5 Ways To Remake Your Guest Room To Fit Your Budget

Gone are the days when it was OK to offer a friend a space on your couch or the floor. As homeowners, you can create a comfortable space on a budget for visiting guests that feel like pricey upgrades. Here are five ways you can remake your guest room in a way that best fits your budget and timeline.

Illuminate the space

Proper lighting can make all the difference in your guest room by transforming the space from a dreary dwelling into a bright airy oasis that friends might never want to leave:

$— Add a small lamp to a nightstand to make the room feel cozy. Repurpose a dorm room desk lamp, shop vintage from your local secondhand store, or visit a big box store for a wide selection that will match your décor.

$$— Replace overhead lights with LED bulbs to not only make the space brighter but use less electricity to save you money over time.

$$$— Install an overhead light fixture. This upgrade is a more expensive and time consuming fix, especially when you consider the time it can take to find that justrightpiece for your home. But it’s worth it to take your time to find that fixture that you will swoon over every time you turn it on.

Get a restful sleep

$— Provide earplugs. It’s amazing how well those little foam earplugs work to block out noise. Buy individual bags at home improvement stores or a container of them online for under a dollar a pair and leave them out in a little basket for guests to have during their stay.

$$— Buy a white noise machine to lull friends to sleep, or, if you have an old smartphone, download a white noise app and leave it in the guestroom with a note that simply says, “Play me.”

$$$— Block out all the noise. Set out a pair of over-the-ear headphones so visitors can relax wire-free while blocking out the noise. But, if you’re short on cash, just let your friends know they can borrow yours in a pinch.

Keep guests entertained

$— Leave a stack of your current magazines on the nightstand for visitors to flip through when they have some downtime.

$$—Tell a bedtime story. Lay out a couple of volumes of short story collections. Raid your collection or take a look at a used bookstore to find ones that guests can complete during their time with you.

$$$— Get a flat screen TV. If you happen to still have a DVD player, connect it and leave a stack of movies for guests to watch if they find themselves waking up super early or wanting to stay up well past your bedtime.

Upgrade the bed

Is your guest bed a place where you’d want to sleep for a couple of nights? If you hesitated, then the answer is no. Spruce up the bed in your guest room with these three fixes:

$— Upgrade your pillows. Pillows can make the difference between a good sleep and no sleep at all and for relatively little money, you can turn those sad flat pillows into new ones that are heavenly to sleep on.

$$— Increase the thread count. New sheets that coordinate with your comforter can give the room a new look and always feel luxurious

$$$— Buy a new mattress. Lie down on the bed in your guest room and ask yourself if the mattress is comfortable. If it isn’t, then it’s time to upgrade! If you’re short on cash for a new mattress, a thick foam mattress topper can mean the difference between a good sleep and an “ok” sleep, plus it can help alleviate discomfort from having a less-than-stellar mattress.  

Let them plug in to stay charged and connected

Good hosts and hostesses make it easy for guests to get connected to the home Wi-Fi and stay charged:

$— Frame your Wi-Fi password so guests won’t have to ask you which network is yours and repeat your overly complicated password. Leave a handwritten note card in a frame on the bedside table or desk so they can log in with ease.

$$— Collect your spare charging cables and coil them in a basket so your guests can borrow one in case they forgot theirs. Also, make sure there’s a power strip available so they can charge multiple devices at once.

$$$— Upgrade your outlets with types that feature USB ports; these provide more power and the ability to charge multiple digital devices. Two standard outlets and two USB port, would be appreciated near a bedside table or desk in your guest room.  

Visiting friends and relatives who come to see and spend time with you aren’t expecting luxury hotel accommodations but small changes can make a big difference in creating a comfortable space for your guests.

This article was originally written for the Progressive blog and can be seen here.