Anyone who has had to accommodate house guests for any length of time understands how challenging it is to have your home, your routine and your time disrupted by family and friends who have chosen your home as their holiday destination; be it for three days or three weeks.

However, determining whether it is a pleasant disruption filled with the making of happy memories or a drawn-out disaster may be as simple as how well you prepare your home, and most specifically your guest room. After all, the happier the guests, the happier the host.

Here are our tips on how to create the perfect guest room:

Keep the colour palette neutral. Using light colours on bed linen and towels not only shows off how fresh and clean everything is, but it also makes the space seem elegant, light and airy. If you want to add a splash of colour, keep it on the lighter shade. Colour has great power over the human psyche; warm colours such as pinks, oranges, yellows and reds are positive and energising. Greens and blues calm and create a sense of tranquillity.
Choose top quality linen, towels and toiletries etc. as this makes a statement of just how welcome your guests are. Most importantly, make sure the guest bedroom mattress is of good quality.
Ensure your guests are comfortable. Choose your furnishings and finishes wisely i.e. shutters on windows are perfect to help control ventilation and sunlight entering the room; letting in the warmth on chilly winter days and shading the room on hot summer afternoons. Keep a heater or electric blanket available in winter and a fan in summer.
Clear out cupboards to provide enough storage space so that guests do not have to live out of suitcases and clutter up the space.
If the space allows it, have a comfortable chair for reading and daydreaming and a basic writing desk in the room. This provides for all the guest’s needs within their space.
Privacy is arguably the most important consideration when it comes to guest bedrooms. The ideal situation is an en suite bathroom off the bedroom but if this is not possible dedicate one of the family bathrooms for the guest’s exclusive use and if that is not possible, set up a timetable or roster on how the bathroom will be shared by all. Again shutters on windows facilitate absolute privacy for your guests.
A separate entrance is a nice-to-have if your home accommodates it, giving the guests ultimate freedom to come and go at all times without bothering you and your family.
Luxuries such as a TV and DSTV, and a mini-fridge and kettle provide for independence and separate living, which can increase the pleasantness of the time considerably.