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Reading List

Guests Welcome
Help clients make the most out of guest rooms

by Kathleen Stoehr

What makes a guest room more comfortable and inviting? Author Carol Donayre Bugg knows. As the vice president and director of design to approximately 500 Interiors by Decorating Den (IDD) business owners and interior decorators, Bugg is in the catbird seat when it comes to viewing beautiful interiors.

Her new book, Creating Great Guest Rooms, is her fourth, following Dream Homes for Real People (a Book-of-the-Month Club selection), Divine Design (a tribute to IDD’s 25th anniversary), and Smart and Simple Decorating. In her goal to “make the world beautiful, one room at a time,” she employs the wide-ranging resources and talent of IDD franchise experts showing fabulous guest rooms, regardless of space and budget. Bugg presents ideas for six varied themes (Warm & Welcoming; Gracious & Spacious; Down-Home Style; No Frills; Separate Beds; and Double Duty) as well as a chapter of helpful tips for enhancing guest baths.

WON’T YOU COME INN?
The first chapter, Warm & Welcoming, tours rooms that lean toward more traditional décor—reminiscent of a comfortable bed and breakfast inn, for example. Bugg explains that this look incorporates antique furniture, a variety of wood and metal finishes for beds and dressers, lush window treatments and an array of soft furnishings and amenities.

What I found immediately engaging about this chapter (as well as found throughout the book) was the use of sidebars to point out interesting tidbits, rather than burying every bit of information into a bulky run of body copy.

Sidebars ranged from discourse on color combinations for traditional-style rooms; “Wise Words”—quotes from famous smarties that could be stenciled onto a wall (including one of my favorite quotes by essayist E.B. White); and how to quickly change a room over from feminine to masculine by changing out linens and other accessories.

Photographic examples were spot on and conveyed the warmth and luxury that we, as consumers, expect when staying at a B&B. What fun to have a B&B inspired guest room in a home! Why would anyone ever need to leave?

SPACIOUS & GRACIOUS
Focusing on large rooms (which can have as great a share of decorating obstacles as small rooms), Spacious & Gracious discusses employing larger furnishings such as armoires and canopy/corona beds to create a sense of majesty and opulence.

One sidebar I really bought into was the idea of providing light refreshments for your guests in their room, being that while the host/hostess may be entirely comfortable opening their home and refrigerator to guests, the guests themselves may not feel comfortable rummaging through a fridge while in the throes of midnight munchies. Compile a wicker basket with granola bars, fresh fruit, non-refrigerated cheese and crackers and chocolate. Or, provide bottled water, a full ice bucket and some slices of lemon. These little touches are what make guests feel pampered and loved.

The remaining chapters follow the same format and are just as satisfying: Down-Home Style doesn’t necessarily mean “country”—it’s the style that makes you comfortable. No Frills tackles monochromatic colorations, clean lines and simple stylings, perfect for any age or sex. Separate Beds tackles the two-bed room in every form from clean and simple to wonderfully opulent; and finally, Double Duty is the reality check chapter for many people: how to make a home office, craft room, sitting room—or whatever its normal function is when guests aren’t in the house—into a well-appointed guest room in the two weeks out of the year you do have someone ensconced.

One small complaint about the sidebars: while the information is all helpful, some of the tidbits are placed a little willy-nilly, meaning that they don’t necessarily pertain to the chapter in essence. They’re good, they make sense, but one would be hard pressed to recall which chapter, for example, contained the information about choosing the proper pillow. The index does help, however, so consider this very mild criticism.

The good news about Creating Great Guest Rooms is that employing Bugg’s ideas and examples will most likely result in a great guest room of your own. The bad news? You will be hard pressed to rid yourself of your guests! Beware!