Decorating
10 Creative Ways to Beef Up Guest Bedroom Storage
Galvanize your guest room with space-smart storage you can use all year round – the first in a four-part series on sprucing your spare room
Guest rooms are often funny little hybrid areas of the home, needing to absorb all manner of different functions in one (bedroom, office, linen store, den et al), usually in a small space. The number one trick is clever storage. Identify what your guest room will double up as and squeeze in cupboards, drawers, shelves and nooks to suit. For example, a long run of built-in cupboards can house all of your visitor’s overnight clothes and shoes and become an out-of-season store for your own sartorial needs. Likewise, a neat and tidy desk area can become a bedside table for guests’ bits and bobs. Work with the architecture of your room and keep surfaces clean and clear and, before you know it, your guest room will be the most sought-after destination in the whole house.
Utilise tricky shapes
Attic conversions are favourite hotspots for a guest room, but how to deal with the awkward architecture and unusual angles? Tailor-made cupboards can overcome a sloping roof with ease, but you will need to contact a cabinet-maker to nail the task properly.
I adore these cute, built-in bedside cupboards that nestle neatly in the eaves, too, which boost the usable storage space without interrupting the clean silhouette.
What to consider when planning a loft conversion
Attic conversions are favourite hotspots for a guest room, but how to deal with the awkward architecture and unusual angles? Tailor-made cupboards can overcome a sloping roof with ease, but you will need to contact a cabinet-maker to nail the task properly.
I adore these cute, built-in bedside cupboards that nestle neatly in the eaves, too, which boost the usable storage space without interrupting the clean silhouette.
What to consider when planning a loft conversion
Build in and fold down
Guest bedrooms are often small, so it’s important to make the most every inch. If you can fit it in, a row of built-in cupboards will maximise hanging and stacking space. Stick to simple, white, handle-free cupboards (with unobtrusive notches or magnetic push fittings), so the storage wall blends seamlessly into the background.
With the wall taken up, consider a few canny innovations, such as a fold-down TV and a compact corner table.
Discover more smart ways to blend your TV into your space
Guest bedrooms are often small, so it’s important to make the most every inch. If you can fit it in, a row of built-in cupboards will maximise hanging and stacking space. Stick to simple, white, handle-free cupboards (with unobtrusive notches or magnetic push fittings), so the storage wall blends seamlessly into the background.
With the wall taken up, consider a few canny innovations, such as a fold-down TV and a compact corner table.
Discover more smart ways to blend your TV into your space
Go bespoke…
A multi-tasking space, such as a guest room, calls for clever and creative multi-tasking storage solutions. If you need to squeeze in an office area, a bed and a place to sit, consider going bespoke and commissioning a professional cabinet-maker or interior designer to conjure up a storage wall with a difference…
A multi-tasking space, such as a guest room, calls for clever and creative multi-tasking storage solutions. If you need to squeeze in an office area, a bed and a place to sit, consider going bespoke and commissioning a professional cabinet-maker or interior designer to conjure up a storage wall with a difference…
…and create a working wall
These white gloss cupboards open up to reveal a bed on one side and a fully functioning office hub on the other. Both can magically close shut when you simply want to sit and read or practise an instrument.
These white gloss cupboards open up to reveal a bed on one side and a fully functioning office hub on the other. Both can magically close shut when you simply want to sit and read or practise an instrument.
Focus on fuss-free
This guest room doesn’t appear to have any storage at all. But dig a little deeper and all is revealed amid the neutral tones and unfussy layout. The translucent, shoji-style wall in fact slides back to uncover a huge wardrobe, while the neat bedside boxes offer just enough space for all of those night-time essentials.
This guest room doesn’t appear to have any storage at all. But dig a little deeper and all is revealed amid the neutral tones and unfussy layout. The translucent, shoji-style wall in fact slides back to uncover a huge wardrobe, while the neat bedside boxes offer just enough space for all of those night-time essentials.
Make the most of a mezzanine
Sometimes a raised platform is the cleverest way to create a guest sleeping den out of a pocket-sized space or unusual-shaped room. If so, then ensure you make the most of the mezzanine by working in storage underneath as part of the bed’s platform.
I love the contrasting use of pale colour on the drawer fronts here – and it takes the meaning of under-bed storage to a whole new level.
Sometimes a raised platform is the cleverest way to create a guest sleeping den out of a pocket-sized space or unusual-shaped room. If so, then ensure you make the most of the mezzanine by working in storage underneath as part of the bed’s platform.
I love the contrasting use of pale colour on the drawer fronts here – and it takes the meaning of under-bed storage to a whole new level.
Stretch to the ceiling
You might well need to use every spare inch, nook and cranny when it comes to squeezing in storage in a spatially challenged spare room. And that means stretching cupboards right up to the ceiling. These quirky wardrobes on stilts are stacked squarely on top of two bedside tables to create room for clothes, shoes, books and other bits and pieces.
If your space has no bedside surface to speak of, as here, opt for wall-mounted lamps that guests can control from the comfort of the bed without moving an inch.
You might well need to use every spare inch, nook and cranny when it comes to squeezing in storage in a spatially challenged spare room. And that means stretching cupboards right up to the ceiling. These quirky wardrobes on stilts are stacked squarely on top of two bedside tables to create room for clothes, shoes, books and other bits and pieces.
If your space has no bedside surface to speak of, as here, opt for wall-mounted lamps that guests can control from the comfort of the bed without moving an inch.
Craft with cubes and cupboards
This cute and quirky guest bedroom proves that innovative storage can still be attractive and fresh, even when it’s white and fitted (two words that might just get some of us heading for a vintage shop).
Not only does the jigsaw of drawers, nooks and cupboards skilfully take in the sloping ceiling but, visually, pulls the room together with the punctuation of bold, black knobs. Even the bed, which is made from one giant drawer, can be tucked away when not in use.
This cute and quirky guest bedroom proves that innovative storage can still be attractive and fresh, even when it’s white and fitted (two words that might just get some of us heading for a vintage shop).
Not only does the jigsaw of drawers, nooks and cupboards skilfully take in the sloping ceiling but, visually, pulls the room together with the punctuation of bold, black knobs. Even the bed, which is made from one giant drawer, can be tucked away when not in use.
Say it with singles
One benefit of choosing a pair of single beds for the guest room is that you only need one bedside table sandwiched in-between. This means you can opt for a fabulous vintage cabinet or ancient antique trunk (of which you will generally only find one rather than a matching pair).
Here, the single headboard, which stretches across both beds, helps unify the space, while the alcoves are kitted out nicely with illuminated shelving, perfect for stashing books and creating a night-time glow. This is calm, sleep-promoting symmetry at its best.
One benefit of choosing a pair of single beds for the guest room is that you only need one bedside table sandwiched in-between. This means you can opt for a fabulous vintage cabinet or ancient antique trunk (of which you will generally only find one rather than a matching pair).
Here, the single headboard, which stretches across both beds, helps unify the space, while the alcoves are kitted out nicely with illuminated shelving, perfect for stashing books and creating a night-time glow. This is calm, sleep-promoting symmetry at its best.
Love your linen store
Spare room storage doesn’t always have to be of the fun-free, functional variety. If you want to create a more relaxed, inviting vibe for guests, pick out one-off, treasured pieces in distressed paint finishes, soft colours and classic shapes. This wire-fronted cabinet not only offers masses of shelf space for stacking clean linens and towels all year round, it fits in effortlessly with the serene ambience. Sigh…
TELL US…
Have you boosted your guest room storage? Please share your ideas in the Comments below
Spare room storage doesn’t always have to be of the fun-free, functional variety. If you want to create a more relaxed, inviting vibe for guests, pick out one-off, treasured pieces in distressed paint finishes, soft colours and classic shapes. This wire-fronted cabinet not only offers masses of shelf space for stacking clean linens and towels all year round, it fits in effortlessly with the serene ambience. Sigh…
TELL US…
Have you boosted your guest room storage? Please share your ideas in the Comments below
For a spare room that needs to double up efficiently as an office, like this one, a mix of open shelves and sturdy drawer units – all in plain white, are an elegant and effective use of the space. Make sure the shelving is stable enough to hold heavy books and files and that the height of the cabinets is just right to slot snugly under the table top.
There’s no need to splash out on a custom-made desk either – just buy a length of worktop and attach it securely to the walls on tough brackets.
See more in this guest room series and discover how to luxe up your spare room