How To Prepare An Epic Guest Bedroom: Guest Room Essentials

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What guest room essentials should every home have? In this list, I’ve compiled several thoughtful bedroom items for overnight visitors.

When friends and family stay over, it’s important that they enjoy their visit. A comfortable environment and good night’s sleep is key to a pleasant stay. In this post, I’ve gathered the best essentials to turn your guest room into a relaxing paradise!

Here’s how to prepare a guest room (and every guest room essential you should include)!

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Thoughtful Guest Room Essentials Every Home Needs

This checklist lists several thoughtful guest room essentials. Under some items, I’ve also included a helpful product I felt had the most value for the cost.

If you aren’t sure what to put in a guest bedroom, I’ve gathered several basic guest room ideas below.

Let’s get started!

Best Guest Room Essentials

1. Get A Comfortable Mattress

Trying to fall asleep in a new place can be difficult. To help guests feel more comfortable at night, I recommend splurging on a comfortable mattress. A quality mattress makes a huge difference to a good night’s sleep.

A poorly made mattress can cause back pain, leaving guests feeling sore in the morning. On the other hand, quality mattresses can cost over a thousand dollars! To save money, I highly recommend this memory foam mattress from Novilla. It’s an excellent quality mattress that only costs around $300!

Novilla 12 inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress

A comfortable mattress is an important guest bedroom essential. If you already have a mattress in your guest room, don’t bother replacing it (even if it’s uncomfortable). Mattresses are expensive, so I recommend keep it and adding a quality mattress topper instead.

A good mattress topper will add extra comfort and softness to any bed. I recommend this incredibly fluffy and soft mattress topper by Naluka. Not only does this topper have excellent padding and cushion, but it also costs only around $40! It’s an excellent budget solution for a firm, uncomfortable bed!

2. Select The Right Bed Sheets

When preparing a bed, bed sheets are often overlooked. A quality bed sheet will provide extra comfort and warmth to guests, helping them rest better. For your guest bed, I highly recommend including a fitted sheet (goes over the mattress) and top sheet (goes between the person and the duvet) like this cotton sheet set.

Pizuna 400 Thread Count Cotton Sheets Set

Bed sheets are a guest room essential. Not only do they add comfort, but they also help keep the bed sanitary for future guests. When your friend or family member leaves, simply throw the bed sheets, duvet cover, blankets, and pillow cases in the wash!

Bed sheets are an essential item to include in any guest room. It’s thoughtful idea to keep guest comfortable and hygienic. Be sure to add bed sheets in your guest room checklist!

3. To Keep Guests Warm At Night, Get A Quality Duvet

Nothing sucks more at night than sleeping in a freezing bed. To provide guests warmth and a good night’s sleep, a quality duvet is MUST have guest bedroom essential.

If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend this super soft duvet insert from Bedsure. This duvet insert is incredibly soft and fluffy and can be used alone as a comforter without a duvet cover (For quicker washing, I recommend using a duvet cover like this one.).

Bedsure Comforter Duvet Insert

This duvet insert is excellent at maintaining the perfect temperature (so guests won’t get too hot or cold). This product is also easy to clean and can be washed in a washing machine. I highly recommend checking it out!

4. A Comfortable Pillow Is A MUST

Another important guest room essential is to include a comfortable pillow. A good pillow will provide support to the head and neck, giving guests a better night’s sleep. On the other hand, sleeping on an uncomfortable pillow can cause neck and back pain, headaches, and poor sleep.

If you are look for a set of budget pillows for a guest room, I recommend this 2 pack of pillows from Utopia. Not only is this set under $30, but these pillows hold their shape well and have great comfort for the cost. This is a great set of inexpensive, comfortable pillows to keep in a guest room or spare bedroom.

Utopia Bedding Gusseted Pillows

5. Have Extra Blankets Available

If your house or apartment can get pretty cold at night, I highly recommend having extra blankets available. Even if the duvet is warm enough, it’s better to have extra blankets just in case. Depending on the preferences of your guests, it’ll also give them a choice to use the duvet, a thinner blanket, or both.

Looking for a lightweight, warm blanket? I recommend selecting a fleece blanket like this one from Bedsure. Fleece blankets have excellent softness and warmth without the bulkiness. This makes them perfect to use as a spare blanket in a guest room because they won’t take up much space.

Bedsure Fleece Blanket

When preparing a guest room, place extra blankets on the bed or at a convenient, reachable place. Extra blankets are a thoughtful guest room essential and amenity. Your guests will appreciate sleeping in a warm bed!

6. Provide Clean Towels

For overnight visitors, always include clean towels in a guest room. Place folded towels on the bed or other convenient location so guests can easily access them. Although simple, clean towels are a thoughtful touch to any guest bedroom.

If you don’t have extra towels at home, remember to add towels to your guest room checklist! I recommend purchasing a simple bath towel set like this 8 piece set from White Classic. For around $40, you get 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, and 4 washcloths!

White Classic 8 Piece Bath Towel Set

7. Place The Wifi Password In A Visible Location

Most guests will appreciate it if you provide them the wifi password. To make it easier for you, I recommend placing the wifi password in a visible location in the guest room.

Looking for a creative guest room idea? Try incorporating the wifi password into your decor by using a wifi password sign like this wooden block one from Amazon. This wooden block wifi password holder has a wire holder so you can easily slip in a piece of paper with the password. It’s a small sign won’t take up much room, so you can easily place it on top of a nightstand.

Primitives by Kathy Wood Photo Holder Block

8. Get A Luggage Rack

I highly recommend including a luggage rack inside your guest bedroom. Most luggage racks are foldable and won’t take up much space in a small room. They provide a place for guests to hold their suitcases and go through their luggage more comfortably.

Unless you have guests staying for a lengthy period of time, I don’t think it’s necessary to provide a closet space with hangers. Although nice to have, most guests will just use their suitcases to store their clothes and personal belongings.

A luggage rack is a great way to give guests a hotel experience. It’s a thoughtful guest room essential that your guests will appreciate! I highly recommend selecting a sturdy luggage rack that will last for years (like this beautiful solid wood luggage rack by Winsome).

Winsome Remy Shelf Luggage Rack

9. Provide A Power Strip (If You Don’t Have An Accessible Socket)

An accessible socket is essential to any guest bedroom. It’s important that visitors can easily charge their phones and other electronics when they stay over.

Depending on the layout of the room and furniture placement, the socket may be difficult to access for guests. If this is the case, I recommend providing a power strip so guests can better access the socket.

You don’t need anything excessive or expensive. Try using a simple power strip like this 3 outlet one by Go Green Power. This outlet is under $6 and can fit behind tight spaces and furniture.

GoGreen Power 3 Outlet Power Strip

When preparing a guest room, I recommend placing a power strip close to the bed as possible (most people like charge their phone by the bed).

10. Get A Wastebasket

A wastebasket is an essential item in any guest room. Wastebaskets don’t take up much space, are inexpensive, and provide a convenient place for guests to dispose items. Even in a small guest room, you can easily include a compact trash can.

You don’t need anything fancy. I recommend this budget, compact garage bin from Amazon. It’s an excellent durable wastebasket to use in tight spaces (it also comes in multiple beautiful colors!).

mDesign Plastic Small Trash Can

11. Place A Nightstand Next To The Bed

Besides a bed, nightstands are essential pieces of furniture in a guest room. Nightstands provide a convenient space for guests to place their personal belongings at night (like phone, glasses, etc..). If you have enough space, place a nightstand (or two) next to the guest bed.

Looking for a beautiful set of nightstands? I highly recommend this set of two solid wood nightstands. These nightstands are well constructed, sturdy, and easy to assemble. They have excellent quality for the cost!

GBU Wooden Bedroom Nightstands

12. Provide A Box Of Tissues

Looking for more thoughtful guest room essentials? Include a box of tissues to your checklist! I personally believe every room should have a box of tissues.

Tissues help keep you and your guests comfort, sanitary, and hygienic. It’s a great way to help prevent the spread of germs, bacteria, and viruses throughout your household.

To save money at home, I recommend bulk purchasing tissues online (like this 18 cube box Kleenex set). It’s a cheaper and more economical way to stock up on tissues. If you want to dress up your tissue boxes for your guests, try using a tissue box cover (like this stylish PU leather tissue cover)!

Kleenex Expressions Ultra Soft Facial Tissues

13. Mount Wall Hooks For Jackets + Other Items

If you don’t have a closet space with hangers, don’t worry. One low cost alternative is to provide a few wall hooks. Wall hooks add extra storage space for jackets, bags, and other items without taking any floor space. It’s a great way to provide extra storage space for guests to keep their belongings organized.

Most guests won’t need a great deal of storage. Unless your guests are staying over for a long period of time, a luggage rack and a few wall hooks should be adequate storage. Looking for nice looking, sturdy wall hooks? You can purchase a solid 10 piece coat hook set for around $10 on Amazon.

Heavy Duty Coat Hooks

Guest Room Essentials: Checklist

This post lists several guest bedroom essentials and ideas. Here are all the items in one convenient list:

  1. Mattress And/Or Mattress Topper
  2. Bed Sheets (Fitted + Top Sheet)
  3. Duvet Insert + Duvet Cover
  4. Pillow(s)
  5. Extra Blankets
  6. Clean Towels
  7. Wifi Password (idea: place your password on a wifi password sign)
  8. Luggage Rack
  9. Power Strip (if you don’t have an accessible socket)
  10. Wastebasket
  11. Nightstand(s)
  12. Box Of Tissues
  13. Wall Hooks For Jackets + Other Items

Conclusion

In this post, I’ve listed several thoughtful guest bedroom ideas. When preparing a guest room, I recommend focusing on the essentials first. This includes providing a comfortable bed and basic amenities.

Trying to fall asleep in a new place can be difficult. To help overnight visitors sleep better, I recommend investing in a solid mattress or mattress topper, soft pillow, and quality sheets. If your home gets freezing cold at night, make sure to provide a warm duvet and extra blankets.

Most guests won’t be picky when they stay over. To create an enjoyable visit, keep guest room essentials and basic amenities handy. This includes items like clean towels, tissues, a waste basket, wifi, a luggage rack etc..

Think ahead so guests won’t need ask basic questions like what the wifi is or where you keep clean towels. I hope this checklist gave you several helpful ideas of what to put in a guest room! Good luck!