Need help with guest room bedding? I’m sharing my tips for how to make a guest bed plus my favorite bedding pieces too!
There’s nothing like a little bedding refresh to get your guest bedroom ready for visiting friends and family! Today I’m sharing six simple tips for creating a beautiful and super cozy guest bed that everyone who stays at your home will love! (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})
1. Dress Your Bed in Layers
Some people sleep cold and pile on the blankets (that’s me!) while others run hot and want just a sheet with a light quilt or blanket. Dressing your guest bed in layers so guests have options and can sleep however they’re most comfortable is key!
While I often change up how I layer the different bedding pieces, my guest room bedding always consists of sheets, a quilt, and a duvet. My go-to quilt that I’ve used on all of the beds in our house for years is {this Belgian Flax Linen Diamond quilt}. It’s the perfect not too heavy but not too lightweight bedding piece. I love how the quilting and linen texture add a rich look to the bed and that it wears and washes up so well.
I have it in white,
flax (a neutral light beige),
and flagstone (a light gray):
There are about 20 additional color options too, including some beautiful blues and greens.
I usually tuck the edges of the quilt under the bed and then top it with a fluffy duvet with the top edge folded back (see my post on the best fluffy duvet inserts for info on my favorites!). Here are a few examples of beds in my home with layered bedding:
Sources: Upholstered bed (Zuma white fabric) | Nightstands | Blush table lamps | Gray dragon pillow covers | Other bedding – no longer available | Chandelier | White drapes
Sources: Mirror | Upholstered Wingback Bed (Zuma White fabric) | Quilt | White and beige check duvet (similar) | 24″ Embroidered pillow covers | 20″ White tassel end pillow cover (similar) | White lamp (similar) | Round Wood Beaded Tray | Clock
When my guests first arrive, I tell them to feel free to take off whatever bedding layers they don’t want so they know it’s fine to take off any unwanted layers to make the bed their own. Want more bed-making details? Check out my post with the step by step of how to make a bed.
2. Keep the Major Players Neutral
Since guest bedding isn’t used nearly as often as the bedding in the rest of your house, it’s going to last a long time. So it makes sense to invest in a high-quality, neutral quilt and duvet that you can use for years. With neutral bedding that goes with pretty much everything, you can make seasonal changes with simple, inexpensive pillow swaps!
As an example, the combination of {this contrast flange duvet cover in smoke/white} with {this white linen quilt}, and {these contrast flange euro shams in smoke/white} are neutral enough to work with pretty much any pillow combination you throw at it! If you prefer a completely solid colored duvet, {these linen duvets} are fabulous and come in tons of color options.
3. Make it Easy to Know Which Direction Your Guest Room Bedding Goes
Most guest beds are queen size so the length and width of the bedding only differ by a few inches. With bedding like quilts that have no clear top edge, it can be hard to tell which end goes at the top vs. one of the sides. I have a simple trick that I use for all of my queen linens (including fitted sheets) that’s a total time-saver! Use a needle and thread to tie a teeny knot on the underside of one of the bottom corners (I always do it on the bottom right):
Then every time you make the bed after washing your bedding, you’ll know to put the knotted thread in that specific bottom corner and you’ll have it going the right direction without wasting time trying to figure out which end is up!
4. Provide a Variety of Sleeping Pillows
Make sure that you have at least four sleeping pillows for your guests, preferably with different fullness options, so they can find a pillow or pillow combination that’s comfy for them. I usually place two sleeping pillows behind the Euro shams and then put another two pillows in the guest room closet in any easy-to-find spot. You could also put all four sleeping pillows on the bed, laying them down in stacks of two with the decorative pillows in front:
I also make sure that all of my guest room pillows have {these washable zippered pillow protectors} covering the pillows and then a cotton pillow cover on top of that:
Pillow protectors protect your pillows from both dust and drool (I know… gross!).
5. Don’t Overdo the Number of Decorative Pillows
As much as you and I love pillows, you really don’t want to overdo the number of decorative pillows on the guest bed. It’s totally fine for your own bed (I always have a zillion pillows on mine) but we decorating fanatics have to remember than 99% of people aren’t pillow freaks like us and don’t want to have to take off ten pillows every time they go to bed.
My typical arrangement for our guest bed is two Euro shams, two smaller 22-24″ pillows, and then one smaller square or lumbar pillow such as this:
Sources: Queen beadboard bed (weathered white) | Blue & white quilted shams (similar) | Blue tasseled edge pillow covers | Navy embroidered lumbar pillow cover | Navy border duvet cover | White Lamps (similar) | Mirror (white – small)
See my post on how to arrange pillows on a queen bed for other winning decorative pillow combinations.
Now that you’ve got your bed all outfitted for your guests, make sure to have a few nightstand essentials within easy reach! One must-have for guests is a spot for them to plug their cell phones in and rest them on the nightstand without doing acrobatics to reach a hidden outlet. You could even convert the closest outlet to one like {this outlet with a USB cord} and provide a long USB cord for guests so that their cell phones can sit on the nightstand while charging:
Or you can simply provide a cord plus charger in addition to your wifi code:
Another essential I always keep in our guest bedroom is a box of tissues. I have a monogrammed tissue box cover that I slide over the top of the box to keep things looking pretty (because even the prettiest tissue boxes are kinda ugly!). It’s such a little thing but it’s something that almost all of my guests comment on. The exact one I have is no longer available but {these tissue box covers} are similar.
Be sure to check out my post on guest bedroom ideas for tons of other ideas for making your guest room a welcoming, comfy place that family and friends will enjoy staying in. I hope you all enjoyed today’s post and got a few ideas for sprucing up your guest room bedding before your next visitors come into town!