Making a Guest Room Work Anywhere at Home

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of CORT. All opinions are 100% mine.

With the holidays approaching, we’re getting ready for a whole lot of hosting. I don’t know about you, but we absolutely love getting together with family and friends for a meal, celebration, weekend, or extended stay throughout the holiday season. That being said, there’s definitely some preparation that goes into the whole effort. Namely, finding everyone a bed to sleep in!

Whether you already have a designated guest room in your home and you need some additional space or you don’t have a guest room at all, we’re sharing our tips and tricks to turn any room in your house into a guest room…because it’s just way more fun to have everyone under the same roof. ;)

Kids’ rooms are a go-to for a guest room because they can typically double up for a few nights and are much more tolerant of a good ole air mattress or trundle bed than the average adult. Here are 3 ideas for how to make the shift from a kids room to a guest room:

1. Have your child leave his or her 3 favorite books on the bedside table with a special note explaining why they love the book. This is such a sweet personal touch that grandma, grandpa, aunt, or uncle will totally love and appreciate. I want to fall asleep reading a whimsical children’s book and dream about rainbows, butterflies, superheroes, and ice cream cones, don’t you?!

2. Replace the toys in the toy box with neatly folded and stacked towels, additional blankets, mini toiletries, a bath bomb or yummy scented soap. Your guests will appreciate the thoughtfulness and these little luxuries will make them feel like they’re enjoying special treatment at a 5-star hotel.

3. Not all kids’ rooms have a lamp for nighttime reading. Some rely on mom and dad to do bedtime stories before it’s lights out and others have nightlights instead. Make your guests feel right at home with a lamp ready for their use on the bedside table. CORT has some really fun and unique lamps you can rent that would be way too easy for little hands to knock over, but just perfect for guests to enjoy during their stay. Or, pick up a funky one that the kids can grow into…maybe when they’re a little less prone to destruction ;)

The living room provides a great solution to the no-guest-room problem. Here are 2 simple strategies for transforming the living room into a guest room with great style:

1. Instead of having your guests sleep on your regular couch…let’s face it, it’s totally perfect for a good Netflix binge session but not so awesome for an all-night snooze…rent a sofa sleeper like the Myron Sleeper Sofa from CORT! It will provide additional seating for gathering around the TV by day and then converts right into a bed by night. You don’t want to go buy a big piece of furniture that’s not needed in the long-term, so a rental is really the way to go on this one.

2. Make the living room actually look like a bedroom. One way to do this is to hang curtains on the outside of the sofa. This will provide a literal privacy screen and make your guests feel like it’s ok to sleep in, even if some early risers have to tiptoe through the living room to grab their morning coffee. Plus, we love how beautiful curtains add fun and flair to any home.

The office is a final spot that is easily converted to a home base for guests. Here are 4 ways to change it up:

1. Download a fun screen saver for the computer that makes it look like a piece of art! Pick an abstract image, beautiful scenery, or a family photo. Whatever you think will please your guests most. We’re big fans of incorporating lots of color wherever possible. Or, for a more “practical” idea, have it double as a clock so it’s easy to check the time in the middle of the night without an alarm clock nearby.

2. Did you know you can rent furniture and also rent bedding from CORT too? Step up your office game by adding some pretty and comfy throw pillows and duvets to the mix. Rather than giving your guests mismatched pillows and blankets from random rooms throughout the house, make them feel welcome with their very own matching set.

3. Prepare the bed ahead of time. Instead of leaving the burden of blowing up the air mattress or pulling out the futon, adding sheets, and stuffing pillowcases to your guests make sure its prepared in advance! They may not know how (hey, there are some pretty high tech air mattresses out there these days) or may have had a long day traveling and just want to head to dreamland ASAP. Everyone will rest easier with the bed ready to go when it’s time to hit the sack. Plus, it’ll give the office a more bedroom-y look from the first glance.

4. Clear some of the clutter from the desk. It happens to the best of us; the desk is a landing board for mail, bills, the kids’ art projects, and the list goes on and on. Not only will tidying up a bit add a clean appearance but also will it make your guests feel comfortable hunkering down and getting some work done while they’re staying with you. It’s pretty common these days to work on-the-go (right here!) and your guests will probably want to at least check their email while they’re away.

Our favorite thing about using CORT to spruce up the house for guests this season is that they have rentals for as little as one month—so perfect for adding some temporary furniture over the holidays. Need extra beds for those extra heads? They’ve got you covered. Some more seats at the dining room table? That’s an option too! You can even rent kitchen essentials! Why pay full price for additional place settings you won’t use again? Guess what…now you don’t have to!

I hope these tips help all our guests feel more comfortable this season. Making a guest room work anywhere at home can be fun & fresh! Share with us your favorite ideas and tricks too, I’d love to listen.

P.S. Check out our full home tour here!

CORT Furniture Rental