From House To Home

Designing a comfortable guest room is a balance between exotic and essential. A properly considered guest room has elements of both. Barbara Eberlein, owner of Eberlein Design Consultants Ltd., in Philadelphia, says to stay away from “beige, beige, beige.”

The guest room can be a lot more colorful because it’s a temporary home away from home. “Just have fun with it,” she advises.

Home makeover expert Denise Willard, owner of Decor by Denise in Vienna, Virginia, believes that the best approach is to create a “home away from home.”

A bench at the end of the bed can be useful not only for putting on shoes, but also for unpacking a suitcase. Comfortable cotton sheets with a high thread count are a must whether on a bed or on a fold-up futon. Towels and a basket of essential toiletries are also nice considerations.

Both women agree that guests need auto-nomy. They should have either the entire closet or a clearly accessible area of the closet for hanging clothes. The same is true for the bureau, which should be enhanced with even a small vase of flowers.

Eberlein points out that there are certain things of which to be careful; she advises against layers of draperies that are complicated to open and close. She also insists that at least one light source be hot-wired to the wall switch, so guests are not stumbling in the dark searching for a lamp.

Place a pitcher of ice water, tissues, a writing tablet, and good reading material on a night stand by the bed. Your guests will appreciate your thoughtfulness as they snuggle under the luxurious sheets and read themselves comfortably to sleep.