Drew & Jonathan Scott’s Guest Room Styling Secrets

Win the holidays with simple guest room upgrades from the hosts of HGTV’s Property Brothers

If it’s been a while since you spruced up your spare bedroom, these tips from Drew and Jonathan Scott, hosts of HGTV’s Property Brothers, will help you furnish your guests with a comfortable, restful place to sleep in your home.

• Begin with a thorough cleaning and purge – from the guest room and maybe your whole house too! Has your unused guest room become the default storage space in the house for anything and everything you aren’t using anymore? Drew suggests, “Don’t let your guest room become a destination for clutter. It’s okay to store some things there, but you want to be sure to keep empty drawers and closet space for guests to use.” After all, it can be awkward to stay in a space when you have to navigate around someone’s personal belongings. Everyone needs a calming place to sleep—especially when traveling.

• Choose window coverings that block outdoor light. Sleep will be easier to find and retain if your guest room prep includes a way to dim the bright lights of the outside world. As Jonathan points out, “Everyone knows how hard it is to fall asleep when a room’s not very dark. Go into your guest room at night to make sure there are no bright, outdoor security lights shining into the guest room. If there are, try hanging blackout curtains or darkening blinds.” And for guest room windows that face east, they’ll be grateful for those window covers in the morning, too.

• Give your guests an easy connection to your wi-fi. Your guests may want to get online sometime during their stay, so Drew recommends that you, “try to anticipate your guests’ needs, one of which will surely be the wi-fi password. Print it out in nice type and frame it for the guest room nightstand, or write it out on a small chalkboard easel for a functional piece of art.” This is a great way to ensure they can get connected whether or not you’re around to share the password.

• Stock the room up with necessities & niceties. Traveling can be hectic, and your guests are bound to forget something. Drew has a solution: “It’s nice to stock a small basket with necessities that your guests might have forgotten to pack. Think travel-size shampoo and conditioner (this is a great way to use-up extras from hotels), a razor, cotton swabs—those sort of things.” While you’re at it, add some sleep-friendly lighting to the nightstand, a quiet alarm clock, and stash some extra blankets, pillows and towels close by so your guests can access to what they need without feeling like they’re bother you.

• Make this room your own & fill it with memories. While you want to ensure your guests are comfortable and have everything they need, you don’t want the room to feel like a distant and cool hotel room. As Jonathan says, give your spare room a personality. “Your guest room is most likely going to be used by family and close friends, so it’s a great place to display family photos and mementos—take everyone on a walk down memory lane!”

• Include a good quality, supportive mattress in the room. Guest rooms can seem like a good place to recycle an old mattress or choose any cheap mattress that fits the bed frame. But as Drew points out, “You want your guests to be comfortable in your home, right? Then furnish the room like you would your own bedroom—most importantly, don’t skimp on the mattress and pillows. You’ll love hearing your guests rave about what a good night’s sleep they had at your place!” When your guests get a good night of rest on a comfortable mattress, they’ll enjoy their visit that much more.

• One more thing: Try out your guest room before the guests arrive! These tips from Jonathan and Drew are sure to give your guests a relaxing space in your home. But Jonathan has one last suggestion: “Here’s a trick I love: Sleep in your guest room to test-drive the experience. Is the bedside clock ticking too loudly? Do you have enough pillows and blankets—and is it easy to find extras? How’s the lighting near the mirror? Is there an easily accessible outlet for phones? Your guests will appreciate that you’ve noticed the little things.”

If something annoys you, it might annoy your guests, too. A test run is a great way to assess whether you need to tweak your guest room setup so it’s a relaxing, restful place for your guests during their stay.

Rest well & wake up ready to go!

Better sleep gives rise to better mornings, bringing your goals into focus and dreams within reach. Hungry for more sleep info? Dig into these posts:

• Better bedroom design with Drew & Jonathan Scott
• Drew & Jonathan’s favorite finds
• Are you getting your best sleep?