1. Do some recon work. If you’ve never experienced your guest accommodations as visitors do, try them out. Is your living room quiet? Is a night-light needed? Is the floor or rug as clean as it can be? Is the air mattress comfortable? If the answer to the latter is no…2. Upgrade to an elevated air bed, if possible. Yes, a raised air bed costs more, but if you have the budget (and space), it will go far in ensuring your guests’ contentment. 3. Give your guests a choice of pillow (even if it means pulling one from your own bed). For some people, a good night’s sleep starts with what’s under their heads. A back sleeper will need firm support under the neck; a stomach sleeper might want something softer. The right pillow can make all the difference. 4. Reserve a super-cozy blanket for them. A cuddly cover—something that feels rich and plush (even if it’s inexpensive)—can make company feel luxuriously welcomed.5. Supply a lighter blanket too. Sometimes finding just the right ratio of blanket to room heat can be tricky.
Let a guest experiment.6. Spritz sheets with linen spray. Not only will a fragrance freshen sheets that may have been sitting on a closet shelf for a while, but a soothing scent—such as lavender—can also help lull visitors to sleep.7. Keep disposable earplugs on hand. This is especially helpful if you live in a noisy urban setting—or with a rooster.8. And an eye mask is nice. Adjusting to a new environment can be difficult for a guest. An eye mask will eliminate distracting light sources, making falling asleep easier.9. Set up a folding screen. An inexpensive divider—which you can stash away after your visitor departs—will help make the space feel as if it’s his or her own.10. Unfold a luggage rack. Having a place to rest a bag during a stay will be more comfortable for a guest—and keep your living room neater. Create a makeshift nightstand. Even just a pile of books or magazines will serve as a place to rest reading glasses, a phone, and a small glass of water.12. Put out something to read.
Before you pile up those magazines, offer one or two to peruse.13. Let your couch be a headboard. Arrange the air mattress so that it is perpendicular to the front of your couch and your guest will be able to prop up a pillow against it for easy reading.14. Put together a little basket of mini toiletries. Visitors will feel pampered.15. Give your guest a set of towels. Keep them color-coordinated and distinct from others. And then designate space in the bathroom—on the towel rack or a hook—where he or she can hang them.16. Earmark some plastic bags for laundry. A visitor might forget to pack something to hold wash—and you don’t want it balled up on your living-room floor. (You know it could happen!)17. Have an OTC allergy medication available. Are you a pet owner? A guest may not be aware of sensitivity to pet dander—until the sneezing starts.18. Jot down your Wi-Fi password and instructions for working your TV. Which remote does what?19. Let guests know what your routine is.
You may need to get in the shower and off to work; be clear on a schedule so you’re not jockeying for bathroom time. And then straighten the bathroom to ready it for their use.20. Make them comfortable with the neighborhood. Be sure they know where public transportation is, along with the nearest coffee shop, if you’re not brewing it yourself.Keep guests comfortable with careful decorating and a well-dressed air mattress. For overnight guests, comfort starts with the sleeping accommodations. Even with an air mattress, your guest room can be relaxing and inviting as well as well decorated. Start with a neutral paint color and install window treatments directly above the window frame, rather than higher up to allow for plenty of privacy. This keeps the eye from traveling too far upwards, making the low profile of the mattress less noticeable. Choose a Color Scheme Start your design process by choosing a traditional color scheme, and use this when deciding on paint color, linens, window treatments and other pieces in the room.
For a guest bedroom, cool or muted warm colors and neutral shades work best, creating a relaxing, serene environment. Pick a neutral shade, such as creamy beige, a medium-tone cool gray or crisp white, and then pick one to two colors that coordinate with it. Pastel green or lilac work beautifully with beige, while gray comes alive against a muted coral or yellow. Pair white with an icy blue or keep things clean, using the white as a backdrop for several different shades of beige and taupe. Treat the Air Mattress Like a Traditional Bed Outfit the bed -- positioned head against the wall -- in high-quality sheets, pillows and a bedcover to make the air mattress look and feel like a traditional bed. Arrange the bedding so that it hides any hint of the vinyl mattress below. If you’re having a hard time finding a fitted sheet that covers the mattress, wrap it in a large, flat sheet and secure this with sheet suspenders, ensuring they don't cut into the bed's plastic. Include at least two pillows per person, a comfortable quilt or comforter and an additional blanket.
Due to the air, an inflatable mattress can be cold, so extra blankets are essential. Choose linens that coordinate with your color scheme, and layer solids with patterns to add a decorative effect to the room without going overboard with artwork or knickknacks. For example, pair a solid steel gray fitted sheet with a crisp white flat sheet and pillowcases featuring a subtle gray print or gray stitching. Top this with a patterned quilt in muted coral and gray, a second set of pillows adorned in coral and a white and gray throw blanket. The resulting bed is inviting, comfortable and colorful. Add an Area Rug If you have hardwood floors, place an area rug underneath the bed to brighten the space and keep the air mattress from sliding across the floor. Choose a rug that comes out around the base of the air mattress at least 12 to 18 inches. This sets the mattress off, creates a stage for the rest of the room in the decor, and makes the space feel cozier. Opt for a smaller pattern or solid color so that the rug isn't cut off at an odd angle by the edge of the mattress.
For guest rooms with wall-to-wall carpeting, place a patterned or solid area rug slightly wider than the air mattress at the foot of the bed. Look for the least prominent color in the bedding and use this for the rug to balance the sleeping space, or use this as an opportunity to bring in a complementary color. With the coral and gray bedding, a mostly neutral rug with a subdued teal print works beautifully. When in doubt, a neutral rug that is much darker or lighter than the flooring beneath it makes a classic statement. Furniture Choices In a guest room, less is usually more, and too much decor often means too much clutter. Choose a few pieces of artwork to adorn the walls, opting for neutral prints or paintings rather than family photos. Black and white landscapes, either on canvas or in traditional frames, work with most decor styles and color schemes. Place short lamps, a clock and a vase of flowers or potted plant on the nightstands. Add a floor lamp across the room from the bed and include a few decorative pieces along the dresser so that they take up about one-third of the surface.
This leaves room for guests to put their things without the space looking too sparse. Candles, decorative stones or a set of antique vases are all good choices. Room-Wide Decor Keep the height of the pieces in mind when choosing furniture for the guest room. With an air mattress, a traditional nightstand looks awkward and isn’t very functional. Get creative and use large decorative boxes, a decorative footstool, or hard-topped ottomans for high-rise mattresses in lieu of traditional bedside tables. Add a low chaise lounge to the room to give guests additional seating. Place a short, long dresser as far away from the bed as possible; the low profile keeps the scale of the room relatively balanced, but even a short dresser can seem disproportional when sitting directly adjacent to an air mattress. References Apartment Therapy: Tips for Sleeping Comfortably on an Air MattressHouzz: 11 Area Rug Rules and How to Break ThemApartment Therapy: Making Guests Comfortable Without a Guest Room Photo Credits Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images Suggest a Correction