Designing a guest bedroom can be quite a stressful endeavor. Even if you’ve already crafted the coziest, most welcoming home away from home, it’s only natural to overlook a thing or two – but the best of guests won’t fault it.
But for those of us looking to get the guest bedroom down on the very first try, Shea McGee just unveiled her secret: bring out plenty of layers of lush bedding.
The celebrated designer recently took to YouTube to tour her brand-new Summit Estate remodel, which includes several stunning guest beds. In the video, she shares her number one trick for designing a guest bedroom that visitors will never want to leave – and it doesn’t involve rearranging the whole space. This is the Shea-approved hack that’ll level up your hosting skills for good.
How Shea curates relaxing, resort-like guest bedrooms
‘This guest suite is probably my favorite guest bedroom in this house,’ says Shea, showing off a warm, neutral space in her recent Park City, Utah remodel. She points to a colorful standing mirror.
‘This was actually going to be in the closet because they needed a floor-length mirror. It arrived and we were like, “That needs more presence in the room.” And then you turn to the right and you are wowed by this bedroom.’
Shea’s guest room is outfitted with every guest bed accommodation imaginable. In the room’s entryway, for example, a built-in console table sits above designated suitcase storage: ‘Those can just slide underneath, or someone could use it as a desk space,’ she says. The room’s most notable feature, though, is the paint color: Coriander Seed by Benjamin Moore. A ‘sophisticated brown that conjures rich spices,’ the shade is an out-of-the-box take on a pared-back neutral.
‘When I walk in this room, I’m like, “I can’t believe it was any other way. When we first designed this, it was just going to be a light neutral. We pivoted and presented to our client the idea of going with this paint color, and I am so glad that they were trusting and open to it because it’s awesome. I love it. It’s an unusual color. It’s still neutral. It speaks to the mountain landscape, and it also allows this marble on the fireplace to really stand out,’ says Shea.
The marble fireplace contributes to the eye-catching color scheme too, offering green and purple hues. The natural stone material pulls through the entire home, too, also appearing on the main level’s home bar.
While the entire space is well-considered and welcoming, Shea’s top tip for designing guest bedrooms takes the room to the next level. The designer suggests creating a layered, complex bed setup so that every guest gets a good night’s sleep, in any circumstance or temperature.
‘We design a lot of guest bedrooms, and there are a couple of things that we’re always keeping in mind,’ says Shea. That is, “Can we fit a king-size bed?” and “Let’s layer the linens” because we don’t know – we don’t have the opportunity to ask those people like we do our clients, “Do you sleep hot? Do you like linen? What do you want in a bed?”‘
‘We want everyone to love staying here, so we just do a lot of layers. You’ll see that the bed styling throughout this home is a mix. Sometimes, it’s layers of pillows, and sometimes it’s just a lumbar,’ she continues. In this room, she’s opted for four basic, white pillows, and a full-length body pillow. A duvet, quilt, and top sheet make up the luxe layers of the current arrangement, but extra linens are available at an arm’s reach.
A quilt is an easy way to ensure your guests have all the bedding layers they need – it’s an extra bit of warmth on a cold day, or a duvet alternative when the sun shines.
Devlin White Duvet Cover & Sham Set
A high-quality duvet cover is a must when styling any bed, and the pared-back design of these shams only makes this find easier to commit to.
Add a lush layer to your bedspread with a cozy coverlet. This one packs a subtle pattern and cocooning texture.
Shea’s guest bedroom hack is a no-fail approach to hosting, and doesn’t require much time or money to get down. Let your loved ones stay as long as they’d like, and give them the cozy, hotel-quality bed to match.
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