiFi Card Designs (choose your favorite and size to fit to your ideal)! 😍🤗👇

GUEST BEDROOM IDEAS SMALL

#1: The Story of Our Guest Bedroom!

We had a kinda-usual-yet-unusual guest bedroom layout and did THIS!

Small guest bedroom idea. White murphy bed cabinet.
Our murphy bed cabinet was a game-changer for our home!

If that doesn’t work for you, we share more ideas below…

…plus, our Expert Room Design & Layout Guide also helps you pull any space together both with style and function prioritized for you and your space specifically!

GUEST BEDROOM HOME OFFICE

#2: Guest Bedroom Office Combo

We love sharing guest bedroom office ideas…maybe because that’s a popular solution we’ve utilized ourselves! 🙂

I’ve helped clients pull together guest rooms and maximize their space for years, and I’ll help you below too.

We’ve put together THIS post to make it simple, so you’re not having to analyze EVERY option…

Guest bedroom and office combined. Wooden built ins with wooden desk and two white chairs.
Click here for our FREE Interior Design Guide!

…this way, you only have to know about These 7 Office Guest Room Ideas (and choose from there)!

SO many people are looking to maximize every inch of their space making a guest bedroom/office combo!

GUEST BEDROOM HOME OFFICE

#3: Guest Bedroom Closet

If you need to fix up the closet in your guest bedroom to maximize efficiency, check out this post showing how we completely transformed two standard closets in our house!

Guest bedroom closet ideas. White closet built-ins with drawers. Rug on the ground in front of the built in closet.

Closet Built-Ins: The Genius Way to Convert Your Basic Space for Max Storage

GUEST BEDROOM IDEAS

#4: Guest Bedroom Decor

My #1 tip is to include a REAL plant (or flowers) into your space right before your guests arrive, as it will bring life and freshness to your guest room!

(I’ve even just run out to my garden, uprooted a few succulents or small plants that look good in a pot, and put that in the room when I didn’t have time to go to the store! 🙂 )

Other than that #1 tip, I have a LOT of other good ones, from rugs to wall hangings to even faux plants and trees! (Amazing for the height factor and drawing your guests’ eyes UP!)

#1: Under-bed Rug Sizes: The Only 7 Rules You (Actually) Need!

#2: Guest Bedroom Luxury: 13+ Tips for Making It Look & Feel Like a Hotel Getaway!)

#3: What to Hang Above the Bed (or Not)!

#4: The Best Woven Pendant Light Ideas Under $150!

#5: The 25 Pros and Cons of Dark vs Light Hardwood Floors!

#6: The Best Faux Olive Tree (Plus 3 Tricks to Style it Realistically)!

#7: Stone Planters for Plants & Trees (Client Projects!)

#8: How To Make a Fake Tree! (THIS ONE TURNED OUT AMAZING!!!)

Neutral guest bedroom with bed in the center and neutral bedroom decor. Wooden nightstands flank each side of the bed and a tan upholstered bench sits at the foot of the bed.
10+ tips to make your bedroom feel like a luxury hotel!

GUEST BEDROOM HOME OFFICE

#6: Guest Bedroom Paint Colors

Your guest bedroom will be 100% unique to others, so there’s no one-color-fits all answer.

We’ve put together this easy-to-follow guide of The 7 Strategies for Choosing Interior Paint Colors to help you nail down exactly what you (and your guest bedroom space) actually need!

Guest bedroom ideas. Upholstered bed with wooden nightstands on each side of the bed and two square leather benches at the end of the bed.

GUEST BEDROOM HOME OFFICE

#7: Guest Bedroom Designs

My #1 tip for designing your perfect guest room is to follow my instructions laid out step-by-step first in my guides such as “The Expert Room Design & Layout Guide!”

You can also see examples of my client guest bedroom designs in posts like these:

1. The Only 7 Guest Bedroom Office Combos You (Actually) Need to Know About!

2. How to Make Your Bedroom Look (and Feel) Luxe!

3. Which Bedroom Rug Sizes Under Beds To Do?

Guest bedroom design. Upholstered bed with wooden nightstands in a painted white room. Large black windows and wooden beams on the ceiling
To find the perfect room layout for you and your existing space, this helps!

If you’re concerned about the cost of furniture, I share my always-makes-me-money tips on how I make most of my money back on furniture!

GUEST BEDROOM DECOR COZY

#8: Guest Bedroom Ideas: Cozy Modern

  1. I couldn’t find ANY cozy modern beds I liked, so we DIYd our own bed!
  2. (And then I sold it when we moved for twice what we paid in materials. 😉 )
  3. We also created this FREE DIY Bed Tutorial you can use to follow and learn from what we did!
Guest bedroom decor cozy. Woven lights hang down on each side of the upholstered bed. Wooden nightstand with a vase full of greenery sit on top of the nightstand.
We made our own bed, and you totally can too!

GUEST BEDROOM DECOR COZY

#9: Guest Bedroom Ideas On a Budget!

I cover a lot of budget-friendly and DIY ideas in the decor section above, but I’ve also got more ideas you can use, from using what you already have to thinking differently about any new items you might buy!

  1. If you missed my post on how we make most of our money back on furniture, you’ll want to read that!
  2. I’ve written How to Use Older Furniture! (even make it look like new in seconds!)
Small guest bedroom idea. Wooden daybed in front of a window with a woven pendant light hanging down and neutral home decor.
If you have a multipurpose room and need a guest room too, try this!

If you have a bookcase or a fireplace in your guest bedroom or multi-purpose room, we’ve done these related projects on a budget!

GUEST BEDROOM IDEAS

#10: 15+ Small Guest Bedroom Ideas (Including 3 Mistakes to AVOID!)

Specifically focusing on small guest bedroom ideas and decor, this post includes 3 mistakes to avoid in your small guest bedroom design! (And 15+ ideas and tips from me on everything to maximize a small guestroom, no matter the size!)

One of our many small guest bedroom designs you can see HERE!

GUEST BEDROOM HOME OFFICE

Free Guest Bedroom Essentials: 3 FREE PRINTABLES!

We’re giving you 3 FREE “guest bedroom essentials” printables…

  1. Guest Bedroom Essentials Checklist
  2. 5 Guest Wifi Password Design Printables!
  3. Guest Bedroom “Clean & Tidy” Prep Checklist

…all three of which you are welcome to use! 🙂

Guest bedroom prep: free pintables

Guest Bedroom decor IDEAS

BONUS: Guest Bedroom Decor!

A round-up of guest bedroom decor ideas.
  1. I love percale best! Make sure your guests sleep well with these budget-friendly organic percale sheets!
  2. A more “splurge-worthy” set of these organic percale sheets might make your guest never want to leave. (So proceed with caution!)
  3. Don’t forget an extra blanket at the foot of the bed. We have and love this one!
  4. If you want to be an “extra” host, you could even frame your favorite style from our WiFi printables above with this cute frame!
  5. Don’t forget a wastebasket in the guest bedroom or bathroom. (My friend swears by this one… she’s bought it three times!!!)
  6. This stool would make a great makeshift nightstand if you don’t have a lot of space!
  7. A stylish and affordable luggage rack for your guest’s suitcases is a must!
  8. EVERY ROOM NEEDS A PLANT! If you have low light in your room or have a black thumb, try something like this faux one!
  9. A candle in a guest room adds just the right amount of cozy to a space for your guest! (I find that even if I don’t light candles when I’m staying somewhere, having it there just makes it automatically feel cozy and luxurious…like the option’s there should I want it! 🙂 )

Next…

If you’ve missed these in the article above, my top 3 “next” recommendations if you’re looking to save your time (and focus on your real guest bedroom priorities)!

  1. The Expert Room Design & Layout Guide! (instantly downloadable!)
  2. Under-bed Rug Sizes: The Only 7 Rules You Need!
  3. Guest Bedroom Luxury: 13+ Tips for Making It Look & Feel Like a Hotel Getaway!)
  4. 7 Strategies for Choosing Interior Colors!
  5. What to Hang Above the Bed (or Not)!
  6. The Only 7 Guest Bed Office Combos You (Actually) Need to Know About!
  7. How to Get a Genuinely “Smart” Home (Hint: a smart home does NOT mean electronics!) 🙂

PS: Click to see all our house projects HERE!

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. jenny pagni November 2, 2024 Reply

    Looking for 2 twin beds and love several of these in the pictures …. wooden or black metal frame. Could you point me in the direction of where to find some like these?
    Thanks,
    Jenny

    1. Jess November 11, 2024 Reply

      Hi Jenny! Thank you for the kind words. We take pride in providing our clients with personalized and unique solutions tailored to their needs. As such, the detailed plans and resources used in our paid projects are exclusive to those clients. While we’re happy to share general insights and inspiration, we cannot provide specific sources or materials from paid projects for free out of respect for our clients and the value of our services.

      If you’d like to become a client, you can start HERE.

      Many thanks,
      Jess & Matt

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