A good guest bedroom is not about expense. It is about the host having spent a night in it. Most of the small discomforts guests put up with, a lamp that is too far from the bed, nowhere to put a suitcase, a radiator that clanks at three in the morning, would be fixed in an afternoon if the host noticed them. The trouble is that hosts rarely sleep in their own spare room.
Winter visitors need more than summer ones. They arrive in the dark, often after a long drive, and the house may be colder than the one they left. This guide goes through what a guest bedroom needs for the Christmas season, room by room and item by item, with the simplest fixes first.
Sleep in it yourself
Before anything else, spend one night in the spare room. You will learn more from that night than from any list. Notice whether the curtains let in the streetlight, whether the mattress has a dip, whether you can switch off the light without getting out of bed, and whether you are warm enough at four in the morning. Then fix what you find.
Warmth
Spare rooms are often the coldest in the house, because the radiator is turned down most of the year and the room sits on the north side or over the garage. Turn the heating up a day or two before guests arrive so the walls and the bed have time to warm through. A room that has only been heated for an hour still feels cold.
Then add layers to the bed rather than relying on one heavy duvet. Guests run hot and cold in different ways, and the easiest way to cater for both is a wool throw or blanket folded at the foot of the bed. The merino wool throw is soft enough to sleep under. The Thomson camel tartan blanket, at £24.99, is a sturdier choice. Leave a second blanket in a drawer or on a chair and tell your guests it is there. Our guide to choosing a wool throw covers weights and sizes.
Cold floorboards are the other problem. A rug by the bed means the first step in the morning is onto something warm. A bordered wool rug is enough to make a bare room feel finished.
The bed
Make it with clean sheets the day before, and air the room afterwards. Offer two pillows each, one firm and one soft, since people are particular about pillows in a way they rarely mention. If you have space, put a spare pillow in the wardrobe.
The linen and room mist, at £13.99, is useful for a spare bed that has been made up for a while, or for freshening the pillows of a guest staying more than a night or two. A light mist over the sheets before turning them down is a small kindness that guests notice.
Light
Every guest needs to be able to switch the light off from the bed. It sounds obvious, but in many spare rooms the only switch is by the door, and guests end up crossing a dark room to find the bed. A bedside lamp is the single most useful thing you can add.
Choose a lamp that gives a warm, low light rather than a bright one. The antique brass globe lamp and the antique brass table lamp with cream shade both suit a bedside table. If you already have a lamp but the shade is tired, a linen drum lampshade softens the light considerably. Our lampshade size guide explains how to match a shade to a base. Leave a small torch in the bedside drawer for night-time trips to the bathroom in an unfamiliar house.
A place for their things
Guests live out of their suitcase unless you give them an alternative. Clear a drawer or two and some space in the wardrobe, with half a dozen empty hangers. A chair or a luggage rack gives them somewhere to open a case without putting it on the bed.
A handwoven rattan laundry hamper is useful for longer stays, and spares guests the awkwardness of asking where to put their washing. A small basket by the door, such as one of the green oval rattan baskets, can hold spare towels.
The bedside table
This is where a guest bedroom becomes a welcome rather than just a room. Keep it simple and useful:
- A carafe or bottle of water and a glass
- A box of tissues
- Two or three books chosen with the guest in mind
- A notebook and pen, for anyone who wakes up with a thought
- A phone charger, or at least a socket within reach of the bed
Books are worth thinking about. Choose something that can be read in short bursts: essays, a gardening book, a book about the area. Cottagecore Gardens suits a weekend in the country. Leave a leather bookmark in it, and tell them to take it home if they have not finished. A B6 ruled notebook beside it is useful for writing down the name of the pub you mentioned at supper.
Scent
A spare room that has been shut up for months smells of it. Open the window for an hour a day or two before guests arrive, even in the cold. Then add something gentle. A reed diffuser, such as the fresh linen and bois précieux diffuser, gives a room a steady scent with no flame, which matters in a bedroom. Our guide to using a reed diffuser explains how to set one up. For guests who sleep lightly, a Roman chamomile pillow spray on the bedside table is a thoughtful touch.
The bathroom
If guests have their own bathroom, put out two towels each, one large and one small, and a spare bar of soap. If they share, clear a shelf for their things and tell them where the towels are. Leave a dressing gown on the back of the door for anyone who forgets theirs. The Tallis blue muslin dressing gown is light enough to suit most people, and saves a guest from crossing the landing in their coat.
The small things
Tell guests how the heating works, where the light switches are, what time breakfast will be, and whether the dog is allowed in their room. Write down the wifi password and leave it on the bedside table. If you have a dog who wakes the house at six, warn them in advance.
Give them a key, or at least tell them how the doors lock. And let them know they do not need to join in with everything. The best hosts make it clear that guests are free to sleep in, go for a walk on their own, or read by the fire for an afternoon.
Before they leave
Ask them, honestly, whether anything could have been better. Most guests will say no out of politeness, but some will mention the draughty window or the creaking floorboard, and you will be able to fix it before the next visit.
For more on the bedroom, browse the Bed & Bath collection. If you are hosting over the holidays, our guide to laying a country Christmas table covers the other half of the job.