AD | I love having friends and family over to stay, even though our small spare room isn’t blessed with a huge amount of space. And I think it’s often the case that guest rooms can be overlooked when it comes to design and decorating too. Happily though, with a little creativity and a few simple small guest bedroom ideas, I believe it’s perfectly possible to transform your spare room into an inviting haven your visitors will love every bit as much as you.
12 Small Guest Bedroom Ideas To Transform Your Spare Room
If you’re short on space, your spare bedroom might be doing double duty as a home office too. So, how do you make your guests feel welcome, and not like they’re encroaching on your workspace? Try a few (or all) of these 12 quick and inexpensive decor tips for styling a small guest bedroom to help them feel at home.
Hang Ups
One of the quickest and easiest ways to update any room is with some artwork. Like these fabulous personalised renaissance pet portraits from Mr&MrsPaw (now longer trading), and I can’t wait to hang up our new canvas (featuring Loki, Ginger, and Spooky) for visitors to admire. Don’t my boys look absolutely gorgeous? 😻 Adding a bespoke piece of art is a great way of injecting some personality into your guest room decor too.
Let There Be Light
It’s so important to get the lighting right. Blackout curtains are a must-have in any guest room, ensuring that your guests can enjoy a peaceful, uninterrupted sleep no matter the time of day. Or try using voiles as a window treatment alongside some thicker curtains to allow natural light to flood in, whilst keeping the room warm and dark as required. Bedside lights or desk lamps that give sufficient good quality light to read by are also key – you don’t want your guests risking eye strain by squinting, do you? Plus, the right lights can positively alter the mood of the room.
A Feature Article
Another relatively fast way to give a plain guest room a colourful update is to create a feature wall, either with paint or some striking wallpaper. Wilko, B&Q, and Homebase all do great ranges that are wallet-friendly – something to consider if you’re decorating a guest room on a budget.
Shelve It
Storage, or lack of it, is always an issue, particularly in small rooms. Why not use the space under the bed or under the window seat as storage by adding shelves, drawers or cabinets? Don’t forget the wall behind the bed, which can also be used for shelves. It’s an easy and creative way to add storage space in a small guest bedroom without taking up any of the floor area. And shelves can even become a design feature in their own right, displaying interesting ornaments and mementos.
Time To Reflect
No matter how small the room, hanging a gorgeous mirror on the wall will make it feel bigger, as well as reflecting any available light. Hop on one of the top interior design trends now with a quirky Blob mirror* to give your space a unique and funky feel. Alternatively, as large mirrors can be expensive, try looking on Facebook Marketplace – you can often pick up a real bargain or even a freebie, especially if there are any house clearances going on.
Make A Statement
You can easily give any guest room a luxe look with a statement piece of furniture. I love a velvet accent chair, I think they add a real touch of hotel luxury as well as being the perfect place to dump clothes at the end of a long day. Or, if space is at a premium, you could install a funky sofa bed rather than a full sized bed – although you’d lose the under storage aspect. Choices, choices…
Go Throw
There’s no better way of making a small guest room into a sanctuary than with some comfy cushions and cosy throws to snuggle up with. That’s one of the things that hotels and other guest accommodations usually get right, isn’t it? Get layering, and remember, throws are perfect for giving a splash of colour to an otherwise neutral space too.
Rug Doctor
How do you make a guest room cosy? With a luxurious rug for your visitors to sink their feet into when they get out of bed first thing in the morning. When you’re looking for ways to create the hygge feel in your bedroom, natural sheepskin is most definitely the way to go.
With Knobs On
If you can’t change the furniture, then focus on the small details. Give the bedside table, dressing table, or cabinet a facelift with some funky, quirky, or vintage knobs and handles from Etsy*. Switching up the fixings, handles, or light switches is one of my favourite decor ideas for a small guest bedroom.
Calm To The Senses
Our sense of smell is one of our most powerful senses as our smell receptors have a direct link to our brain by way of the olfactory nerve. Whether you go for a calming and relaxing, or revitalising and uplifting vibe in your guest bedroom, you don’t need to spend a fortune. Check out ALDI’s range of candles and diffusers that give Jo Malone a run for her money.
Go Green
I love to pick fresh flowers from our garden when we have visitors, but if you can’t do that, consider putting some air cleaning plants in your guest bedroom instead. Choose easy to care for plants such as aloe veras or sansevierias to give the space some life and colour.
Readers’ Digest
Stealing from my hairdresser and doctors surgery here 🙂 From time to time, your guests will have had enough of company and just want to retreat to their room to chill in peace. Leave a few magazines out, or books on a shelf, for them to browse at their leisure. Then, when they come back, you have something else to talk about as well.
How Else Do You Decorate A Small Guest Bedroom?
What do you think of these suggestions for creating an inviting, cosy, and welcoming haven for your visitors? If you’re still looking for more ideas, check out these interior design apps and head over to Pinterest for a plethora of small guest room decorating inspiration. And one last tip for a happy guest experience: offer breakfast in bed, and you’ll definitely be the host(ess) with the most(ess) 😀
How would you transform a small spare room into the perfect guest bedroom? What’s your favourite decor tip in this list? Have you got any small guest bedroom ideas to share?
*This is a sponsored post, and also features affiliate links – please see my Disclaimer.
These are all great decorating ideas! I definitely want to have a guest room once we buy because our families both live overseas and having a place for them to stay when they visit would be great x
mia
Thank you, Mia, glad you found them helpful for your future guest room! x
These are some really great suggestions to help make your guest home more homely. I cannot wait to own my own place so that I can set my guest bedroom. Thank you for sharing your tips Lisa.
Lauren.
You’re welcome, Lauren, I’m glad they were helpful for your future guest bedroom!
Wonderful ideas! Artwork and cozy throw blankets are a great place to start! I need to get in my guest bedroom and spruce it up!
Thank you so much, I’m glad they were helpful!
These ideas look really great, amazing how much creativity and planning goes into it, making great use of small spaces. Am gonna share this with my wife as she’ll love it.
Oh, that’s great, thank you, I hope she’ll find my suggestions useful too 🙂
Auwww!!!! Love these ideas. Especially the one with white furnitures. Thank you for sharing, Lisa.
Thank you, Fadima, glad you like them!
Great ideas and some beautiful design concepts!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the tips.
Lovely tips! I’m going to use some of these in my own room too! Love making my guests feel like their living in luxury and this will help!
Ah, you sound like the perfect hostess, I’d love to be a guest in your home!
Guest bedrooms can be hard to get right so anyone who has them will find this useful. I’m sure doing these things will make someone’s stay really comfortable and like a lot of thought went into them being there.
That’s what I was aiming for, so thank you, Molly, glad that all came across 🙂
great tips.
when I’m working from home I have my lamp on and also love my shelves. a great way to increase storage space if you only have a small area.
Thank you, that’s good to hear shelves work so well for you.
These are lovely ideas! Thank you for sharing your thoughts Lisa, we recently turned our spare room into an office space for my boyfriend and it’s amazing how you can change a space when you actually put your mind to it x
Thank you, Eleanor, that’s very good to hear! x
Great post, Lisa. Obviously, I don’t have my own place but if I did, I’d definitely take a lot of pride in the guest room! It’s got to be a space that people are comfortable in, not just decor wise. It’s also a great room to branch out with your interior decor and maybe do something a little different to what you would typically do in your own bedroom for example!
Thank you, Jenny, and yes, that’s it exactly, a great opportunity to showcase our creative decor ideas!
This is a great post with many good ideas! I love making my guest bedroom into a comfortable and cozy space. I also think that adding a mirror (something I realize I’m missing now) is a nice touch. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Savannah, I’m so pleased you liked my suggestions, I’m sure your guest room is super inviting for your guests!
Thank you for sharing these idea on how to make a guest room a bit more than that. As I’m staying in a guest room at the moment, I can related to many of the tips you mention. Such as the hang ups and the shelving. Having the option to easily give a place to your stuff, makes it easier to feel at home somewhere. A rug is also a great idea. Great post.
Thank you, Benny – and items such as artwork and rugs you can easily take with you when you move on as well 🙂
These are amazing small guest bedroom decoration ideas! I would love to be able to decorate the spare bedroom in my house but there’s so much junk in there that it needs a good sort out first! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Ha, I feel you on this, Lucy, thank you!
Plants are alaways a great idea, making it so real. Definitely some cozy pick ups here..
Thank you, Gabi, no such thing as too many plants!
Thank you for sharing this ideas about small guest bedroom ideas. This is worth sharing and a great reference in future plans.
Thank you, glad you found it useful.
Loved this post! So so helpful, might have to take some of the tips for out little ones room, we’re both absolutely useless at interior style and decorating
http://www.grabacuppa.com
Thank you so much – I’m sure whatever you decide, they’ll love it – especially if they can choose something for themselves too!
Absolutely loved your small guest bedroom ideas clever, stylish, and truly welcoming! So many practical, creative tips for cozying up compact spaces.
Thank you, that’s very kind, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the article!
Great ideas! This article offers clever, stylish solutions to make small guest bedrooms cozy, functional, and welcoming for every visitor.
Thank you, I’m very pleased you enjoyed my article. 🙂