Guest Room Furniture Set Ideas and Furnishing Tips

For many, furnishing a guest bedroom can be an afterthought. However, there are small steps you can take to make your friends and family (temporarily) feel more at home. Craft a pleasant overnight experience with these tips for picking out guest room furniture and decorating tips. 

For easy guest room furnishing, check out our comprehensive solid wood bedroom sets.

Firstly, Determine if the Room Will Permenantly Serve as a Guest Bedroom

If you frequently have friends and family stay the night (or weekend), having a well-furnished guest bedroom is a good idea. However, if guests only stay a few times a year, dedicating the room solely to serving their needs could be a waste of space. Therefore, consider if you’d want the room to serve double duty when not being utilized by guests. If yes, consider the following ideas when furnishing the space.

Choose a Space-Saving Guest Beds

Murphy Beds: Let’s set the record straight: an Amish-made Murphy bed can be stylish, comfortable, and incredibly easy to set up no matter your strength level. While some models will simply conceal the bed behind attractive wood paneling, others come with side shelves or even desks. Regardless, this ingenious guest bedroom furniture addition enables you to store mattresses vertically when they’re not in use, freeing up much-needed floor space.

Bunk Beds: Yes, we typically associate solid wood bunk beds with the young, but most anyone can get a good night’s sleep with the right frame and mattress. So why is this furniture style particularly accommodating to guest bedrooms? 

The stacking of the beds lets you accommodate multiple people without consuming too much floor space; some even have full-sized beds at the base to accommodate larger adults or couples. 

There are bunk bed designs that leave the bottom level empty, enabling you to use the space for storage, a workstation, or whatever your heart desires. Our point? Bunk bed furniture lets you take advantage of the guest room’s vertical space rather than consuming too much of the floor.

Storage Beds: Solid wood storage beds most commonly feature pull-out drawers within the bottom of the frame. Use this added storage capacity for extra pillows and blankets, or even off-season clothing you don’t want to hang in your own closet.

Opt for Furniture With Lids & Drawer Locks

Guest bedrooms that serve multiple purposes are often used either as an office or for extra storage. In this case, downplay this second use by purchasing furniture that can conceal workstations or personal belongings. For example, roll-top desks have a lid that folds down. Similarly, when ordering a custom desk from Countryside Amish Furniture, you can request drawer locks on many of the models.

Be Understated With Your Guest Bedroom Decor Ideas

When furnishing and decorating your guest bedroom, keep one mantra in mind: less is more. While you may love a bright wallpaper or a funky painting, it may be off-putting for others. 

Less is more should also apply to knickknacks. Generally speaking, keep decorations to the walls so your guests can take advantage of the extra surfaces for items like books, glasses of water, etc. This can also make the guest room feel larger and overall easier to clean. 

An important thing to remember when furnishing your guest bedroom is that your aim is to cultivate a calming environment. Visual clutter has the opposite effect, as can bold hues or unwelcoming textiles like metal. Therefore, when picking out color schemes and furniture for your guest room, it’s a smart idea to embrace pastels and natural materials like wood.

Don’t Neglect the Guest Room Furniture Needs Beyond the Bed

Guests will need more than just a place to sleep; they’ll need somewhere to sit as they unwind, somewhere to store their clothes, somewhere to place their glasses, etc. Important pieces of furniture to include in your guest room include:

• Chifferobes or another style of drawers - While you can’t go wrong with almost any clothing storage option, we like the diverse storage abilities of chifferobes and gentleman’s chests. Both options pair horizontal drawers with a tall compartment ideal for hanging garments or storing luggage. 
   
• Full-length mirror - While you can buy a free-standing, full-length mirror for the guest bedroom, why not purchase a storage piece that has one included in the front? For example, check out the Bellevue Sliding Door Armoire.
   
• Wooden nightstands - When choosing a nightstand for your guest bedroom, make sure it is large enough for a lamp, glass of water, and other odds-and-ends the guest might have like medicine bottles, books, etc. Added drawers will give them even more options. 
   
• Amish storage trunks - Simply put, there is no better storage chest than one made by skilled Amish woodworkers. They add warmth and elegance to the space and can even double as extra seating. Storage trunks are a common way to store extra blankets and pillows for when guests get cold or want extra comfort.

Seeking comprehensive furniture collections ideally sized for a guest bedroom? Check out Solid Wood Twin Bedroom Sets With Dresser Storage for Adults.

Make the Guest Room Layout as Intuitive as Possible

Remember that guests are viewing the room with fresh eyes. Make their life easier with the following ideas for creating an intuitive guest room experience. 

• Offer multiple light options - This means an easy-to-find light switch, a bedside lamp, and perhaps even a nightlight. At no point should guests fumble about in the dark when needing to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. 
   
• Position guest room furniture near outlets (but don’t block them) - Nowadays, everyone wants to charge their phones and electronics before bed, so don’t make guests hunt for an outlet. To further enhance the experience, you can even have a phone charger already awaiting them when they first enter the guest room! 
   
• Add labels on drawers for items they may need or provide clear instructions - Let’s say you follow our idea for an Amish storage trunk to store extra blankets; guests may not know to look in the chest when shivering in the middle of the night unless you explicitly state this is an option. 

Additional Ideas for Successfully Furnishing Your Guest Bedroom

• Offer blankets of various weights - Once again harkening back to the idea of a trunk with blankets, consider that people prefer different temperatures when sleeping. While you may prefer to feel toasty, others might prefer a cool breeze. Give your guest the options of thinner blankets and warm comforters so they can create their ideal sleeping experience. 
   
• Don’t lowball when buying curtains - Too much light can keep guests awake, so buy quality curtains that will block out the morning sun. 
   
• Nothing says “welcome” like a cozy rug - When rising from the bed, the first thing guests will do is put their feet on the ground. Have their bare soles touch a warm rug rather than cold hardwood planks!

Furnish Your Guest Bedroom With Countryside Amish Furniture

Countryside Amish Furniture places thousands of different pieces at your fingertips, all made from solid wood by Amish artisans. Choose the specific design, the hardwood, and optional features and style choices. Then, the Amish craftsmen will bring your vision to life! To learn more, we suggest reading:

• Where to Buy Real Solid Wood Furniture Online - not everyone feels comfortable ordering furniture without seeing it in person, regardless of whether it is for the guest room or the master suite. This guide will help you discern which companies to trust and potential red flags.
   
• Guide to Wood Bed Frame Styles - In this piece, we listed three bed types that work particularly well with guest rooms. However, there are plenty more options worth considering! Learn about the various bed frame styles at your disposal, suitable for the guest room or your own bedroom.

• Bedroom Sets for Women - Not all women share similar tastes. However, there are some collections that are innately more feminine through their choice of design and flourishes. If many of your house guests are women, consider perusing this assortment of bedroom sets.

• How to Furnish Vacation and Short-Term Rental Properties - Whether you want to turn your guest bedroom into an AirBNB or simply want friends and family to feel like they're on vacation when visiting you, this article will give practical tips from seasoned professionals. 

Bailiegh Basham is Lead Sales & Marketing Strategist at Countryside Amish Furniture. She's been a team member since 2014. Bailiegh is deeply passionate about furniture design and home decor.