Guest Room Hospitality for a Minimalist
So you might say, “A minimalist has a guest bedroom? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Isn’t a guest bedroom unnecessary?” Remember - I’ve said it before - minimalism is not a set of rules. It’s finding freedom in your life from the unnecessary so you have room for what is important.
Personally, I love having people in our home. I want them to feel comfortable and feel how important hospitality is to me. My husband and I traveled North America for 7 years for ministry. We were blessed by the hospitality of so many people. So having a guest bedroom is important to us.
Thankfully, we have the room in our house to have a room dedicated to guests. We have a lot of guests, so this was something we looked for when we were house shopping. However, if you need to covert another room into a guest room when you have guests, these tips will still help you!
I try to think of what would make me comfortable in a guest room and go from there. Due to our minimalistic lifestyle, we don’t need to use this room for storage. That brings me to my first tip.
Do not have a bunch of unnecessary things in the room. You know how clutter makes you feel. Imagine if you were staying the night with someone else’s clutter.
The next thing I find really important is bedding. After all, sleep is an important part of an overnight stay somewhere.
Pillows. Pillows are cheap. Buy nice, new pillow for the guest room and replace them often. Have extra pillows as well. Most of us sleep with more than one pillow.
Bedding layers. We keep our house cool. I want our guests to be comfortable so we had a light quilt on the bed with an optional duvet folded at the foot of the bed. We also have a box fan in the closet and extra blankets.
Let’s talk about the extra things that make a stay more comfortable.
Lighting - be sure to have lamps that are easy to access.
Robe - I keep a white terry cloth robe on the back of the closet door and wash it before each guest arrives. (Buy one HERE.)
Luggage rack - these are inexpensive, but super convenient for your guests. You can buy one HERE.
Hangers in the closet - I keep extra wooden hangers so guests can hang their clothes up.
Tissue box
Alarm clock
Accessible outlet
Place to write/desk to work at
Frame with Wifi password, our home address, our cell phone numbers
Trash Can
Full length mirror
Have you ever stayed somewhere and received a gift basket? Doesn’t it make you feel special? I like to provide something like this for my guests. The amount I leave is according to the length of their stay. Here are some things I like to put on the tray on the bed:
Water bottles
Easy snacks (sweet and salty - and it’s even better if you find out their favorites!)
Signature gift - I collect Starbucks mugs. So when you stay at my house for the first time you will likely receive an Atlanta mug. I love that I have started a collection for a lot of my friends!
Welcome note
Extras - sometimes I have an extra gift. Hand lotion, a candle, whatever I find that makes me think of my guest.
This might sound like a lot, but it’s not. We keep our guest room neat and always ready. Yes, there have been times my husband has called and let me know someone was staying that night. Thankfully, it’s always guest-ready! All I need to do is pick up some of these snacks and we are ready to go.
Also, you do not need a lot of money to do this. I have shopped sales to purchase everything in this room. It was one of the first rooms I decorated when we moved in and I would love to make some changes eventually. But you do not need anything fancy. Just a clean and clutter-free room is welcoming!
Have you ever stayed somewhere that made you feel special? What stood out to you? A huge reason for creating this lifestyle is that I want freedom to do the important. Making guests feel welcome and comfortable in my home is really important to me. I am so thankful I have the margin to do that.