How to Make a Welcoming Guest Bed

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. Make your guest bed nice and ready fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. Sing it with me now!

So silly tunes aside, did you just realize that you have company this holiday season and your guest room could use a serious face lift? It’s okay, you have time to get it done, and you can style a great bed. Your guest room will be welcoming in no time.

Creating a magazine worthy bed is possible when you know what to do! Once you have the right foundation (bedframe, mattress and good pillows) it is time to choose the perfect bedding.

1. It makes sense to start with sheets.

In my guest room I stick to white, always. They look and feel super fresh and they’re easy to clean. If needed I can bleach them, but usually a stain stick or oxyclean keeps them looking awesome. A little note about putting them on: put the flat sheet on with the face side down towards the mattress. When you fold it down later, you’ll see the pretty trim!

2. Add a quilt.

I believe in layers in guest rooms, you never know if someone sleeps hot or cold and I always want our company to be comfortable in their room. After the sheets are done, I add a quilt, turn down the top edge and tuck in the bottom and sides.

3. To add another layer to the bed, I spread a heavier blanket

across the entire bed and tuck it in at the foot. This blanket can be a comforter or a duvet with a cover. If you love the extra fluffy look that we see so frequently in magazines try adding a second duvet in your cover. Then I fold the duvet down in 3rds at the foot of the bed.

4. I am funny about pillows.

I know in magazines and other ads we see mounds and mounds of decorative pillows on these big plushy beds, but come on, where do you sleep? Depending on the situation, I will consider a headboard pillow, but for guest rooms I always start with 2 pillows of medium support right against the headboard, in the pillow cases that came with my sheet set. They are the most comfortable option for sleeping, they have to be there, no matter what.

5. In front of the sleeping pillows, I place Euro shams, standard shams

or both. Now these can easily match your comforter, but I want to push you to step outside of the box and be adventurous. Can you mix patterns? Find a case that coordinates with your blanket layers, but isn’t too matchy-matchy. Are you afraid of pattern mixing? It’s okay, can you pull a solid color out of the patterns on your blankets and find sham covers in that color? Sham sizes can vary. For queen sized beds I recommend 2 standard sizes pillows or 2 Euro shams. For kings I suggest 3 Euro shams.

6. The last step is adding some texture!

Choose a few throw pillows and a blanket that add some texture to your bed and have fun mixing colors and patterns. Remember to keep your pillows in odd numbers. 1 or 3 pillows will look better than 2 or 4. If you didn’t add some pattern in with your shams, you should definitely do it now! Layer your pillows in front of your shams and spread your throw blanket across the foot of the bed and you are ready!

One other thing that I always do when getting ready for guests is put towels and washcloths in the room, folded nicely on the bed. This keeps it easy because my guests know exactly which linens are theirs when they take a shower and don’t end up using my kids’ towels by mistake.

When you are done refreshing your guest room (or your own!) please send me pictures. I would love to see what you did. Message them to me on Instagram at @AlexSallengerDesign.

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