Spare rooms often become catchalls: They might house your WFH setup, your home gym yoga mat and weights, boxes of Halloween decorations that don’t fit anywhere else and, crammed in the middle, a bed for guests. While there’s no shame in getting the most out of your square footage, there’s so much to be said for offering a thoughtful, well-appointed room for overnight (or longer) visitors.
You only need a few pieces of furniture, great bedding, and charming accents, and you can have some fun with it. Think of it even as an opportunity to deploy an aesthetic that differs from the rest of the house, to make it feel like a special destination.
With on-trend decor and furniture in a range of styles, The Home Depot makes it easy to overhaul this room on a budget. For an extra homey feel, channel a stately bed and breakfast with vintage-inspired pieces — here’s how.
Look for furniture that calls to mind the past — you can’t go wrong with rich wood tones.
Bright white walls and low-profile furnishings have enjoyed time in the spotlight recently, with minimalist décor superseding moodier, more intimate settings. But the tide is turning toward a richer palette, with layers of the past and present mingling together.
To cultivate a look that reads vintage but not old, lean into darker tones that add extra character and warmth to a space. Try wood furniture with a heritage vibe: a gracious bed with a carved headboard in a deep ebony finish, a chest of drawers with antique-like bronze hardware and a sturdy side table that could pass for being built by a grandparent. Think sophisticated bungalow or chic country cottage, without any of the ruffles.
Layer neutral pillows and blankets over crisp white sheets (the combination never fails).
The easiest way to make a bed feel like it’s from a five-star hotel is to outfit it with crisp, white percale sheets and a matching blanket. Instead of a duvet, opt for a quilt to add texture and heft. Layer on a cashmere blanket for a subtle color contrast, and choose a variety of throw pillows in the same palette.
In order to create a pillowscape that doesn’t overwhelm the bed, limit yourself to four colors or patterns and don’t go overboard with numbers. For example, on top of the standard pillows on a Queen-size bed, layer two larger square Euro-style pillows in a stripe print that mirror the texture of the quilt, and then pop in two accent pillows in a dusty rose. Finish the look, if you’d like to add more, with two one-offs: an extra-long, soft grey lumbar with a leather strap detail and a grey and white stripe.
Add a lounge chair for wake-ups and wind-downs.
A place to sit — that is not the bed! — is a must in a guest room. It offers an element of separation between sleeping and daily life, and provides a spot to relax (plus a separate seat keeps “outside clothes” off the bed).
For a classic Americana look, choose a leather piece that complements the wood furniture and adds warmth to the room. Avoid chunky club chairs; while comfy, they can take up too much space and crowd the room.
Instead, look for a chair with a slimmer silhouette, like this option with a blackened metal frame and burnt orange cushions. Not only does the plump seat make for the perfect reading nook, but it’s an ideal place to drape a jacket or set your handbag.
Frame up art in a mix of sizes for a collected feel.
Hanging art is the quickest way to make a space feel homey and lived-in. For maximum impact, go for a gallery wall. If the idea of finding and organizing enough pieces for a whole wall may seem intimidating, never fear: the best part of a gallery wall is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. With multiple pieces in varying sizes, you don’t have to fret about perfectly centering every single frame. Choose a starting point, be it the center of the wall or one side, and build from there.
To keep with the old-but-new aesthetic, seek out a variety of portraits and botanical prints that masquerade as if they were salvaged from an old library or estate sale. Use color cues from elsewhere in the room — the bedding, perhaps — to inspire a cohesive art palette, and keep things simple with matless frames.
Dot the space with vintage (or vintage-inspired!) accessories.
In a hotel, it’s the small details that make a room feel special — the custom soap dispenser, the hand-painted light pendant, smart-looking cabinet pulls — so don’t skimp when it comes to the finishing touches. Now is the time to hit the flea markets or dig into your grandma’s attic for fun and quirky additions, like a carved teak tray repurposed as a catchall for jewelry and coins, a ceramic vase filled with fresh-picked wildflowers, or a crate of thrift-store vinyls.
If you’re not one for thrifting, or prefer new to old, The Home Depot has a surprisingly deep collection of vintage-inspired decor, like this cute mint green table clock, a bluetooth speaker disguised as a record player, or an industrial elbow desk lamp.
Prop styling by Olga Grigorenko.
