Hospitality is truly a southern tradition that my parent's deeply ingrained in me growing up. We always had people over, and guests coming and going. My parents would roll out the red carpet for people, and it always made everyone feel so comfortable. I absolutely loved living in a home that no one wanted to leave!
When I had a home of my own, I knew I wanted to have that same sense of hospitality. Our guest room definitely reflects that. You've gotten a glimpse in here before when we redecorated it a few years ago. The decor hasn't changed much since that post, but I wanted to share a few things with you today that I always make sure to do before our guests arrive!
When I'm a guest at other's homes I really try to be an easy guest. I want to fend for myself and not ask for much. While I want my guests to feel comfortable rummaging through the fridge anytime they want, I also want to have a lot available at their fingertips so they don't feel awkward about it.
Because of that I leave several water bottles out so they don't have to get up in the night searching for a glass of water. In the same vein, I like to leave out some emergency snacks for blood sugar lows. (I know I need these!)
I keep the water bottles in a cute little bucket from Grove Collaborative. (If you are a new member you get a bunch of free stuff, sometimes including this bucket, if you use my link to sign up.)
Additionally, I try to leave out other essentials like tissues, chapstick, hand cream, and hair ties. I even have a cute little lavender pillow spray that I make with essential oils. You can find that recipe in this post!
When I visit other places, I love it when there is a convenient place to store my suitcase or unpack fully. I picked up this luggage rack on Amazon and it's the perfect addition to our guest room. It's got a great shelf on the bottom to store an extra quilt in case our guests get cold.
While it's not necessary to have a TV in your guest room, I do think it's a nice feature. That way your guests can have a little background noise or fall asleep to a movie. We leave remotes out in an obvious place and write a quick little note to explain which channels/apps we have on our Roku.
Totally an extra, but you have to leave a little something sweet for them too...
Just before our last guests arrived, we added this fantastic full length mirror to the guest room. Walmart, by far, has the best prices on these leaner mirrors! Although, we decided to hang it instead of lean it. But, it's absolutely crucial to have a full length mirror that your guests can access! Especially if they are going to be getting ready for an event at your house. I took a silly selfie in it for you to see! I wish I had this when I was documenting my outfits in January.
A few other things to consider for your guest room are:
High quality pillows
Freshly laundered sheets
An empty clothes hamper
Extra blankets
An accessible power cord
Fresh cut flowers
Empty clothes hangers
In addition to having our kitchen fully stocked, and the rest of the house clean, I also pay attention the guest bathroom. I'm still obsessed with how our guest bathroom room makeover turned out, even 4 years later! Some of the design decisions were directly influenced by the knowledge that guests would be the primary users of this bathroom. For example, all of the towels are out in the open on a towel rack.
Extra toilet paper easily seen
Lotion
Toothpaste
A place for their toothbrush(es)
A plunger (something that might be embarrassing to ask for)
Extra towels, wash cloths, and hand towels
Hooks for wet towels
A full hand soap
Room spray
Shampoo, conditioner and body wash
I have these bottles in both my shower and the guest shower! I purchased these bottles from Amazon, and I actually sell these labels in my Etsy shop! Most of the time I bring my own soaps with me on vacation, but if I forgot them for any reason, it'd be so nice not to have to run to the store. Currently using Tresemme shampoo and conditioner and this amazing body wash by Everyone. The coconut lemon scent is fantastic, and I also love that it works as a bubble bath-perfect for when my niece and nephews come over.
Mainly, my strategy is to anticipate what I would need if I were staying at someone's home, and try to fill that need. Leave a comment below if you can think of anything I need to add to complete this guest suite! Would it be to 'extra' to add some fluffy white bathrobes like they have at hotels?!
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