Do friends and family visit from out of town, but you're never sure where to put them up? If you have a spare room in your home, you can turn it into a guest room. Here are a few tips from our real estate agents for turning a spare room into a home away from home for friends and family.

• Prioritize a comfortable bed.
  If your spare room doesn't already have a guest bed, this must come first. The best guest bed is a double or queen size with a comfortable mattress topped with many pillows. Keep extra blankets in the bedroom as well. Focusing on the bed first will ensure your guests are comfortable, no matter how else you decorate the room.
  
  
• Provide space to unpack.
  The next most important thing to have in your guest room is space for your guests to unpack. Keeping a small dresser or nightstand with empty drawers will give your guests a place to keep their clothes and other belongings. Some people will be fine living out of a suitcase, but even they will need a place to put it, such as a luggage rack. For clothes that need to be hung to avoid getting wrinkled, make sure there's some closet space and a few spare hangers available, and provide space in the bathroom for your guests to keep their toiletries.
  
  
• Decorate with additional furniture to allow guests to feel at home.
  Traveling can be stressful, and your houseguests may want to enjoy some privacy, so be sure to set up the guest room to give them space if needed. For instance, if you have enough space in your guest room, add an armchair or rocking chair where they could sit and read, a small TV, or even a small desk where a guest can set up a laptop if needed.
  
  
• Let there be light and lots of it.
  Being in a strange place can lead to trips and falls if there isn't enough light for them to see in the middle of the night. Strategically placed night lights in the guest room and hallway will help light their way if they have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. A reading light that can be turned off from bed is also helpful so that your guests don't have to find their way back to bed in the dark after turning off the overhead fixture.
  
  
• Ensure guests have convenient outlets for charging phones.
  Everyone has a cell phone these days, and often a laptop and an ebook reader as well, so make sure you have power strips on each side of the bed with places to plug in charging cords.
  
  
• If your guest room does double duty, declutter before your guests arrive.
  In many homes, guest rooms double as home offices, craft rooms, and storage space. If your guest room has another function normally, make sure you declutter the space as you prepare for your guests. Tidy the space and temporarily move your work or craft station so you don't have to disturb your guests to get anything you might need.

Entertaining guests comfortably requires having enough space. If you're ready to start looking for Franconia homes for sale or Holderness homes for sale with dedicated space for guests, contact us today, and we'll help you get your search started.