I wanted my guest room to evoke the feel of a small hotel we stayed at in Paris, with a sort of l920s feel. As you can see, I have not yet found the right bench, chairs or chaise to go under the mirror on the wall. I'm also looking for the perfect refurbished telephone to go on the nightstand.
The chandelier and the little plate on the wall did come from Paris and the bottom photo over the nightstand is a photograph of a restaurant where my husband and I shared a breakfast of croissants and chocolate--I came across it in the clearance section of Saks Off Fifth and had it reframed.

It's not a period room at all, but it makes me happy and I sometimes sleep in there when I want to get a good night's sleep--the featherbed makes me feel like I'm at a hotel.

Adorable!

We have two. Here is one:

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563036795XfxfQj

and the 2nd:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563035400GofDzd

The Princess Room as I call it:

Here's the guest room at Rosemary Cottage:

Frankly, IMO, decorating a guest room is an extreme waste of time, money and square footage! I have decorated guest rooms first! in every home we have owned! Over time, the room is left alone and unused, except for the occasional drive-through to another destination! I don't want to run a flop house and wish I had the nerve to gut out that room and turn it into a part of the house that makes it useful to us, to use in a manner that suits our style now; and to turn people towards the local hotels. To pretty-up a room to photograph for approval of a room that is almost never used, is pretty sad. Yes, I have a great guest room -- sitting pretty and waiting for someone to be there long enough for me to clean it up again. That's what happens when you live in an area that attracts tourists and leaves you with that "used up" feeling. Nobody really cares about the free room their staying in!

Whilst I understand that your experiences have formed the opinions you express above annie1971, mine are happily exactly the opposite. Yes, it can certainly be very tiring to provide vacation type accommodation for a succession of guests, but for us it is also rewarding and well worth the effort.

In honesty we designed our home to be able to offer our families and oldest friends a welcoming place to stay. Most of them live overseas but yet take the trouble and considerable expense to make long journeys to visit us. Their apparent comfort and their warm appreciation of our hospitality just add to our pleasure in their visits. Our guest room guests are people we love and are as welcome as fresh air!

Sadly you appear to be burned out by providing hospitality, annie, perhaps you could take advantage of the reciprocal offers you are likely to have received from your grateful house guests - and spend some relaxing time with them in their homes.

Mines almost done, I started this project last year and its done entirely of craiglist/yardsale finds, will post pics soon

Like Annie, I was frustrated to have my guest room sit unused for months at a time, so I turned ours into a multi-purpose guest room that works hard every day. When company arives, though, it's a warm, comfy room for them to stay in. I used a trundle bed that serves as a sofa most of the time. DD and her friends hang out in there to watch movies on weekend nights. The old oak rolltop desk is where I do my paperwork, etc. DD also likes to do her homework there. I love that I can close it up when company comes. I pull out a foldable banquet table and set it up in there when I want to sew, work on some project or wrap Christmas gifts. It sits behind the laundry room door when not in use. When company does come to stay, there's plenty of good reading lights, bookcases filled with books and magazines, a tv with vcr and movies to watch and a walk-in closet with a couple empty shelves, etc. for them to put their things. This room is also where I have my collection of horse art. Thank goodness we live in the West, as it might not look so appropriate back in Michigan ;^P. It works for us, though.
BTW, this room has 5 sides to it, which is why the last view up there looks cramped; it's not IRL.
Lynn

I am impressed with the level of detail that you guys have put into your lovely guest rooms! Much nicer than any hotel!!!

Mine serves dual purpose as a guest room/office. It is a long room with my husband's study at one end, a stacked stone fireplace in the middle (not shown in these photos), and the guest room at the other end.

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All the photos shared here display incredibly inviting, stunning, creatively decorated rooms! In a word...WOW! I admire everyone's talent & enthusiasm, but I hear ya Annie! I have a room ( nice-sized w/ hardwood floors) left empty, because I don't want to encourage that sort of thing (overnight guests) & don't want to spend money on a concept (guest boudoir) that I'm not that enthralled with. Maybe one day it will become a nice office for my DH, but we have so many other priorities right now. We turned the tiniest bedroom into an office that we share & it suits us fine. Still, have to say I've enjoyed these fine examples of guest accomodations!

I wanted seaside cottage for my mother and sister when they come to visit. The room was a nightmare and we had to gut the whole thing adding new trim, closet doors and all. Then I bought 2 quilts 1 in the reds/pinks that is on the bed now and one in the blues and greens to use for the trundle. The dresser is the last thing my father bought for me before he passed 31 years ago, I stripped it and painted it the same color as the trim, and then glazed it and changed the knobs.

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Here's mine right after we moved in. It's still pretty bare, but I have plans to get some woven headboards and TRY to find something for the walls. I've really enjoyed having a guest bedroom. It's gotten lots of use already and the kids don't get kicked out of their bedrooms.

Does anyone remember Anne of Green Gables, how excited Anne was, during a sleepover at Diana's house, to get to sleep in the spare bedroom? What decadence, what an honor and treat to get to stay in a spare bedroom!

It's funny, because my mother arrives this afternoon for a visit with my children. (Of course she'll be happy to see my husband and me as well -- but she's really here for her grandsons!) I was readying one of the guest rooms (we have three) -- one of which is being used for pure storage as, eighteen months later, I am still going through / sorting / unpacking boxes from our move. Ugh. Another guest room is on the main level, and that was a determining factor in our househunting: it must have a nice-sized guest room and full bath on the main level to accommodate anyone who cannot easily maneuver stairs (guests or any of us with a broken foot / leg, etc.). We're also using that room as our den (it has the comfiest sleeper sofa we could find), where the main computer / printer / copier, etc. will live, although wouldn't you know those are all still up in our bedroom (where they were put when we were having the den / bedroom remodeled)! It looks like a college dorm in my room.

Which leads me to the third guest room, the one nearest my sons' rooms. My children love having their grandmother (my mother) stay there so that in the morning they can go in and cuddle with her. (They'd also like to visit with my father but he visits less frequently; his excuse is he needs to stay home and take care of their pets, but the truth is, he walks with a cane and is too proud to ask for a wheelchair at the airport [stupid], so travel is v. tiring for him. When we purchased this house I had a broken foot, so it was for that and my father we wanted a house with a main floor bed and bath.)

But as I was making the bed with our former bed clothes (we used to have a queen but moved up to a king: the guest bed is also a queen) I was thinking how much I'd like to have pretty bedding just for the guest room.

Did you catch the part about my room looking like a college dorm though? We still do not have a bedskirt (and one of our cats uses a corner of the box spring as her personal scratching post, no matter how often we put double-sided tape there or spray her with water -- she's determined!), headboard or pretty window coverings. (although the plantation shutters we installed are attractive and useful, I wanted some panels on either side to "soften" the shutters) So, I am not prepared to spend any money on the guest room, any of them, until I get my bedroom done! (Calico Corners has a sale starting this week so I'll be going to hopefully order a bedskirt and headboard! "sale" -- one of my favorite four letter words!)

So I have my Anne of Green Gables dream of having a spare bedroom others would swoon to stay in, but for now I can offer two rooms with a pretty view of the Rocky Mountains, a comfy bed and two little boys who love to cuddle! And that'll have to be good enough. It is for us in our bedroom.

I loved reading and seeing what thought and care you all have put into your guest rooms. Your guests are sure to feel v. welcome!

My guest suite with full bath..

other side and 1 end of room with TV, two walk in closets, door to kitchen & breakfast room.

Here is a link that might be useful:

sigh, I have to wait until kids are gone. but what inspiration you have given me!

here's our main guestroom. The ironwork over the head of the bed was originally in our house that we lost in Katrina. It was one of the few things we dug out of the rubble, and I felt like I had to use it somewhere. So I bought some of that "rub n' buff" stuff mentioned here, and it turned out okay. On down the road, I might put something else in its place, but it works for me now.

Oh, and the mirror is not that large or leather bench that long. A photographer friend took this picture and was experimenting with different lenses, so it's a little distorted.

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Wow, wow, wow..

Your rooms are beautiful and sooo inviting. I think I would have to leave a tip if I was staying at your places. lol.. Thanks so much for sharing, just gorgeous. Can I come over??

Joanne

Your guest/office/spare rooms look so welcoming. I don't have a guest room, DS(13) gives up his room when in-laws and my mom visit. We have 4 bedrooms with a loft/bonus room but w/3 kids everyone's always looking for an extra room. DS has it made, for 11 months out of the year he has his own bedroom and connecting bathroom. We're in the midst of repainting his BR & bathroom so I'll post pics soon.

What fabulously beautiful and comfy rooms.....makes me want to come visit for a spell. Honestly I am very neat and I don't eat much.
I have an adorable spare bedroom, with single bed, and we've always called it the granddaughter room as the first one always stayed in it....kept the name (she's 27). It's a country look with rocking chair and some neat things sitting around, one item I adore is my yarn winder. I love to just go to the door and just stand there and feast my eyes on such a cute room. Keep your rooms coming, I enjoy looking at them. You all are such wonderful decorators.

My guest rooms, both works in progress.

I hear where Annie is coming from. Our guest room also has an attached full bathroom. It is a large room, larger than either child's room. And it is practically empty. I cannot be motivated to spend and decorate a room that sees use about three times per year. I would really like to give it to my daughter when she gets bigger, and my DH says why not my son (I don't think son will care since there is another full bath upstairs anyway). So it sits as it has since we moved in, shocking Barbie pink from the PO, with a full bed, no headboard, and two mismatched orphan chairs. Sigh.

Wow, I can't get over the size of some of the rooms posted here! Some of them are bigger than our master bedroom!

I love our guest bedroom. Currently, it serves only as a bedroom, but if I were to actually start scrapbooking, I might consider putting a small desk in there as well. However, I certainly don't have the "only used three times per year" problem, LOL. We have a steady string of houseguests, mostly friends and family from out of town. In fact, we have so many guests we added a hidebed in our family room for overflow! I'm not complaining - mostly I love having company.

Here's an older picture - I've since added a taller mattress, a lamp, and different artwork.

Carrie