The guest room is the room people decorate last. It ends up with a spare bed, the old chest of drawers, and whatever pictures didn't fit anywhere else. Then the holidays come, someone is due to stay for a week, and the room looks like a store cupboard with a duvet in it.
Art is the fastest way to turn a spare room into a guest room. One or two well-chosen pieces tell a visitor that the room was prepared for them. The difficulty is choosing something that suits whoever comes: your mother, your college friend, your sister's children.
What a guest room has to do
- Feel calm. People sleep badly in strange beds. The room should help.
- Feel welcoming. Warm, cared for, finished.
- Feel neutral. It is their room for a few nights. It shouldn't be full of your personality.
- Suit everyone. All ages and tastes.
A good test is to think of a pleasant hotel room. The art there is calm, tasteful and impersonal. You want that, with more character than a hotel manages.
What works
Landscapes
The safest and best choice. Almost nobody objects to a view of mountains, water or woods, and a landscape gives a small room a sense of space. Soft, misty ones are especially restful.
- Blue Mountain Fog. Pines in pale teal cloud.
- Serene Blue Sunrise. A quiet blue horizon. See the canvas.
See fog and mist in art.
Gentle animals
A calm animal is friendly without being childish. Frost Owl and Cosmic Deer are both pale, quiet and suited to any age.
Soft abstracts
An abstract in two or three gentle colours brings colour to the room and has no subject for anyone to dislike. See modern abstraction.
Night skies
A calm sky with stars suits a bedroom. Choose a quiet one, such as Starlight City.
Something local
A picture of your town or region gives visitors a sense of where they are. If you live in or near Chicago or Nashville, we have skyline pieces. See Chicago skyline art.
What to avoid
- Family photographs. A guest lying in bed under portraits of your relatives feels like an intruder. Keep them for the hall.
- Anything dark or unsettling. Skulls, eerie figures, horror. Fine in your study. Wrong for a room where your aunt is trying to sleep.
- Staring faces. Large portraits and eyes that follow you.
- Loud neon and high contrast. Energetic art keeps people awake.
- Jokes. Humour is personal.
- Anything political, religious or provocative.
- Text. Slogans and instructions on the wall wear thin quickly.
- The rejects. If you didn't want it in your own rooms, your guests won't either.
If you love darker or bolder art, keep it for your own spaces. See bedroom wall art that still lets you wind down.
Colour
- Cool and soft. Blues, soft greens, greys and lavender are the colours most people find restful. See cool blue wall art for a calm room.
- Tie it to the bedding. Choose one colour from the picture and repeat it in a cushion or a throw. It makes the room look planned. See should art match the room or contrast with it.
- Keep the walls light if the room is small.
Where to hang it
- Above the bed. The main wall. One piece, a pair, or a row, about two-thirds the width of the bed. Use something light and fix it well. See art over a bed.
- Opposite the bed. This is the wall a guest sees from the pillow. A calm picture here is the one they will look at most.
- Above a chest of drawers or a desk. A smaller piece, hung 6 to 10 inches above the furniture, or leaning on it.
- Beside the door or the mirror. A small print fills an awkward gap.
One or two pieces are enough. A guest room should feel uncluttered, with space for someone else's things.
Which format
- Canvas. Light, no glass, and soft in appearance. The best choice above a bed.
- Framed poster. Smart and finished, with the tidy look of a good hotel. Suits the wall above a chest of drawers.
- Tapestry. Covers a large wall for little money, and can stand in for a headboard. Choose a calm design. See a tapestry as a headboard.
See canvas vs poster vs framed poster.
When the guest room is also something else
Most spare rooms do two jobs.
- Guest room and office. Choose art that is calm enough for sleep and smart enough for the background of a video call. A landscape does both. See wall art for the home office.
- Guest room and hobby room. Keep your equipment to one side and let the bed wall be plain and calm.
- Guest room and children's overflow. Gentle animals work for children and adults alike.
- A sofa bed in the living room or den. The art is already there. Check what your guest will be looking at from the bed, and whether any lights near it can be turned off.
The rest of the welcome
Art sets the tone. A few other things finish the job.
- A lamp by the bed that can be reached from it.
- Somewhere to put a suitcase and hang a few clothes.
- A clear surface by the bed for a phone and a glass of water.
- A socket they can reach, and the wifi password written down.
- Curtains or blinds that keep out the light.
- An extra blanket.
Getting ready for holiday visitors
If you have people coming for Thanksgiving or in December, order in good time. Each piece is made to order: 2 to 7 business days for production and 3 to 7 for US delivery, and longer in the busy weeks before the holidays. See holiday order deadlines.
Measure the wall above the bed before you choose a size. See how to measure a wall for art.
A simple plan
- Clear out whatever is being stored in the room.
- Choose one calm piece for the wall above the bed, or opposite it.
- Repeat one of its colours in a cushion or a throw.
- Add a small second piece above the chest of drawers if the room needs it.
- Lie on the bed and look round. What you see is what your guest will see.
Browse the canvas art and framed posters collections.