The Guest Bedroom as Cozy Haven: Old World Warmth and Comfort

Pretend your guest bedroom is in your pied a terre in Paris, or the countryside of Tuscany. Fill it with warmth, sunbaked color and comfort. You'll make your guest bedroom so inviting it seduces all who enter. Pile on the ambiance and charm; add luxurious touches everywhere. Think sight, scent, sound and texture. Be wildly impractical, completely lavish, and create a guest bedroom that spoils your guests beyond their expectations. After all, they have paid you the highest compliment: Making your guest bedroom their home away from home, even if only for a short stay. The lovely thing about creating old world warmth for your guest bedroom is that it does not require expensive accouterments, expansive areas or priceless antiques. All that is needed is thoughtfulness, comfort, and unexpected delights....

For dreaming . . . Of course, you will provide a comfy mattress and clean crisp sheets, freshly pressed. But then add a plethora of pillows to choose from: soft, firm, feather, and foam, so that at least one of them will feel just like home. Toss in some large cushions as well, for leaning against to rest, read, or write using the pen, stationery and post cards you thoughtfully placed on the desk or nightstand. Don't forget a duvet for a chilly night, a light blanket for a warm one, even a velvety throw for afternoon napping and an old quilt folded at the foot of the bed. Of course it doesn't hurt if you inherited Aunt Agatha's four poster bed, or if you construct an impromptu canopy with gauzy fabric swooping from the ceiling, caught up at four points.

For surprise and delight . . . A country landscape in an old frame, leaning against the wall. A cut glass jar full of candy mints and lozenges. A crystal dish for cuff links, earrings, watches, or a locket taken off before bed. A basket of lotions, lip balm and creams. An old milk jar full of fresh flowers,next to a bowl of fruit. Your guests will know you have anticipated their every need, and some surprises.

For relaxing and wasting time . . . Place a big basket on the floor, by an old cane rocking chair. Fill it with reading materials that run the gamut from trashy novels to the most impressive bound volumes of full color reproductions of great art. Add a map, and pamphlets touting local highlights. Then, a serious novel. and a book of sonnets.
For warmth and light . . . The old world look of a fire in the grate, lit to ward off the chill of a winter night. Or, for a warm night of open windows, the scent of candles wafting on the breeze. With or without the fireplace, tall candles displayed on a tray, flames flickering in the softest light you can manage, will do the trick. Provide a reading lamp, a bedside lamp, and tiny Tiffany candlestick lamps on each side of the mirror you've hung above the vanity or desk. Change all the bulbs to soft pink so everything has a rosy hue.

For luxuriating . .. Pile downy towels on an old battered chest. Hang a warm and fuzzy robe in the clean, empty closet that awaits your guests. Place sachets in empty drawers in the bureau. Use a basket with a handle full of personal lotions and potions, shampoos and soaps. This becomes a pretty tote, if the bathroom is not en suite. Remember to remove bathroom scales and any other markers of harsh reality. A boudoir chair or slipper bench with fuzzy slippers on the floor are wonderful additions.

The sound of serenity. . . Have some Mozart, or strains of Aida playing in the background, for a classic old world touch. Bring in a small cd player and stack soothing cd's next to it.

A world of its own . . . Just by adding the unexpected, bringing in homespun accents, baskets and bowls, bringing something comfortingly old and worn, you have created a cozy secluded cocoon to restore and rejuvenate your happy guests. But if you must be practical, supply an alarm clock, a small television, and a land phone for calls when the cell phone won't roam.

The anticipation begins . . . start now spring cleaning the room, washing and storing the linens with sachet, laundering comforters and curtains. Then the day before your guests arrive, dust and vacuum, put the fresh sheets on the bed, the flowers on the desk, the towels on the bureau, and fill your baskets and bowls with all the thoughtful luxuries you've gathered.

Sources:
Personal experience

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