How To Best Use Your Guest Room Closet

A guest room is such a wonderful space to have. When guests come to stay, it’s nice if you are able to give them their own space and place to keep their bags and relax. Many people, even if they have the square footage to have a dedicated guest room, still find things to store in the guest room closet. Taking advantage of tucked away storage space in your guest room closet while maintaining it as a spot your guests will feel comfortable using can be a challenge.

Double Duty Closet

When designing your guest room closet, either from scratch in a remodel or new build, or during a conversion or redesign, take stock of what you need the guest room closet to do for you. While you might wish to keep an empty closet with empty hangers and a fluffy spa robe for guest use, that is not the reality in most homes. Most people will need to use part of the guest room closet for personal storage. 

The key will be to keep the closet from becoming a giant junk drawer. It can be easy, especially if you are not a regular host, to neglect the closet in your guest room. You can shut the door to the closet and maybe even the entire room for months at a time. Save yourself the panic of frantically rearranging when guests are on their way by designing the guest room closet to work as a dual-use space all the time.

Thoughtful Storage

Once you’ve decided how you need to use the guest room closet, it’s time to make a plan and design a custom storage system. If you need to use half the closet space to contain rotating seasonal wardrobe items, make that part of your plan. If you hope to use the room as an occasional home office, design a system that allows your office to be quickly hidden away in the closet so guests can relax and unwind without looking at your in-tray.

Storage Systems

It might seem like your guest room closet is already full, stashing craft supplies or winter outerwear, but a well-designed storage system can essentially create space from thin air. Whether you want to take the task upon yourself or consult an expert, the steps will follow a similar formula. Measure the space, whether you’re working with a walk-in or a reach-in closet, including vertical space and inconvenient spots beyond easy reach. 

Wire shelving or customized wood laminate systems installed in the spots that are annoying to access are perfect for the seasonal items you only need to swap out twice a year. Installing a shelf higher than it’s convenient to reach takes advantage of formerly underutilized vertical space, which, with the easy addition of a conveniently stashed step ladder, can hold stylish bins or baskets. Attractive containers can be ready at a moment’s notice to contain all your home-office clutter so the room can instantly become a guest sanctuary.  

Welcoming Touches

If you’re regularly hosting overnight guests or you’re hoping to transform the guest room, including the closet in anticipation of future houseguests, there are a few elements to include either way. 

Make Space for Guests

While the bed might be the most essential element of your guests’ experience, having space to make themselves comfortable is a close second. Be sure to arrange the storage inside the guest closet so there is empty space inviting your guests to unpack. Invest in a suitcase rack if you’ve regularly got out-of-town guests who arrive with baggage. 

Consider installing drawers or pull-out bins as part of your overall storage system, so guests can access small spaces for small items like socks, workout gear, and pjs. Install a hanging rod in the main part of the closet, even if you regularly fold and stash away stored items. Buy or allocate some matching hangers to leave in the closet, ready for guests to hang clothes. 

Save space in the closet to store extra pillows, blankets, and a throw so guests can grab an extra if they’re chilly at night without disturbing anyone. If guests will use a shared bathroom, stash extra towels in the guest bedroom closet as well so they know which to use. A basket of toiletries commonly forgotten is always a thoughtful extra touch if you’ve got space in the closet. Gather things like a toothbrush, floss, makeup wipes, and a favorite lotion and make sure guests know they should help themselves. 

Create Customized Closets With Harkraft

No one knows better than you exactly how you dream of transforming your guest room closet and beyond and no one is more prepared to share expertise, experience and knowledge than Harkraft. Consult with one of our designers or contact us to learn more about storage system options for your home.