If you are renovating and moving into a new house you might be able to plan in advance where and how you want to host your guests.

If like me and many of my expat clients you are a young family and live abroad, your main guest will probably be your parents. Since they’re aging, think about their comfort.

o Avoid placing the guest room on the last floor or in the attic. If you can, put the children up there and place the guests on a lower level

o Try to have a bathroom on the same level as the guest room to avoid going up and down the stairs

o You can design a small guest bathroom with just a shower, a sink or small vanity and a toilet

As general rules:

Plan some storage. If you don’t have a lot of space, give priority to a chest of drawer and some hooks. They are smaller and more practical than a wardrobe.

Picture from http://www.fabhousewife.com/

Keep it empty… avoid using the guest room as “dump” room for all the things you don’t know where to put

Picture from http://www.fabhousewife.com/

But also keep it cozy with some painting, nice fabrics and accessories so that it doesn’t look and feel like an abandoned room!

Picture of a guest bedroom/study of one of my clients.